Welcome to Gaia! ::

Micha'el felt his foot hit the ground and felt a wave of relief moved up his body. He regained his vision just as quickly as he had lost it, and quickly looked around to take in his surroundings. They were in an entirely different place, one that had a sky above them, obstructed by a few leathery canopies that clung to the side of medieval looking buildings. Heavy rain was falling all around them, hitting the ground nearby and forming shallow puddles across the blocky pavement. lightning cracked and thunder struck as Micha'el turned round to come face to face with a middle-aged man staring at them in bemusement. He looked rough, perhaps he was younger than he looked under his scruffy bear and sodden leather cap. He appeared human. "YOU NEARLY KNOCKED ME OFF MY FEET!" he shouted, raising an angry fist into the air as black smoke engulfed him and dissipated, revealing a werewolf form, fitted with leather clothes that was able to withstand the transformation. "Bloody vampire sending anyone who begs for it through this damned portal. Get out of here, you blighters" the Therian's voice had become much deeper after his transformation, and a wonky jaw of teeth growled at Team Sun until they ran from the canopy and out into the wet street.

"Well" Lottie said, "I'll guess this is Southmarch." The alley was long and wide, paved perfectly from one end to the other. Merchants set up shop in the lower rooms of buildings on either side, lit up with an orange glow from various lanterns. Canopies hung over the entrance to some shops, whilst others drowned in the never-ending storm. Various signs and lanterns hung from above, giving a subtle glow to the street whilst a fog loomed high above the roofs of the tall but narrow buildings. Lottie couldn't help but feel a sense of subtle quality here. Though understated, it had a much more welcoming feel to it than the previous Greymarket. That was until someone barged passed them, cursing at them with a well-pronounced accent. "Still the same types of people though" she sulked, looking down at her wet skirt before gazing up at Micha'el, who had already accepted his fate. "Here" he said, whipping off his coat to lay it over her shoulders. She was so short that it barely kept off the ground, but did the job. Various people were moving about the greymarket, some looked more distinguished than others. "What were you thinking?" Micha'el suddenly said, glaring at Tsuna, "we had money - I had money. The guy wasn't going to rip us off until you tried to one-up him in his own shop! And Malika - now we're gonna be hunted down by two people from the Playground!" Micha'el ran a tense hand through his hair, letting out a heavy sigh as he said "they won't even do it themselves."
"Micha'el..." Lottie attempted to reach for him, but he pulled away, scowling. "No! I'm leading us out of this place to find somewhere dry before anyone in this market joins the queue." Micha'el began to march away, not caring whether he was followed or not - but he knew that Lottie would come. She looked to Tsuna, worried she might also leave. Her eyes pleaded with her teammate, don't go. "It's not your fault" she said, knowing that something was bothering Micha'el, "if... if you leave... he won't apologise. I don't want our team to fall apart again."

Lottie couldn't help but let out a small, relieved gasp when Tsuna took her hand. She isn't leaving she thought, overcome with a mellow joy. "I'm glad" she said, smiling softly as she moved forward with Tsuna to follow Micha'el.

