Welcome to Gaia! ::

My entry for the poem contest:: inspired heavily by 'cremation of Sam Mcgee'

The Procession of Riyus and Fred.

There are stranger things said in the battle dread,
By the Jivvins who fight for their homes.
The pale moon wails of these chilling tales,
rife with humans, and Baras, and gnomes.
Many have heard, while both awful and slurred,
The tales of the long honored dead...
But the truest at call, a tale known to all,
The procession of Riyus and Fred.

On a misty green day they were clearing the way,
With the mission of acting as scouts,
When back in the distance, they heard the resistance,
And suddenly both had their doubts.
The platoon was attacked, the mission was sacked,
They fought like it wasn't the end...
They fell one by one, and when all was done,
Fred lay face to face with his friend.

They stayed very still, to lessen the spill
Of life from their bodies attacked.
Fred felt like crying, perhaps he was dying.
He just couldn't deal with that fact.
But then said poor Riyus, in a manner most pious
“I just have to say, old friend Fred...
I'll spell it out plain, right now I'm in pain,
But, before long, I'll only be dead."

“I can see from your face, that there isn't a trace,
Of hope that I'll live all hacked and all hawn,
One thing I must ask, not so simple a task...
Don't leave me here for the Ssan.”
Fred felt so ashamed, while his friend lay there maimed.
He had been selfish and stupid once more.
He felt only disgrace for the look on his face,
And nodded to his friend from the floor.

In a moment's time, amongst the thyme.
Much to the angst of poor Fred...
Fate took route, and the blood drained out,
Leaving old Riyus quite dead.
Fred yelled and he cursed, and he hoped for the worst,
That he too could just go and die,
But fate is unkind, once a contract is signed,
Fred had a long time to mourn and to cry.

Four hours later, Fred pulled out of his crator,
Of woe, and of grief and of pain...
Picked up poor Riyus, completetly with bias,
And set his heals to the path once again.
It occured to old Fred, he knew not where to head.
Where to take his best friend in this season,
no family was waiting, no anticipaiting,
The return on this man for no reason.

The trek was long, but Fred was strong
After all he'd made a solid pact.
Riyus was heavy, but Fred couldn't levy,
His shame with the pride that he lacked.
The nights were cold, madness took hold,
Still Fred carried right on.
He cried and he spat, all that stupid combat.
On to the place he felt drawn.

Then a few days more, and Fred saw the shore,
Of the great streaming ocean of Gai,
This was the place, to end this with grace.
And he let down his charge with a sigh.
He built a small pyre and set it on fire,
The watched as it burned merrily.
Turned to his friend, asked his sorrows to mend,
Turned back to the blaze wearliy.

He picked up his chum, now feeling quite glum,
And chucked the poor chap on the fire.
The sizzling smacks and the ear popping cracks,
Dropped Fred's mood down to something quite dire.
Now that Riyus was dead, in who's shoes would Fred tread?
For the Man always had been a role model.
Riyus now could transcend, but he'd watched over his friend,
Since before the poor guy could waddle.

"I've done some bad things, to both peasants and kings,
but this one thing shames me yet most,
As a friend and a mate, I was pure second rate,
Of good nature I never can boast."
Then up from the smoke, came the face of a bloke.
Riyus smiled at his friend with a chortle.
"Don't be daft!" The ghost head laughed,
"We always knew you were mortal."

"As a friend and a mate, you weren't top rate,
But that's what friends are for.
For ups and downs, for drama and clowns."
The waves began to roar.
"I have to leave, but please don't grieve,
I'll keep on living, in your head.
Write a ballad, woeful and pallid,
sing it, and I'll never be dead."

The wind blew strong and fed the throng,
the fire burned tall, long and hard.
A while later, while standing straighter,
He looked at his pyre now charred.
He was filled with dread, with his best friend dead,
But somehow he felt better too...
Now nothing to fret, no longer in debt,
He set off with his future in view.

There are stranger things said in the battle dread,
By the Jivvins who fight for their homes.
The pale moon wails of these chilling tales,
rife with humans, and Baras, and gnomes.
Many have heard, while both awful and slurred,
The tales of the long honored dead...
But the truest at call, a tale known to all,
The procession of Riyus and Fred.

(( Calvin and Sameil :: Feb 23 2008 ))

Sameil clicked into the kitchen, keeping an ear open just in case she heard someone around. For once she had decided to veto the House for the day, and give the Center's library another chance; it had been a while since she had browsed it's shelves, and there may be books that she thought she hadn't needed the first time she had looked. So far, there had only been one book, but she'd only been searching a few hours before hunger started to settle in. Naturally, she decided to take a break, and went to see if there was anything that wasn't horrid downstairs.

Apparently there wasn't. The Olplyn heaved a weary sigh and decided on a banana. If nothing else, it had protein, and it wouldn't get caught between her teeth easily. So, after gently plucking one off the hand, she began to slice the peel open with her claws.

Rusty was out on the lawn with the newest addition to his family. He watched her with mild apathy where her actions were concerned. As long as she didn't kill herself, he was fine with pretty much whatever... in fact, should she put her own self in some kind of harm, wasn't that a form of Darwinisim in itself? He chuckled at the thought and plopped himself down on the porch. Much to his dismay, Calvin plopped down on her haunches in front of him with a smile... and stared at him. ... and continued staring. "Cal... want to play a game?"

"Yus!" She leapt to her feet and pranced in anticipation of the fun that was soon to follow. "Yus I wanna."

"Fine..." He sighed. "Let's play hide and seek, You hide, I'll find you... one two..." He watched her tear off through the front doors and into the building. Resting his head back on his paws he noted to himself that he had about 5 minutes before she got bored of hiding, and another ten before she'd lose interest in whatever she came across after. Then he'd go find her... until then, he had 15 minutes to himself.

Calvin tore through the house, claws clicking as she giggled and shot past the kitchen. She didn't stop at any doors until she suddenly couldn't go any further. Two large beautiful wooden doors, with many claw marks in them. It took a small effort, but she managed to squeeze one open and slip into the library. Then she leapt over to the window seat where the pillows had been thrown on the floor and burried herself effectively.

Sameil lifted her head at the sound of someone scurrying past the kitchen's entrance, but shrugged and continued cutting her banana into pieces and eating them once it seemed obvious that they weren't coming into the room she was currently in. Finishing her snack, the green Jivvin put the leftover peel into the garbage and headed back to the library -- only to find the door slightly open, and the scent of another Jivvin floating around in the air. Considering the smell didn't seem as distinct as older Jivvins, and the space that the door was open, Sameil could safely guess that whoever was in the room was an Ust. Annoying, but most likely easy to chase off (or lock in a drawer). There was also the chance that the Jivvin had already left. Keeping all of the options open, Sameil pushed the door open with little effort, and went back to where she had paused her search.

If she was lucky, she wouldn't be disturbed. But when had her luck ever been good in this blasted place?

Calvin heard someone come in through the door and hunkered down further into the cushions. She was in a position where she couldn't see who it was, but she assumed it was Rusty. Her patience lasted all of about 30 seconds before she couldn't take it anymore and burst from the pile of cushions laughing.

"You found me!" But it wasn't Rusty that she saw... this jivvin was like Rusty, and Luke is size basically, but didn't look like either of them. So she trotted over with a smile and plopped down on her haunches in front of Sameil. "You gonna play Seek-n-hide?"

Luck was definitely not on her side today.

Sameil looked blankly down at the little ball of fur that had popped out of a stack of pillows and was now sitting in front of her. Why could she never be left in peace?

"No, I am not going to play 'seek and hide'," she replied with a sniff of disdain, wondering why she was even bothering speaking to it when she certainly had better things to do. "Do you not have someone watching over you to go play with? I am currently in the middle of something important."

She listened to Sam with practiced patience and nodded her head up and down at the mention of a guardian. "Rust is finding, I'm hiding. He'll be here soon." Then she turned and ran back over to the cushions, jumping in and out of them as she thought of something else...

So she crept back over to the older jivvin on her stomach and flattened herself out behind a book... "Pssst... Pssttt. Pssssstttt." This would be endless. She could 'psst' as many times as was needed to be noticed, or left.

Rust? Oh, it really wasn't her day at all. Like she wanted to deal with that burr in her tail; she couldn't think of anyone else who was stupid enough to call themselves such an inane name. So this just gave her more motivation to extract the Ust from the room to give her peace.

And apparently she better do it before the tan tuft drove her insane with her 'pssts'. "What?" Sameil demanded, mind whirling on plans.

she hopped up with a smile. "When Rust gets here you gotta promise not to tell where I am." Then she ran back over to the cushions and dove into them again. It was 23 seconds before she jumped up again and was back at Sam's side. "I'm hiding over there." Her muzzle and tail both flicked towards the pile, sending her toppling sideways as her balance shifted suddenly.

Inspiration flashed by, and Sameil sniffed again in disapproval. "That place is too obvious; your 'Rust' will find you much too quickly. There's a room three doors down the hallway that's full of boxes; it's a giant maze. Why don't you hide in there?"

Cally cocked her head to one side as she righted herself. "Wassa Maze?" It sounded like a lot of fun, but then again... most things did. "Wassa maze and what's your name?"

"A maze is a place with lots of corridors that make it easy for a person trying to find you to get lost," Sameil replied, before continuing. "And it's rude to ask someone of their name before giving yours." Something she regularly did not follow, but it wasn't rude for her to do it, as most of the time the people she met had no need for her name, as she didn't want to associate with them again. Why bother giving them her name?

The little jivvin grinned ear to ear. "Ahm Calvin." Then she flopped down on her stomach again and inched closer to the other jivvin. "You're smart... smart like Rusty." another inch or two closer... "Can you read?" yet another inch. "Do you know stories?" Oh so close... "Do you know the story about the puppet? The one with the nose that goes out and out and out?"

"Smarter than Rusty, I am quite sure." The older Jivvin held her ground, not caring if the Ust came closer. After all, she could just bat her away with a paw or tail if she thought it was too close for comfort. It helped that it barely came up to her fore-arms. "Yes, no, and no." She did, of course, but like she was going to tell that to this 'Calvin'. The thing would probably stay for hours, annoying her until all it's questions were answered. "Rusty is going to find you if you stay out in the open, you know. Why don't you try the maze?" She probably sounded desperate, but really, this was going on far enough.

She nodded and leapt to her feet... Out the door and then back in the door and right back on over to Sam. "See it's a story, bout a puppet, I fergit his name. But his dad doesn't love him cause he's not real." She cocked her head at Sam again. "You sure you don't know it?"

Sameil nearly growled in fustration as the Ust came barrelling back towards her. "I am quite sure I know no story like that, yes. The clock is ticking, you know. You should go hide."

Calvin nodded quickly and rushed back into the pillow pile... But apparently the storytelling stopped for no situation, since her voice could be heard, muffled and only partially, from under all those pillows. "He's made of wood.... not like... and then he said... and didn't take the pancakes... really did... Woah ... and the next morning.... hanging up his clothes... cause Lily said so... really big nose... with the whale... and to something like... I dunno... cause he wanted to... didn't love him... make of wood... nobody loved him... splinters... Took his teddy bear... ate by a WHALE!... s the best part... "

Her head came popping back up from the pile and she grinned at Sam. "But it all ends like happily ever after so it's not a very scary story."

Sameil was really Not Amused by this point, and responded quite flatly. "Truly fascinating, I'm sure. You are horrid at playing that game." Well, trying to get the thing into another room hadn't worked. Maybe she should just find a pair of ear plugs and ignore the annoyance until it got bored and left. At this rate, the other stupid Jivvin would show up, and she'd have to ignore him too. Ugh.

"Maybe..." She ducked back into the pillows and managed to stay quiet and still for all of 1 mintue and 12 seconds before she came slinking out from under the bottom of the pile. She managed to commando crawl all the way back over to Sameil and went limp on the floor in front of the other jivvin's book.

"Whatcha reading."

"A book." The Olplyn snipped back before she could help it. She glared down at the limp piece of Jivvin on the ground in front of her. "It is idiotic to willingly lose when you still have an opportunity to win. Do you not have any pride whatsoever? Giving up this easily is shameful." Her tone icy, Sameil bared her teeth. Might as well give an attempt at scaring the thing away.

Calvin sat up slightly to try and peer into the book, then blinked up at Sameil several times while the other jivvin talked. She even stared for a second of two after Sam was done speaking.

"Give up what?" Then she bared her teeth experimentally in imitation of Sam's, But the effect was more goofy than gruesome. "ow o oo do thaat?" Teeth still on display.

"The game. And with skilled practice. Why don't you try it somewhere else?" She snarled. Sameil always became a bit lost around children, not understanding fully on how they could think, and was past the end of her rope dealing with this one. "I can assist you to the door, if needed." It didn't sound very pleasant when she said it.

"I think you need a nap." Cally stood up slowly and stretched out. "That's what Lily says to Rust when he acts like that." She looked around the room apparently searching for something but not seeing it. Eventually she turned back to Sam with a confused look and frowned at her. "What game?"

Sameil's tail twitched. Just a little, but it was pretty obvious if someone had been watching for it. "Your game with Rust. And now I believe you should be formally acquainted with the hallway."
With that Sameil picked the Ust up by the scruff of her neck, and started walking towards the door of the library.

Hauled up by the neck scruff was something Calvin was used to with two full grown brothers around. So she just frowned as she thought. "Oh yeah... that game. He's really bad at that." swing to the left, swing to the right... "What does ak-wain-ted mean?"

Sameil didn't bother to reply, as she had a mouth full of fur at that moment, and continued to the door. After pulling the door open further, she deposited the Jivvin none too gently onto the ground, and then retreated her head back inside the room, giving the door a solid push to close it firmly. Thinking it better to be safe than sorry, she put her weight against the door, making sure that the Ust couldn't return back into the room.

What she would do for some peace and quiet.

Calvin suddenly found herself standing in the hallway on the other side of the closed door. She turned and looked back down the hall towards where she assumed that Rusty would be, and then spun round and into the door. With Sam's weight on the backside all Cal managed to do was bonk her head rather hard.

She shook her head to clear her senses and then called to the door. "Ok thanks. I'll talk to you again later." Then she took off back down the hall, getting halfway down it before turning back and jogging back to the door. "Bye bye now." And THEN she was back running down the hall... on her way to Rusty or whoever else got in her way before then.

"Usts," Sameil muttered beneath her breath, before moving away back to her books. Back to her research.

(( Calvin and Harmony :: Feb 19 09 ))

It seemed to be getting darker as she made a dash through the woods, knowing well enough that she shouldn't be out this late at night (but clearly not caring as much as she should). She was never going to learn anything on her own if she had to wait for Maeve or Beryl to escort her... And it would take even longer if she had to rely on Anoiktos (clearly convinced that the Daewl didn't like her... at all).

She let out a sigh of relief as she spotted the Center, skidding to a halt on the porch so she could take a moment to attempt to catch her breath. Huffing a bit she leaned against the door, wondering just how she was going to go about getting it to open, not expecting it to simply creak open as it did leaving her to tumble into the hall.

Calvin was running full tilt through the woods towards the center, only moments after Harmony. She was also escaping her older siblings, but only because they were way too overportective. As she saw the center coming into view she caught the dark shadow of another jivvin about her size just going into the front door, and smiled. Surely that was Rhenus! This was going to be another great adventure, she just knew it.

Moments later, Calvin was falling through the partially open door.

She started to scramble the moment she heard movement, fully expecting it to be someone coming to collect her to take her back home before she managed to 'get into something'. She wouldn't have time to get into anything if they found her now. Letting out a little squeak she took off down the hall, diving into one of the rooms where she knew there was a couch large enough to hide behind, tail long enough to linger in the doorway for a bit even as she ducked around the corner.

Calvin caught sight of the other jivvin just enough to see the tail, and she realized that it wasn't Rhenus... and by the sound that the other jivvin had made, it was scared. Not that Calvin was cruel, but the fact that she scared this other jivvin actually made her smile. She liked the thought that she was powerful enough to be scary.

Grinning, she padded down the hallway, claws clicking as she took each step, until she was at the door that the other jivvin had gone through. "Hey you," She called softly into the room as she entered. "I saw you come in here... and I know you're hiding..." She suddenly sat down, butt thumping the carpet hard as she thought. "Now the only reason you would hide is because you're a robber... or maybe a princess running from your father... or a pirate who killed someone..." Suddenly she jumped up, and dashed to the long window drapes in excitement. "Or A LEPER! Are you a leper?" She poked her nose behind the curtain looking for the other jivvin.

She peered out from behind the couch slowly at the sound of the voice that was neither Beryl nor Maeve and certainly not Anoiktos, nose wrinkling at the various accusations. "I'm not a leper." She huffed, that little puff of air stirring up enough dust behind the couch to make her sneeze; a rather large sneeze that made her stumble back a bit.

Upon regaining her grounds a bit she climbed up the back of the couch, peering up over the top. "I'm not a princess or a robber or a pirate either. I'm..." She paused, trying to find the right word. "A nuisance." She grinned as if that was the thing to be the most proud of being. "At least... That's what Maeve says when Beryl isn't listening. Is that a good thing? Why're you over there when I'm over here?"

Calvin listened intently to everything the other Drada said and then trotted over to the front of the couch, leaning up against it to better see the other. "I thought you might be over there... that's where I would have hidded if I was a leper, and I thought you might be a leper." She had hoped... she had this theory that the life of a leper would be really interesting... she really wasn't all that informed on the subject though.

"And I guess a nusiance is a good thing. Rusty's called me that on more than one occasion and I think I'm pretty cool, so it must be cool." She tilted her head in a kind of shrug. "It's certianly more interesting than just being nothing, nothing is boring."

She hopped up onto the sofa all the way and peered over the back of the sofa at the hiding spot. "So behind the sofa is where nuisance's hide huh?"

"Nothing is really boring... More than that. Lots and lots of really boring." Her nose wrinkled again as she pulled herself up a bit higher, content only when her hind legs were up on the back of the couch with her front ones. She did glance back though when the other Jivvin looked down behind the couch. "Only when they don't want to be found by sisters who might take them back home before they've had any sort of fun... Or adventures... But you've gotta be really careful about going back there. There's dust bunnies as big as I am back there!"

Calvin peered down into the dust bunny ridded darkness with a wicked grin. "Sounds like adventure.... We should go bunny hunting."

Then something grabbed her attention... "Wait... you have sisters? What's that like?" Calvin had only brothers, and spent quite a bit of time wondering what it would be like to have even one sister. "I only have brothers and they're strange. Lily's a mom, not a brother."

"They make you sneeze though and sneezing is a whole lot of no fun." She huffed again as she slid down off of the back of the couch, her movement turning into a bit of a tumble as she rolled across the couch cushions, peering out from beneath her tail to look at the other Jivvin again. "Having sisters is like... Having a shadow that you can't ever go anywhere with out only instead of just following you it talks to you and tells you all sorts of stuff that you're not supposed to do... Or it ignores you except for popping up when you don't expect it to be there right when you're trying to do something fun." She sighed dramatically before setting aside her own little bit of angst in favor of questioning her new companion. "... What's a brother?"


Once again Calvin watched and listened to the other jivvin intently as she related her description of her sisters. As far as Calvin was concerned, a shadow that watched you and talked to you was one of the most intersting concepts that she'd ever heard... right up there with leprosy, but once again, it was a subject that she wasn't all that informed on. But brothers... that was a completely different story.

"Brothers are big, and moody, and way too concerned about you. They watch what you do and tell you how to eat, and say that you're small and puny and pipsqueaky. They're not like shadows, they're more like..." She paused a moment as she tried to think up a good analogy for a brother. "They're like big fluffy pillows covered in thorns... all spikey on the outside, but soft and mushy in the middle." She nodded. That was a good way to describe them both. "They both love me, but they like each other more, cause they're the same age. I like having brothers, but I wish they'd let me do more stuff."

As she looked over at Harmony, a dusty jivvin covered by her own tail she grinned. "You're fascinating. You know that?"

She blinked a few times as she tried to picture the things that the other Jivvin was describing, tail ticking for a second or two before she dissolved into giggles, rolling back down onto her side as she did so. "It sounds... Like your brothers should meet my sisters. Two of them are the same age; really, really big now... And old... And then there's Anoiktos and..." Her ear tilted as she pondered the yellow Jivviness before glancing around to see if she just might be lurking around somewhere. "She's kind of scary... But not really scaryscary... Just quiet scary. She watches everything. Sometimes I think she might know more than Beryl, who's really smart, but I don't know..."

She paused as she pushed herself back up onto all fours, chest puffing up. "One day I'm going to be really smart like Beryl... and really strong like Maeve." Another pause, head cocked. "What's fascinating?"

"You are." She replied, missunderstanding the question.

My brothers are called Luke and Rusty, they're twins, and they're like copies of each other only in different colours, and they're both really heavy. Luke's really smart and really funny and he's not so manly cause he's pink." She giggled suddenly as if this were the biggest joke in the world. "It doesn't really seem to bother him, but it's not something that I think most boys want to be. He's my nice brother, but he still doens't let me do the stuff I want to. They both have big wings but they don't fly because they say it's too hard, they're too heavy. My other brother is Rusty and he's green with a heavy metal leg and a mean face like this." She scowled so hard that her eyes crossed and tried her best to keep her face in that position while she talked but it only resulted in her not being able to talk without an awkward lysp. The effect was almost comical. "He's always pretending to be irritated by me, but then he watches me when I'm doing stuff, and makes sure I don't fall off the counter or anything like that. He even gives me part of his food sometimes if I really want it and takes me to the center to ice skate and stuff." She let her face unscrew itself and shook her head as if that would help uncross her eyes. When she stopped her face was normal again with a contemplative look.

"I think, when I grow up, I want to be as tall as Luke, and as piraty grouchy as Rusty."

"Wings... Wings like my wings?" Her eyes widened for a moment, the tiny appendages giving a little twitter almost as if she'd forgotten that they existed until the moment the word was mentioned. She was used to keeping them to herself, not entirely sure how they worked and not yet adventurous enough to try using them, especially not when someone was watching or warning that she might get herself hurt. "I've never met anyone else with wings before... Out of everyone I know I'm the only one who has them."

She supposed, on some level, that was her 'special thing'. Beryl had her smart and Maeve had her bold and Anoi had her... Her. Was having wings what made her a nuisance?

"Wow." She was distracted again a moment later though. "A metal leg? That's gotta be so cool. Does he swim? Can he swim? I think it'd be hard to swim with a metal leg... You'd have to hold your breath a lot and walk on the bottom of the pool. That wouldn't be any fun."

"Nope" She shook her head at the other jivvin. "They don't swim at all. When they get wet then they can't move. I think it's cause of all the metal. They don't do anything that gets them wet."

Then she stared at Harmony's wings a second before shaking her head again. "Nope. Your wings are smaller, and white. Luke's wings are as big as he is and light blue and see through like fairy wings... and Rusty's wings are even bigger and feel like the couch. They're not the same colour of the couch though, his wings are black, and the couch at my house is brown." She looked at Harmony's wings again. "I bet your wings will get a lot bigger though and I bet you could fly faster and higher than Rusty or Luke ever could." She grinned suddenly. "have you ever tried them?"

She shook her head. "Nope, never. I might get hurt or something... That's why I'm not allowed to do anything. If I tried flying I bet I'd get told that I wasn't allowed to do that either and it would be all sorts of no fun too. There's enough no fun without that being added to the list of stuff." She sighed, flopping down against one of the larger cushions. "I wonder if being a big grown up Jivvin is all about making sure little Jivvin don't have any fun at all..."

Calvin flopped down onto the sofa in the same fashion, sighing as she did so. "You know, I've often had that same thought... that maybe it's Rusty's sole purpose in life to tell me not to get up on the counter, and to make fun of me, and tell me to take a bath and clean my claws and stuff." She paused a second, recalling something that Lily had told her. "You know what else? I think it's all gorwnups, not just jivvins, cause Lily's always telling me not to do fun stuff and do unfun stuff instead... like not track mud on the carpet and stay out of trees and that kind of thing." She nodded, asserting her own assumptions in her mind.

"Well I think that when I'm big and I have a little sister, then I'll let her do whatever she wants, cause being made to be good is really no fun at all." Another thought suddenly occured to her and a worried look crossed her little tan face. "I wonder if I'll ever even HAVE a little sister... or a brother or something... What if that never happens and I'm always the little one!"

"Maybe..." She paused for a moment, the small gears in her head obviously turning as she got what had to be the best idea ever. "Maybe we don't need to have little brothers or sisters... Maybe... Maybe we just need ones our own age." Beryl and Maeve got along just fine with one another, it seemed, and they were the same age. Her eyes went wide as she pushed herself back up, tail swishing with a bit of excitement as she looked at the other Jivvin. "Maybe we should be sisters; the fun sort that you're supposed to have." Because, deep down, she was certain that having a sibling was supposed to be something completely different than having a boss.

"Then we'll grow up and be big... Or not grow up and just have fun anyways. Who needs to grow up?"

Calvin stared at the other jivvin with wide eyes. "You mean, you'd be my sister?" She thought it over. It made sense really... if she had a sister that was her own age, then maybe someone would like her as much as Luke and Rusty liked each other! That was secretly something that she felt she was missing, not that she felt unloved, just that there was an obviousl connection between her two older brothers that noone else seemed to have as far as she'd noticed.

Oh how they'd look at her different if she were to come home tonight and tell them all. She could see it now, Rusty's frowny face as he asked 'and where have you been' and Lily's worried stare... and she'd reply 'I was playing with my sister...' ... and they'd look at her with confusion and then like she was loved.

She nodded her head to the other jivvin with a smile creeping over her face, before a thought quickly over took her. "Wait, I don't even know your name... do I?" She tried to remember if she'd been told and couldn't.

"Of course you do! Sisters always know things like that... My name's Harmoniae, which is supposed to mean, well... Something... But everyone at home just calls me Harmony." She smiled brightly. "Which means you can call me that and I can call you..." Her smile faded slightly as she paused to ponder for a moment, mind racing for an answer. "What am I supposed to call you?"

"Calvin" She grinned broadly at her own name. "Rusty says it's a name for a boy but won't call me anything else. Lily calls me Cally, though, she says it's more girly." She wasn't quite sure what to say to her name being more oriented to one sex or another, but she did like the way it sounded, and she really did like saying it.

"Harmoniae and Calvin... sisters." She grinned even harder at her new 'sister' "Harmony and Cally. They sound good together don't you think?"

"I like the way it sounds." She nodded with a bright smile as she hopped down from the couch, turning around to glance up at her new 'sister'. "So... Now that we're sisters, what awesomely fun thing that we weren't ever allowed to do before should we do first? Besides go walk in the forest at night... Because that's one thing I kinda sorta agree that we shouldn't be doing. It's kind of scary out there, which is why I ran as fast as I could to get here before it got too dark. I've never spent the night here before though..."

Calvin would never admit that the forest scared her a little in the dark as well, so she siezed on a part of the statement that didn't include that. "I've never spent the night here either... I Imagine that if I stayed away all night Luke and Rusty would come and get me and make me wish I'd been more good." She thought for a moment about that. "I'm not sure that spending the night here is such a good idea, but it does sound like fun! Maybe we should do it sometime!" She hopped down off the sofa with a thud and started to pad out of the room. "I think that we should start by doing the things that we have been told not to do. Like stay out of trees, only this time we don't stay out at all, and not to get up on the counters, only this time we get up on them and jump from one to another."

She turned to Harmony. "What are some of the things you've been told not to do then?"

"Not staying here all night would mean going home in the dark though..." Her brow furrowed slightly as she let her gaze drift towards the window not all that far from them. The only time she'd ever walked around after dark she'd been in the company of Maeve and the elder Jivviness had done a lot of grumping about having to come out to find her. "So maybe we can save the climbing trees thing for when it's bright and sunny outside? But climbing up on counters sounds good... And maybe while we're up there we can find some sort of snacks. Like cookies? I've been told that I shouldn't eat too many of those. I don't know why though... They're really good.

"Alright then..." She grinned and started off down the hall towards the kitchen. "We're on a cookie hunt." In all honesty the thought of going back home in the dark didn't appeal to her either, so if she had to stay here all night and be the victim of an unfair puhishment then so be it. And Harmony was right... the tree climbing could certainly wait until the morning when the sun had come back up.

When the approached the kitchen door, Calvin threw herself against the frame and peered around the corner as if she reall were hunting something... then she launched into the room with a roll that sent her into the legs of a stood, knocking it down on her.

With a grin she extracted herself from the tipped over stool and spent a second to look over her tail and make sure it made it out too, then she leapt up onto the countertop and turned to the cupboards. There really wasn't all that much space between her and the bottoms of the cupboards, but that didn't stop her from wedging herself in and prying open a door with her tail "Where do you suppose the cookies are kept anyway?"

She followed after Calvin, a bit quieter than the other drada and a bit more cautiously, nearly jumping out of her skin as the stool clattered to the floor. Once she'd regained a bit of her composure she scampered closer to her new 'sister' just in time to watch her launch herself at the counter. "That was a nice jump." She grinned, tail swishing back and forth behind her before her whole backside wiggled as she prepared to leap at the counter as well.

Her leap wasn't nearly as graceful, leaving her scrambling a bit before she finally managed to straighten herself out, just narrowly avoiding bumping her head off of the counter above her. "Usually in jars... Or on shelves that are up a lot higher than I can reach."

"You can't reach them because you don't have hands..." Her voice seemed to float up from the quiet corner she'd been curled up in, body slowly stretching out as claws tapped on the tile floor. "It's a lot easier to nose around in cupboards that are up that high when you have them, I've heard..."

Calvin hit her head off the cupboard above her when Anoiktos spoke into the room. After a moment the throbbing in her little skull died down enough to let her speak, but not to speak nicely. She glared over at the bigger jivvin and frowned her best Rusty immitation. "Don't be silly. Jivvin's don't have hands. And don't know know it's not nice to scared us like that?" She turned to Harmony with a sigh. "She talks to you like Rusty talks to me... is she one of your sisters that doesn't let you do anything fun?"

"That's Anoiktos." She said with a soft sigh of her own, leaning closer to Calvin. "She's the scary one who I don't think likes me very much..." She whispered softly, not knowing that she was bound to be heard anyways somehow, even if it was only because her whisper wasn't really all that quiet.

"I didn't mean to scare you." She chuckled softly, something about the sound of that saying otherwise. "And some Jivvins have hands. Harmony's too young to know Aaralyn, our older 'brother', I suppose you could call him... But he has hands. Two of them, with fingers two... He has claws too, when he wants to." She nodded slowly as she stalked closer to the cupboard. "I heard you leave the house and I thought I'd follow... Beryl and Maeve have been so preoccupied lately. You might want someone to walk you home."

She huffed softly at that. "I don't need anyone to walk me home. I'm going to stay here with Calvin."

Calvin nodded conspiritorily, suddenly seeing the possibility of having to stay here alone once this older jivvin too her new sister away. "That's me. I'm Calvin in case you couldn't guess." As she looked over this new jivvin, she noticed that she didn't really look all that mad. Really she just looked like a slightly amused girly version on Luke and Rusty without wings... and not pink or green... or anthing like them really. She wondered what Harmony would think of Luke or Rusty, and shoved that thought to the back of her head.

"If they had hands then they're not jivvins right?" That thought puzzled her. Lily had hands... but jivvins had claws... "And how can you have hands AND claws? That would get in the way of fingers." She said it half in question and half in childish knowitall statement. It made no sense. No sense at all.

But then something struck her. "Older brother!" She turned to Harmony... "She thinks you have an older brother!"

"I don't have an older brother." Her nose wrinkled as she took a moment to look at Anoiktos as if she were crazy. "I think I'd know about something like that..."

She couldn't help but chuckle at that, sitting back so that she could be comfortable while looking up at the other two. "I don't think... I know. He taught Maeve and Berly a good bit of what they know and he looked after me for a time." She nodded slowly. "He and the red Daewl he made friends with, although I haven't seen either of them in some time... Both of them have hands. Aaralyn uses them to cook and claws to run. They would get in the way if he had them both at once, but he doesn't." She said in a matter-of-fact tone. "One day you'll see... Soon enough, I'm sure. Maeve and Beryl have a secret."

She shrunk down slightly, shoulders drooping as her ears went back. "Why would they have a secret? That doesn't make any sense." She huffed, shaking her head as she tried to rid her mind of any pouting. "I'm not leaving anyways. I'm staying here with Calvin and we're going to climb trees in the morning."

"That's right, big trees." She nodded her head and began the search for cookies anew. "We're going to do all the things that we're not allowed to do. All the fun things. We've decided that we're sisters, her and me, and because we're both the same age like her real older sisters and my real older brothers, then we'll be much happier and better off that way." she flipped open a cupboard and refused to think about being able to choose between having claws and fingers. First of all it STILL didn't make any sense, and second, if this bigger jivvin thought that Harmony had an older imaingary brother then who was she to know whether or not some jivvins had hands.

(( Calvin, Harmony, Anoiktos, and Rusty :: Continued ))

Her own brows lofted at the partial conversation she heard, rather amused by Calvin's imagination. She stepped up alongside Rusty as the other opened the door, watching the two tumble onto the floor in front of them. "Well, well... What have we here? It looks like the little marauders are trying to trade in their title for something new... Snoop, perhaps?"

Having been leaning close enough to Calvin she too fell when the door opened, tripping over her new sister's body to land on top of her with a soft 'oof'. That wasn't supposed to happen... "Oooh..." She glanced up at the two larger Jivvin with a sheepish smile. "... Hello."

Rusty shook his head as his snoopy little sister and her new friend tumbled into the room. He wasn't surprised of course, but he also wasn't entirely sure how to react to the situation... normally he'd have just pushed Calvin aside and told her to find her own fun without bothering him. In fact, that was probably a good idea. "What's the matter, couldn't find enough things to keep you busy without spying on us?" Despite the fact that he was mildly anoyed with her, his face had a slight grin passing across it.

Calvin rolled her eyes and gently shifted, rolling over and pushing Harmony off of her. "Spy is better than snoop, but I still like marauders the best." Standing up, she shook herself off and grinned at Rusty. "So didja punch her, or didja kiss her?" And then without waiting for an answer she turned to Harmony with a confused smile... "If they get married, I think that makes us sisters again."

This time she could feel her own face heating beneath the soft coat of yellow fur, finding herself as a momentary loss for words. She shook it off quickly enough, resuming her own cool demeanor as her tail swished before curling around her feet, draping across her front paws. "I would say that there is a very fine line between spy and snoop and the two of you are toeing it." She nodded slowly.

"Married?" Her eyes went wide as she looked at Calvin for a moment before looking over at Rusty as she pushed herself back up onto her own paws. "You listen here. If you're going to marry my sister then you've gotta be nice to her." Her little brow furrowed as she nodded before turning to glance at Calvin again. "Wait... Why would they get married if they just met each other? Do you think they knew each other before now? Or is it one of those... Those arranged things?"

At Harmony's suggestion Rusty laughed... actually laughed out loud, one good laugh that sounded surprisingly like a duck quacking once. "What kind of books are you reading? Or is it tv? How is it that a little kid like you even knows about arranged marriages? And if we were arranged to be married, then why would be hit each other?" He wasn't sure if he was completely amused or completely confused.

Calvin rolled her eyes again. Adults were so stupid sometimes. "Duh, stupid. If you had an arranged marriage then you probably didn't like each other to begin with, and then you'd get into more arguements that way cause you weren't meant to be together... " with that last thought she frowned at Ani knowingly. "And just so you know, hitting him OR Luke really hurts. They have a lot of metal in them, and it's like running into a brick wall." her scowl dropped even further as yet another thought occured to her. "And if you're sitting together in the dark watching tv, he's not the best pillow... and it really hurts when he accidentally steps on your foot or tail..." All truths in Calvin's experience.

Rusty was now blushing again, but for another reason... All the things that Calvin said were true...

"I'm not a little kid. I'm, I'm... A big kid." She nodded, not entirely sure that was all that much better beyond knowing that it was better to be big than little. "And I didn't see it on TV or read it in a book. I heard one of the people at our house talking about it." Or something like that, at least. The weird one with the horns had been telling the crazy lady that arranged marriages generally weren't practiced in Gaia, wherever that was, and that she was certain her daughters wouldn't enjoy being 'set up' no matter how 'cute' she thought the guys were... Whatever that meant.

Her brow quirked again as she listened to Calvin go on for a bit. "Well, I suppose it's a good thing I don't watch television then, isn't it? I prefer a good book and my imagination over someone else's imagination brought to life on a screen... And it generally hurts when someone steps on you, no matter who they are." She nodded slowly, uncertain as to why she was trying to defend Rusty from Calvin's truths. "For that matter... I wasn't planning on hitting him either. You've nothing to worry about. Your brother is completely safe."

Rusty smiled to himself, uneasily... though he found himself glad that the conversation wasn't making him feel completely down on himself. Instead of a reply, he just pursed his lips at Calvin in a frown and shook his head at her.

Calvin did her best impersonation of a shrug and turned away from them both as if she were leaving the room. "Suit yourself. But just remember what I said if he gets annoying and you do want to hit him." Turning to Harmony, she consulted the other jivvin in another 'almost' whisper. "If we leave them alone, do you think they can be trusted?"

"I don't know..." She 'whispered' in return as she leaned close to Calvin before looking over her shoulder at Ani and Rusty, watching them for a moment before her attention shifted back to her friend. "... You don't think they'll really kiss or anything, do you?" Her nose wrinkled at the thought. Yes, that was something that adults did... But really, her sister? With Calvin's brother?

Her eyes rolled at that as she shook her own head, ignoring the two younger Jivvin in favor of letting her attention drift back to Rusty. "... I believe you were about to say something before we were interrupted by the little snoops."

Calvin looked at her brother, scrutinizing him up and down quietly before she burst out laughing. "naw, he won't kiss her." She hopped to her feet, suddenly wishing she had another cookie. "C'mon, we got treasure downstairs waiting for us." With one last glare at Rusty, she trotted out of the room.

He watched Calvin leave with a little bit of amusement at his sister's antics, and then turned to Ani again. "Was I? What was it we were talking about... books..." He glanced at the book at his feet, oh yeah, he'd been leaving... "I was goingto say, that if you didn't mind, I'd rather stay here in the library as well, with the books, and such. The chairs... they're better in this room."

"For treasure!" She shouted with delight as she scrambled after Calvin, nudging her friend's shoulder with her own before taking off ahead of her. "Race you!"

"I don't mind." A soft smile curved the corners of her muzzle as she turned to head back to the chair she'd been occupying, peering over her shoulder at Rusty as she placed one paw up on the chair's cushion. "All things considered, it might be better if we stick together... Safety in numbers if the two of them decide to make a comeback." Her smile turned into a smirk as she pulled herself up onto her chair, turning to make herself comfortable before flopping back down.

Never one to be passed up in a race, Calvin leapt into a run with a joyful squeal. She ran down the hall, leaping back and forth trying to avoid obstacles and not trod on Harmony, but she wasn't doing a very good job. When they reached the doorway to the 'cave' she smacked into the doorframe with her shoulder and went spinning to the side. When she came to a stop it was tangled in the corner of a rug and the legs of a chair... and she was giggling so hard she thought she might wet herself.

Rusty nudged his book up into a position where he could grab at it with his teeth again, and retreated to a chair of his own. The one he chose wasn't terribly far away, not the other side of the room or anything, but it wasn't right next to Ani. Balancing the book on the arm of the chair, he laughed once again. "Not afraid of the snakes in the woods, or the darkness, but put two little Jivvin Drada in a room together and call them pirates, and suddenly the adults need 'safety in numbers'." he was grinning, because it was a true statement. And besides, if he was stuck here keeping an eye on Calvin then it would be good to have company.

She, on the other hand, saw Calvin hit the door frame and tried to stop herself from doing the same, claws doing nothing to stop her from stumbling as she began to skid across the floor, gliding right past Calvin to tumble into the side of the couch. Somewhere it registered that it should probably hurt but her giggles, along with the sound of Calvin's, seemed to cancel that out. "That..." She gasped between peals of laughter. "... Was awesome."

She laughed at that herself, nodding slowly before resting her head against the arm of the chair. Although her eyes closed the light of her smile was still enough to convey both her amusement and her contentment. "Sad but true, isn't it? The imagination can be a dangerous enough thing on its own... But when combined with that of a comrade? Perhaps the Center isn't safe tonight." A slight smirk inched in on her smile. "If we're lucky they'll wear themselves out and sleep like logs."

Amid her giggles Calvin managed to extract herself from the chair legs without tipping it over, and she crawled over to here Harmony lay. Still giggling she flopped down right next to the other jivvin. "We should do it again, but we gotta wait till I can breathe again."

Rusty did a full turn in his chair and then flopped down in an unintentional immitation of Ani. Resting his head on the arm of the chair he glanced over at her breifly before taking notice of the door. "I count myself lucky every night that Calvin doesn't wake for one reason or another... I count myself even luckier if I manage to sleep through it even when it does happen." He turned his head slightly in a sort of shrug. "Not that I'm complaining, Lily takes good care of Calvin, so I don't do much other than come to get her when she dissapears and take her places so she's out of the house. Truth be told? I'm glad she finds friends so easily."

She took a deep breath, releasing it in another bout of giggles as she rolled over, resting her head against one of Calvin's front legs. "I bet... If we got a really, really good run... We could slide the whole way down the hall." She nodded slowly as she looked up at Calvin. "We'd just have to make sure there wasn't anything like a shelf or table with glass stuff on it that we could run int."

Pondering his words for a moment she nodded her own agreement. "I didn't have friends when I was their age... Honestly? I don't think I wanted them. Now?" One brow lofted over the eye that opened so that she could look at Rusty for a brief moment before closing her eye again. "I can't say that I know for certain whether I want them myself even now... But it would be good for Harmony to have them. Maybe she and Calvin will be able to keep each other out of too much trouble after a while?"

"Maybe." He tried to agree with that point in his head, but couldn't really. "No, I bet they'll just feed each other and feed each other until they both collapse in complete exhaustion. Calvin's crazy at home, but never as much as she is when she's got followers or other jivvins to bounce off of." He chuckled. "She's infectious." Nuzzling his book down into the chair beside him, he stared at it without opening it. "As far as friends... I don't think I have any... never had any. But my brother... We're twins, he's the same age and gender and size, with metal in him like I've got... not on his leg mind you, but metal on the inside... and he's the same colours that I am in all the opposite ways." He paused on that, comparing himself to Luke, knowing in his head that Luke was better settled and much more in tune with other jivvins. The pink jivvin even had others that he considered his friends... "He'll go far in life. I'm better looking though." He said with a grin, completely unconvinced.

Calvin wrenched her small body to it's feet with a grin and panted her way into the hall. glancing up and down she didn't see any glass topped tables, but she also noted that she couldn't tell what was one them from her current angle. Leaping awkwardly up and down she decided that there were only books, a lamp, and a bowl of little glass marbles on the small table to her left. Shrugging, she turned to Harmony. "Nothing important up there."

"You and your brother sound like Beryl and Maeve... Only they aren't twins. They just happened to hatch at the same time." Although she would never admit it she had found herself wondering at least once whether or not things would have been different if she had been the same age as her elder sisters. Each time she'd come to the same conclusion though; they wouldn't have been. Things were as they were because they were meant to be.

"Beryl is... Beautiful. She has something about her that I can never put my paw on. Maeve is..." She smirked softly, shaking her head slowly. "Stubborn. Mulish and a bit cranky, but reliable. I think she complains just to hear her own voice." She could picture each of them easily in her head. "Harmony is sweet and I... I'm not sure what I am." Other than talkative, it seemed. This was the most she'd said to anyone in some time.

"Hm... Which end of the hall do you think we should start on?" Her brow lofted as she glanced back and forth between the two ends. One of them had to be better for sliding than the other; the trick was figuring out which was which.

"I dunno." Calvin surveyed both ends for a moment, and even walked halfway down one side before returning to Harmony in the middle. "I suppose we'll just have to try both ends... only not at the same time." She snort-laughed. "Cause even though that would be awesome we might not be able to go again after we crash into each other."

Rusty had sat up partially when she'd started describing her family. He found the whole thing interesting, and was discovering a new fact to life... actually talk and actaully listen and making friends could be easier than he had previously thought. Not only was this the most anyone had ever said to him, it was the nicest he'd ever been treated by a stranger, and it was the most interest he'd had in someone else's story.

"Sound like... sounds like you have a large family." Not that large considering that there were four in his family... Lily, calvin and of course Luke. "But as far as I can tell... Jivvin families have a tendancy to either be really large, or really small... and there's usually more than just jivivns."

"I think... We should skid to the other end first." She nodded down to the end of the hallway furthest from the entrance to their secret hide out. "That way... If it's too much we can just skid back down and be close to our door and our treasure." It would also be important to look out for the dust bunnies again, just in case they decided to come back.

"We do... More if you count Aaralyn, but he hasn't been home in some time." Most likely because he had made his own home. She enjoyed visiting him from time to time though and did so more often than either of her elder sisters did. "And you're right. There's also more than just Jivvins in our home. It's an interesting mesh, but I think we've all managed to learn a lot from it, even if some of us have done so mostly from observing." She paused for a moment, eyes opening slowly as she glanced over at Rusty. "There's something about you, you know... There has to be. This is the most talking I've done to anyone other than myself since the last time I ventured into the woods to visit Aara... He likes to listen too."

"That's a good idea." Cavlin nodded with a grin and trodded off down the hall in the direction that Harmony had directed. When she got there, she turned and stared at the hall. "You're full of good ideas. First you found the cave and then you suggested getting our treasure, then you wanted to spy on Rusty and your bigger sister, and now this." She grinned at Harmony. "You're a good marauder." And without a second moment's thought, she launched herself down the hall at near full speed.

Rusty thought about that a moment. "I think I'm just in the right place at the right time." Wasn't that the truth! "That we were both looking for someone to talk to and to listen to without even knowing that's what we wanted." ... "It's... wierd... to be surrounded by others all the time and yet... you can still feel so alone... like you're the only one like you." He had to laugh at that. "Even though there might be two of you with green and pink fur, yellow spots and funny looking wings."

She was nearly beaming with pride at the compliments she was getting from Calvin, used to having most of her ideas turned down. This was a big change; having good ideas instead of ones that were just silly according to her older sisters. Then she saw Calvin take off, her own tiny body shifting eagerly before she took off after her friend, slamming on the proverbial breaks halfway down the hall to start a skid that soon had her sliding, the hall soon filled with laughter.

"Maybe that's it." Her smile seemed to brighten a bit as she closed her eyes, once more resting her head against the arm of the chair. "If it makes you feel any better, I don't think your wings are funny looking. We could probably convince Harmony and Calvin that you were a dragon, you know... If we wanted to play along with their games." Play. Now there was a concept that was almost foreign to her. She couldn't remember playing like the two little dradas were but stories and make-believe weren't all that hard to fall into. "I like your wings."

Calvin went up on her claws halfway down the hall, thinking that surely the smooth texture on her claws would give less resistance and she'd go faster... but her front right paw got caught in a floor nick for a split second, once again sending her flailing forward onto her face. With the momentum of her body, her tail, rear end and back legs all flipped up over her head and she skidded to a stop in a very comical position. When she skidded to a stop, she let her back end flop to the floor, and giggled. It was good for Calvin that faceplanting was almost a prefered pastime... one of her very favourite things to do.

"Thanks..." He was very glad that she didn't think his wings were wierd. They were, of course, but he wouldn't press that point right this very moment. And he also thought it was strange that he could spend his entire life wanting to be normal, only to have so many others point out how different he was and how it wasn't all that bad... it was an intersting twist on things he thoguht. "Play along huh?" Rusty had a good idea what Calvin would be up to right now. "If Calvin is being bossy... which I know she is... and doing whatever she pleases... which of course she is, then in order for you and I to play along, we'd have to jump on sofas, run the hallways, pretend to be pirates or spys or Germans or even German pirate spies... we'd have to eat plenty of cookies and know the story of pinocchio backwards forwards and be willing to speculate on the viscoscity of whale boogers." He laughed. "Is that the kind of play you're up for?"

She was still giggling as she slid down the floor, the sound stopping as she ran into the wall just beneath the table (narrowly missing actually knocking into the small table itself). The laughed started again as she shifted to peer out from beneath her tail and paws, seeking out her companion. "... You ok, Cally?"

Her own laughter joined his as she shook her head slowly. "No, I don't think so... Not tonight, at least. It's more comfortable in here than I'd thought it would be. For once having company is considerably more pleasant than enjoying the silence..." Of course, depending on what the little ones were up to she wasn't sure how much quiet she would have had either way... But this was still nice.

Calvin pulled up from the floor. "Yeah. You?" She peered down the hallwayin the other direction. "I think that way is going to be even better." As she trotted down the hall again. This time she fully intended to skid on fur instead of claws. As she inspected her tail trying to figure out whether or not she could use it to slide on, she gave a yawn.

Rusty grinned and tried not to sound too eager. "So you're saying you'd consider jumping on the sofas and pretending to be German tomorrow?"

"Mmhm." She grinned, barely managing to keep back a yawn of her own after seeing and hearing Calvin's yawn. "One more and then we retreat?" Her brow lofted slightly. All of this running around was starting to make her tired and, judging by how dark it was peering out the window, it was a lot later than she was used to staying up... But staying up past bed times was something on that list of things that she'd been meaning to do and, at the moment, she couldn't think of anyone better to do it with.

A slight grin curved her muzzle as she shifted her head off of the arm of the chair, resting it on her paws instead, tail giving a light swish before curling around her. "Maybe... If you'll pretend to be a dragon."

"Yeah." Calvin nodded. "Maybe. But I'm not tired." She tucked her tail over her head to keep it in front of her, yawned one more time and then started her run. She hit a good speed and hit the brakes halfway down the hall, so she threw her tail at the floor and hopped on it. It turned out to be a good move as far as skidding was concerned. She spun in a slow circle as she 'skated' down the hall, and was able to laugh the whole way without her muzzle pressed into the hardwood floors. When she finally skidded to a stop, her giggling died down and she realized that she was indeed tired... but she also knew that she couldn't admit that. She smiled over at Harmony and padded her way into the room. Jumping up on the couch she turned a short circle and plopped down onto the cushion. "We probably should stay above the cave tonight, just to keep a better watch on the treasure." She yawned again. "you ever seen Snoopy? He sleeps on his cave."

Rusty smiled and tipped open his book. "I've never pretended to be a dragon before. I imagine I could be quite good at it."

Her own skidding was half-hearted this time, more due to her own tiredness than anything else. This time she yawned as well as she pushed herself up onto all fours to follow after Calvin. "It's okay if you're not tired... I'll be tired this time." She nodded slowly, yawning once more as she pulled herself up onto the couch alongside her friend, flopping down close to her. "Treasure will be safe with the dust bunnies on guard duty... We can have cookies for breakfast and then climb trees and..." One more large yawn interrupted her rambling as she settled down. "G'night, Cally..."

"That's the deal then." She nodded slowly, smiling. Even though she doubted Rusty would be able to see it, she was sure he'd still hear the smile in her voice. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it then... In the morning?"

"Dust bunny guards..." She chuckled sleepily. "we'll have the best dang trained bunnies in the world." As her head flopped to the sofa, she near enough fell asleep on the spot... "Night..." She mumbled.

"In the morning then." He smiled back at her quickly before attending better to his book. "Sleep well."

(( 2009 Meta :: Molly, Calvin, Harley, Rhenus, Canaan, Shenta, Lusivan, Dici, the 'Ghost/Dragon' ))

They had searched high and low after leaving the library, little Harley and Molly, and found the biggest, strongest people they could who would actually believe a word they were saying. Rhenus and Calvin, whose imaginations were several times more ridiculous even than the Usts', had agreed readily enough to the daunting task of rescuing books for a dragon, and followed enthusiastically up the mountainside that was the grand stairway, in search of the dragon's lair.

The library was quite as they had left it when Harley boldly led the way inside, tail held high as she proudly displayed the find for their new companions. "See? Treasures galore, jus' like we told ya! But don't run off with anything yet, we get our pick once we get the book down for the dragon. Right, dragon?" she chirped, fully expecting the appearance of the astonishing figure to startled her friends.

A long moment went by with no affirmation, but, not to be put out, Harley simply continued into the library. "He's probably waiting by the book."

Molly was treading in little worried circles around the room trying to stay by a larger jivivn at all times. At the moment she was standing almost underneath Rhenus, but only because Calvin was too excitable and Molly'd already been stepped on twice. "Harley... where is he?" When the dragon didn't appear out of the air like he had before, the little giraffe spotted jivvin began to worry even more. The only thing more scary than a dragon, was an invisible dragon.

Calvin, on the other hand, was ready and rearing for a fight. She didn't doubt in the least that there was a dragon up here... after all, it was a castle *or it used to be she thought* and that's where dragons went when they wanted trouble... oh and trouble was fun. Calvin grinned over at Rhenus. "I don't see a dragon, but that doesn't mean that it isn't invisible..."

"That's what I was thinking..." Came a sad mutter from Molly.

Lusivan, followed by Shenta, was exploring the House. He'd heard from another jivvin at the Center about it, and wanted to explore. Moreover, he'd told Dici about it, and was hoping to meet up with her there.

So far, the 'adventure' had been relatively uneventful.Shenta was being rather noisier than he'd expected, and Lusivan was regretting his promise to play with her, especially since he hadn't seen anyone or anything particularly interesting yet. But that door ahead looked interesting...the light was on, at least...

"What's that up ahead, Lusi? Why's the light on?" Shenta couldn't stop bouncing. She was finally getting to play with her brother! Admittedly nothing interesting had happened yet, but the day was far from over!

"Shhh! Do you hear that?" Lusivan gently squashed his sister with one paw as he heard voices up ahead, in that room. He didn't hear much, but there was something about...Treasure? He released his sister and crept closer, hoping to peer through the crack where the door was ajar.

"Lusi! Don't do that!"

"Shhh!"

"Don't worry, Molly, Calvin slays dragons all the time." Rhenus offered the younger Jivvin a bright smile. He was cool and collected, and completely unaffected by the situation. Having spent a great deal of time with both Coen and Calvin, he knew how easily dragons could pop out of nowhere, especially those of the invisible variety. This was just another game.

"Hurry up, hurry up!" Harley ordered impatiently, darting behind a row of shelves and back out again to be sure her group was following. "The sooner we get the book down, the sooner I get my chair." After waiting impatiently for Calvin to reach the aisle, she led the way to the center and pointed high on the shelf to the yellowing book just visible from the floor. "That's the one. Any ideas on how to get it?"

Molly allowed Rhenus to walk again, by not hovering so close. Instead she chose to walk calmly in between the two drada with a personal reserve about her. So far no dragon, so far so good. As they left the large area by the door she could have sworn that she heard whispering... and she wondered if it was her brain playing tricks on her or not.

Calvin looked up at the book and then glanced back at Rhenus, and then back to the book. "Why that one?" It was high enough up that she wasn't going to be able to reach it, and either would Rhenus. "Well... we could stand on each other... or we could go and push a chair over here... or a table." She glanced at Rhenus, knowing that he'd want to play the game Harley's way, because Harley was not only cute, but also good at playing. "What do you think, Aztec king?"

Molly allowed Rhenus to walk again, by not hovering so close. Instead she chose to walk calmly in between the two drada with a personal reserve about her. So far no dragon, so far so good. As they left the large area by the door she could have sworn that she heard whispering... and she wondered if it was her brain playing tricks on her or not.

Calvin looked up at the book and then glanced back at Rhenus, and then back to the book. "Why that one?" It was high enough up that she wasn't going to be able to reach it, and either would Rhenus. "Well... we could stand on each other... or we could go and push a chair over here... or a table." She glanced at Rhenus, knowing that he'd want to play the game Harley's way, because Harley was not only cute, but also good at playing. "What do you think, Aztec king?"

"Because that's the one the dragon wanted," the little Uuthli drawled, rolling her eyes. She had been through the tale several times with them both on the way up the mountain. They must be old and senile and unable to remember anything more than ten minutes at a time. At Calvin's question, she glanced impatiently towards Rhenus, who shrugged and took his time about approaching the bookcase. He was an Aztec King, after all. He rushed for no one.

"If that's the one the dragon wants, then that's the one we'll have to get. D'you think a chair would be tall enough, Calvin?" The thumps back from the doorway attracted his attention, but as he started back towards them, Harley called him back. "The dragon couldn't make thumps. Who's making noise, Molly?"

Molly had been hanging back and had a much better view of the duo that had crashed into the room... When they'd crashed into the room she'd about wet herself, but it was just two other jivvins... two jivvins she'd met the other day, in fact. She didn't take her eyes off either of them but called to Harley. "It's just Lusivan and Shenta, I met them outside the other day." With a nod of her head she addressed the entrants. "If you're coming in, then do it, but be quiet... we don't want to wake up the dragon..." Then she turned the corner to where the older jivvins were surveying the books.

Calvin shrugged and glanced at the nearest chair. "I dunno... Probably not. Deffinitely not. But it's a start... and then we could get the marx sisters here to do a balancing act for us... you know..." she grinned. "Like a living jivvin pyramid?"

Shenta leapt off Lusivan and into the room. "Dragon? What dragon, where?" Mercifully she was much quieter now, but she was obviously excited. FINALLY something interesting was happening!

Lusivan grunted as Shenta pushed him down in her leap, then stood and walked into the room after her, looking all around for this 'dragon'. He doubted it really was one, but if these other jivvins were taking it seriously, then it would probably be something dangerous, and it was his duty as the older brother to protect his sister. Something they said, though, made him curious on another matter..."Marx sisters?"

"Jivvin pyramid," Rhenus agreed with a nod, and started for the chair. "Yanno, we Aztecs," the king educated, "We built all sorts of pyramid-like things. Temples." He nodded sagely to Molly as he passed her, then took a stance behind the large armchair, giving it a shove with his shoulder. It moved....fractionally. "Come give me a hand with this, Calvin, so we can build more temples later."

Harley, always helpful, hurried after Rhenus and, upon realizing she would just be in the way for attempts to move the chair, hopped up onto it instead and scrambled up the chairback to stand proudly atop it. "I'll direct you! Readyyyy, that way!" And point.

Diciembre slipped in through the cracked door and jumped along secretly. Crawling and ears stuck too her head as she heard voices. Many were here.. all she wanted to do was read another book! Damn.. she thought.. she didn't here or notice Lus.. more that she curled around to the door and looked about. Still trying to be secretive. "Dragon?" She cuued right after the Lus did. "A... king? Pyramids?" She came out in to the room.. Blinking and wagging her tail- seeing a jivvin with a chair and backed away. "I dont like this idea.."

(( 2009 Meta Continued :: Molly, Calvin, Harley, Rhenus, Canaan, Shenta, Lusivan, Dici, the 'Ghost/Dragon' ))

The dragon did not move or speak, but the book's cover twitched once, twice, and slowly, achingly slowly, rose to a perpendicular and fell open. Pages followed more quickly, turning rapidly as if blown by a gust of wind. However, with each passing page, the dragon's expression shifted from the earlier excited hunger to confusion, and on into anger. Pages spun and his expression darkened, until one gust sent a flyaway page spinning up into the air. He caught a corned deftly with a claw and slammed it back to the now-still book. The book's pages, every one of its pages, were blank. This scrap was not.

His eyes perused the parchment, intangible claws curling and uncurling through the floorboards. And quite suddenly he seemed to calm, indeed, even sadden, shoulders wilting as the fury left his body. This...this had to be some sort of mistake. This was a map. The map was large, folded several times, and old, very old--older still than the book that had hidden it. But it's path was clearly marked, and at the end...

With Canaan's question, the dragon slowly looked back up, considering the Drada for a long moment before speaking in his strange voice. "You spoke before of wanting a prize... I will give you the opportunity to earn it. All of you," he offered graciously, raising his voice to address the entire group. "This....this is not my book, Harley. It seems someone has taken it from me, and left this in its place." He seemed genuinely distraught, as if the loss of this book to such trickery was truly heartfelt.

"If you would find it for me, there are valuable treasures indeed that I would have for you. More rare and exotic than anything you see here in this room."

"Wait" Calvin suddenly found her voice, and walked over to the where the book lay on the floor. She had a question for this dragon. "You're see through... what are you gonna do with an old book? ... And anyway, who are you that you own the library chairs, and what's so important about the book?" Okay, so she had a few questions. She resisted the urge to lay a paw on the book in front of her, guessing that the dragon couldn't pick it up anyway.

Molly just shook her head at the older female. "she's gonna get eatted."

Lusivan lowered his growl, not due to the other jivvin's comments - anyone worried about insulting the creature wouldn't have demanded a bigger reward - but because he was confused. He was sure the creature was evil. It certainly put out that feeling. But...it wasn't acting evil. And despite himself, he was intrigued. Still keeping himself between his sister and friend, and the 'dragon', he glanced back at Dici.
"What do you think? Should we pursue this, or just walk away?" He didn't want to leave all these obviously clueless Ust unprotected, but if Dici wanted to get away, that was his primary concern.

Shenta was busy trying to decide whether to run and join the others - this thing certainly didn't seem mean - or stay here with Dici and Lusi. When she heard her brother, though, she knew the decision was about to be made for her - she wasn't about to stay if they left!

"Why not.. its an adventure Lus.." She unwinded her tail and gave his tail a jerk when she caught the end of it with her maw. "Its only looking for a book. Maybe he likes reading. Ever think of that- never judge a book~ by its cover." She looked to the dragon.. then at Molly and Calvin. Why was everyone seeming to be scared of it. She lived by that rule. Never judge- so she didn't fear it.. She lived in the mansion with her owner. What else would make he believe different.


"So.. You want us.. To find this book~ What does it look like. The same as that one?" Her voice was soft and a kindness to her that didn't amount to gullible but didn't amount to sophisticated neither. Normal.. Thats what she was. Looking to Lus's sister. "Looks like your making your decision as well.. I don't wanna walk away if we can help it." Her heart's will very strong.. but she wouldn't be taken down as easily as everyone thought neither.


If the dragon was surprised that Calvin would speak against him, he hid it well, and replied as calmly as ever. "Why, read it," he offered with a tone that suggested there was no other possible thing one might do with a book....which, really, wasn't too far off. "This library is mine because I was here first, and I want that book because it was taken from me." Surely those answers would be enough for children. He didn't have to, and wasn't about to, explain himself. He could tempt someone without it.

"The venture would be worth your while," he pressed once more, sweeping the scythe tail around before himself to hover over the book. It was transparent, yes, but the scythe more than dissuaded the possibility of anyone snatching the book and running. However, that was not his entire purpose; at the tip of the scythe, a low glow formed, condensing and solidifying into a glittering gemstone, which hovered in the air on the tailtip even as the light diminished. "One such gem....for each of you who goes in search. After you bring me the book."

Shenta bounced. "THat's shiny! I want one! Let's go!" Moreover, it was an adventure with Dici and her brother!


"How it looks isn't what worries me..." Lusivan mumbled, then added louder, "It looks like we're going in search as well, then." He wasn't about to leave those he cared about unprotected, after all. He smiled back at Dici, trying to be reassuring - whether for her or himself, though, he wasn't sure.

"If you're chicken, get outta here, we don't need you... but I'm staying." A nod toward Calvin's group. "And I bet they are, too, at least to keep tabs on this guy." He didn't seem too intimidated by the dragon-jivvin. After all, he didn't seem to be able to touch anything... Yet.

Canaan took it upon himself to pick up the map, considering it his own, now, and gave the dragon a long look. "This a spell book, or something? To get your powers back? I bet it's frustrating not being able to touch things." A quick grin. If it was for something like that, Canaan expected some awesome prizes. One gem? Hah. He glanced across the book to Calvin. She didn't seem the scared type. Although, it was smart to be a little cautious.

"How about we discuss payment when we see what you're getting." A slight frown. After all, they'd kind of gotten buggered over on the chair...

Calvin was chewing on her lip as she considered the deal. This was a REAL DRAGON! With some kind of magic that created crystals... She glanced at Canaan as he pciked up the map and watched him try and strike a bargain, then she turned to Rhenus and tried to guess what he was thinking... it was the age old question, when adventure comes knocking, do you answer the door?

Molly wasn't scared anymore. She was in the back of the room, and there were plenty of other jivvins in front of her, and most of them were currently between her and the Dragon. She found herself admiring Calvin and Canaan's seeming fearlessness, and was glad that she was in the back. It was easier to see what was going on from this vantage point.

The dragon chose to ignore Canaan's remarks concerning the book; he would offer no validation of them nor dismissal. Let them think what they would. "Bring me the book, and you shall have a reward fit for kings." He left it at that, and quite suddenly he was gone; creating the crystal had tapped him, now he would rest and await their return. Someone was bound to take up his challenge, foolish whelps.

With the dragon's departure, Rhenus seemed to regain some of his senses, and let his gaze wander from the enthusiastic Canaan, to Calvin, to Lusivan and his group. Harley, completely unfazed by the strange transparent dragon, struck a noble pose from her perch upon her chair--her chair--and brightly called over to Canaan. "We're in! When do we leave, are where are we going?"

"I assume the map will tell us. What doe sit show?" Lusivan walked over to take a look, his sister Shenta racing past, very eager to begin this adventure now that the decision was made and the danger apparently gone.

Canaan folded the map up neatly, shooting a glare at Lusivan, and spoke to him, briefly, before picking it up in his teeth and carefully carrying it over to where Harley sat. "I'll let you know if we need someone to do some growling. This concerns real adventurers." He didn't care if the Uuthili tagged along, but Canaan didn't like being ignored, especially by someone his own age. Let that teach him!

Harley seemed cool, though, just like Calvin. That green jivvin didn't seem bad, either. He nodded to the others, and grinned, toothily, letting the map drop onto the floor and placing a careful paw on it. "I think we should get some food to bring with us, then we can begin our treasure hunt!"

(( 2009 Meta Part II Continued :: Molly, Calvin, Harley, Rhenus, and MANY others. ))

Living in a house filled with dragons (one and her twins counted as close enough to 'filled with' in her book) she wasn't as worried about finding dragons in the woods as she was finding whatever it was that spooked Maeve; the Jivvin she thought knew no fear. She kept her eyes out either way, glancing around as she listened in on the various conversations, eventually keeping her wings folded closer to her body so as to not let the tiny appendages snag on anything.

"Calvin! Wait, dragons? I thought you were into pirates?" A dragon... Ok! He didn't know much, but he didn't want to be a bother either with questioning. He turned slightly to the rest of the group as he trotted along. "I'm Princeton! Really, I'm delighted to see you about. I was beginning to think I was on my lonesome. I get to help, right?"

Calvin rolled her eyes and shot a sly smile at Princeton, then she winked down at Harley. "I'm not into pirates... I AM a pirate. And sure there will be birds and monsters... I hear that there's giant snakes out here that can eat you whole." She nodded at that. Her Ssan information had come directly from her older brothers... so of course it wasn't great. "And you know, as fond as I am of dragons... one a day is my fill, really."

As usually, Molly listened intently and watched the others as they talked and bonded. It was educational to say the least. And as Rhenus explained about the 'lines' and that there would be things along the way that they saw which would tell them that they were going the right direction, she pictured the map in her mind. She remembered the lines and pictures printed on the surface and recalled that the first funny picture on the map looked like a rock with a bunch of squiggles all around it. She was about to say somthing about a squiggly rock, but it suddenly occured to her that the squiggles could be writing... and she couldn't read yet.

"So we're looking for a squiggly rock or a funny tree or something?" She had a feeling that if she knew exactly what they looking for, then it would be easier to find. .... that was Molly logic.

"Giant snakes?" Harley's eyes went wide, not with fear, but excitement. Pirates and birds were well enough, but giant snakes? Easily the coolest thing ever. She would have to make a point of looking for them. "Giants snakes would be even better than dragons. I wonder where they live."

"Squiggley rock sounds about right," Rhenus admitted, thinking about to the map and the first landmark. "But I don't think it's actually squiggled, I think it's carved, if I remember right. Carvings of those snakes that Harley and Calvin are talking about," he added, nodding up towards the pair. "And it'll be really big. Don't worry, though." The Afya smiled. "I bet those're the only snakes we'll actually see."

"Oh. Good choice- no whales here to swallow you up." Princeton noted in return, grinning a little. At the talk of snakes, however, he frowned a bit.

"Well I hope we don't come upon any. Because if they don't eat them, the poison might!" He didn't think overgrown garter snakes was a possibility. A carved stone... The male began to sweep his head side to side as if panning a radar. His tail twitched, curled in a loop, unwound again. Eager. Even if it didn't sound like the most 'wholesome' activity, it was better than being by himself. And he'd never met a dragon before.

"At least we're all together... If anything happens." She nodded slowly as she glanced up at Rhenus, offering a smile at both he and Molly. Traveling in groups was a good thing... That had to be why she'd always been told not to wander off by herself. At least she was with friends this time. "What are we supposed to do once we find the squiggly rocks?"

Canaan had been able to read the map quite easily, but he also read a lot, and was older than most of the group. Now though, he was content to hold the map, lost in his own thoughts. There were a lot of Jivvins in the group now... One had to wonder if the dragon really had gems for them all. In fact, one had to wonder if the dragon was really going to pay them at all.

If Canaan was him, he wouldn't pay the hoard of baby jivvins. A slight frown around the map and he rolled his shoulders, hurrying up a bit to trot along at Calvin's side. Well, it'd be an adventure nonetheless.

Calvin smiled at Canaan as he caught up to the front of the troupe. He had the map, and that was fine by her. "Snakes are..." She thought for a second. "Snakes are dangerous if you don't know what you're doing." Of course, at this point, she neglected to mention that she was one of those jivvins that had no clue what she was doing when it came to snakes. "We just need to avoid them. There's no way they can get all of us at once, but we should try and not sacrifice one to save the whole." Nod.

Molly frowned. So it was a squiggly rock they were looking for, and it was big... apparently. She began to train her eyes on the surroundings, keeping an eye out for any big squiggly rocks. The question of what they would do when the saw the rock was a good one, but she was a little creeped out by the snakes being mentioned at the front of the troupe and was trying to keep close to Rhenus without getting stepped on.

"I know exactly what I'm doing around snakes," Harley lied brightly, picking up her pace to trot before her friends, and spinning around to walk backwards so she could address the older Drada while doing so. Nevermind that she ran into one branch and tripped over another; she could see everyone better this way. "I'll protect you. I can fight 'em all!"

Rhenus might have been tall, and confident, and perhaps a little brave--but he was also an Afya, and most of that confidence depended on his knowledge that this was actually a safe situation. Despite seeing the dragon, he was fairly sure there was no threat to this adventure. He had been in the forest between the House and the Center tons of times with Coen. Surely this area wouldn't be so different. "We'll be fine," he assured Harmony once more, nodding. "Back before dinner time, I bet. It can't be too, too far."

"I know a lot about dragons... But not much about snakes other than the dragon I live with doesn't like them much. They like to live in her garden though..." She murmured, glancing down for a moment before letting her gaze drift ahead of her. She then looked back at Rhenus. "One of my sisters said that the forest is always changing... Have you heard anything about that before? It might effect our travel time a little bit."

Princeton had to smile at Harley's valiant show, in the way that he found it quite endearing of her. While he himself could not say he was exactly scared of snakes, having not seen any outside of the television, he was still wary of the idea. But everyone else seemed so confident, and it rubbed off. Even now he was beginning to feel bigger. "Okay, you're the number one snake slayer if we see any!"

Of course, he wouldn't really let an Ust try such a feat. But this was a time for big talk, and Princeton was the type to play along. He perked an ear toward Rhenus, and sidled closer to his fellow Afya almost shyly. "Is there really a dragon?" He asked as an aside to the other male, as if he thought he'd get a more straight answer that way. "I thought dragons were bad? Are we doing something bad..?" He hushed in leu of the female's question, feeling quite out of the loop for not knowing all of these things.

"You live with a dragon?" Rhenus seemed impressed, and perhaps slightly reassured. If Harmony could be so calm in the face of dragons, they surely had nothing to worry about from this one. "We're not doing anything bad," he assured Princeton with a little laugh. "We're just book hunting. And...I don't know, Harmony. Moo's mentioned something about that before, but she didn't really explain herself... She usually doesn't." He laughed. "I doubt we'll have any trouble finding it."

In point of fact, Rhenus was quite wrong. It was several hours of tramping through the trees, with the sun moving steadily across the sky to glare down at them between the branches, before there was any hint of rocks to the ground, and a good twenty minutes more across rocky, crumbling terrain before there was any sight of a large structure. Even then, then rock more found them, appearing suddenly ahead as the rounded a grove of trees in the form of a massive, open-mouthed Ssan. The single Ssan was surrounded by several others, the mass twined and bristling and carved of sheer, smooth stone, weather worn from the centuries it had stood among the trees.

Harley nearly walked down the stone Ssan's throat before she noticed it; her cheer was more of a strangled shriek, and she promptly darted back behind Calvin to hide.

Calvin stopped short and stared at the rock in front of them with her mouth hanging open a little. The rock in front of them was shaped like a giant Ssan... and it was awesome. She twirled her tail protectively over Harley more for Harley's comfort than to actually protect the Ust and turned to Canaan. "That is awesome." Then she looked back at Rhenus and Princeton with a grin. "I wish I had a camera... I'd take pictures of me laying in it's mouth looking like I was getting eaten." the thought obviously appealed to her.

Molly stepped out from between Princeton and Rhenus and approached the rock cautiously. "That does not look like a squiggly rock, that looks like a snake rock." Which come to think of it was a little squiggly. She took a few tenative steps forward and peered into the 'mouth' of the rock, imagining what it would be like to look down the gullet of such a creature. "Are they really this big?"

"Three of them." She nodded slowly. "A big, momma dragon and her two little ones... And a fairy-lady and their kids and three other Jivvin... And the Jivvin who doesn't live with us anymore but visits sometime." She could probably go on about her family for a while and perhaps she did for a while... Up until she was startled by the shriek, stumbling back herself. "Is... Is that... The rock?" She hoped so; hoped that it wasn't alive, or wouldn't come to life, backing up slowly.

"This has to be the rock," Rhenus answered quietly. He had hung back for most of the walk, guarding from behind as it were, but now edged forward to get a good look at the massive sculpture. After a long moment he again nodded, and without taking his eyes from the stone gestured for Canaan to hand over the map. "So, we've found the first landmark... We'll have to see what's next."

While Rhenus perused the map, Harley made up for her earlier fear, scooting forward and running a circle around the large stone. "This is the snakes? They're not so bad. I can handle big rocks."

"Don't go too far," Rhenus shouted after her without looking up. "So, the next thing we want to find is this stream, see." With a claw he pointed out the little trail of blue on the map, crossing the path between them and the big red X. "That'll tell us that we're getting closer."

Canaan briefly dropped the map, his jaw falling open as he stared up at the maw of the stone beast. "Woooaaaah." A bold grin was shot to Calvin, and he nodded eagerly. "Wicked awesome." Spreading the map open to get another good look, his voice was more cheerful than his thoughts had been an hour ago.

It was, after all, getting quite late. "Well, at least now we don't have so much more to go. I bet that the rest of the journey'll go a lot faster, now!"

"I wonder..." She paused for a moment before straightening herself out, standing as tall as she could. "... I wonder if the stream is large enough that you can hear it... Or if you can smell it." She knew the pond out behind her house had a distinct clear smell about it... And the stream feeding it smelled fresh, like springtime. "What direction is it in, Rhenus?"

"Woah." Was all Princeton could really say after the hours of dundering around the woods. He didn't know whether to laugh or be concerned for brave little Harley, but he did frown a little at Calvin, shaking his head while he fought a smile. "You're crazy, Calvin." He murmured, stepping closer.

"What does the map say now?" He wondered. "Do we have to go in... there?" He felt a little weird already walking into a snake's gullet, rock or no.

"That's a good idea, Harmony," Rhenus agreed, nodding enthusiastically as he rolled up the map once more. "We'll probably hear the stream before we see it. Canaan's right, though, it should be easier to find than this rock was. Bigger." Rhenus was a very matter-of-fact sort. Take one step at a time, and do it right. "Let's get going, we don't want to get stuck out here overnight."

She shook her head quickly in agreement. Although she wasn't all that sure that the forest was as scary as she'd been told, she didn't think she wanted to chance it by being stuck out here overnight, even with others. "Let's get going... The sooner we find the stream and that silly book the sooner we can get back to the center."