It wasn't long until Micha'el had taken them into an inn located at the very end of the greymarket, it was typical of any inn you might have read about in story books, though this place was quite well put together. Together they got a room, and Micha'el didn't speak the entire time until Tsuna had cornered him alone in their room as Lottie began to take a warm shower. Micha'el had placed himself on a seat beside a small table at the rooms window, overlooking the Greymarket beneath them. He didn't make eye-contact with Tsuna as she approached, nor did he respond immediately. She wasn't wrong, nor did he feel she was completely right. He clenched his jaw, which then turned into pursing his lips together as anger turned into an altogether different emotion. Sorrow. His tightened fist trembled and reluctantly showed some anxiety as he hid his hand beneath the table. He took in a breath as a single tear fell down his cheek, still looking out the window. "I..." he voice cracked, "I visited The Playground a lot... as a kid." Micha'el let out another shaky breath, tapping his leg as a distraction from the bottle up emotions. "My brother used to bring me there - buy me gifts... show me around and we'd meet a lot of people. it was so exciting. Malika wasn't talking about me, earlier. It was him. I was just a third-wheel to his scheme to barter a good deal for power with anyone that he could. When he eventually turned against the Guildeam, it destroyed my mum... she - she would..." Micha'el's lips curled as a whimper escaped him, "I watched her become a husk of a person. They would fight, a drink here became a drink there. No dinner tonight, an extra drink before bed. I thought she would start to get better when Zoltan left us... then she took me to the Playground herself... began dreamweaving to forget and make-believe. Instead of day-drinking and nightly dru-... she began forgetting. She was so scared of my brother that she would rather forget the precious memories, so she could replace the bad ones with good dreams - just so she could survive. And then when my brother vanished she forgot all about the greymarket. It was as if the universe forgot who he was and suddenly my mum was back for the first time in a very, very long time. But she would recall things... things that she enjoyed with us both, as if it was just me. You saw it earlier, Malika remembered what she did with my brother, but she thought it was me. I don't know what happened to him, I don't really care. But do you know how difficult it is to live my life in a world that isn't the one I remember? I thought going back would be okay, that life is over - but apparently im too weak to move on like everyone else evidently has." He finally turned to face Tsuna, tears welling in his eyes.

"Why did Zoltan vanish, Tsuna? Why don't I get to forget, too?"

Micha'el let Tsuna hold his face, it was almost a motherly touch. He was actually surprised that Tsuna of all people made such a gesture but he didn't give it further thought as she reassured him that she was happy to have him here, and not his brother. Micha'el's tears fell but she was sure to wipe them away, and with it a small weight on his chest too. He was relieved to know that he wasn't just becoming a strange blur of his brother. Her pep talk helped him to control his crying for a few moments, and her last comment made him pause. Avenge? he asked himself. He hadn't quite thought of it like that, and from an outsiders perspective... why wouldn't he want revenge? But he's my big brother he told himself, quickly choosing not to defend Zoltan out loud. As she pulled him in for an embrace he held her back tightly, appreciating every moment. He let it continue for a minute or two, just resting his head into her shoulder as his wimpering began to finally subside. Then, as he pulled away, Micha'el smile slightly. He then wiped a tear from his cheek before locking eyes with Tsuna. "Do you... think that he could still be out there? Do you think he made everyone forget him? Is it bad I don't want the world to remember him? Mum - she's so happy now..."

Micha'el nodded to her teammate, rubbing his eyes on his damp sleeve when Tsuna idly muttered a name he didn't recognise. "Lea?" he asked, dumbfounded after she said he smelled like that person. "Right" he said in reply to her remark about scents and the rain. He wasn't going to go into it any further, who was he to question the nose of a Therian? She then gave him some advise before leaving to find them food, which he was eager to follow. After Tsuna left, Micha'el waited for Lottie to emerge from the bathroom, where she skipped across the cold wooden floor and onto the rug to warm her bare feet. she'd brought a basic cream tunic and crimson pleated skirt with her as spare clothes. She locked eyes with Micha'el and noticed his face looked puffy. "Hey" she said, raising a brow, "did... you two fight?"
"No" Micha'el said, giving a small smile, "we're good." Lottie's eyes shun as she pulled a small smile too, "It's uh... free in the shower now. You should warm up and dry off." Micha'el nodded.

The Greymarket outside was still wet, the heavy rain had turned into a light, dampening drizzle. The people of the market didn't care however, continuing on with their trades. This place was certainly more cosy than the other Greymarket, and it was obviously smaller. However it was still by no means any less shady. But it would entirely depend on who you were. For many, these places were the only place to get essentials. Perhaps rules were less strict in Therias. It was a recently renewed kingdom after all. There were a few small vendors selling food items, mostly unrecognisable snacks or ingredients, but there was some recognisable Therian food. Mostly smoked meats and broths. The meat was apparently paired with complimenting fruits. Therians had a good tongue for taste apparently.

Micha'el felt much better after his shower, it actually felt like he had washed away much of his worry with it. He was actually surprised that the Therians had such good plumbing systems already, considering their city was an abandoned, medieval wreck only a few years ago. He'd pulled on some lounge trousers, they were a blue tartan pattern, and left the bathroom whilst drying his head off with a towel. As he stepped into the room he'd completely forgotten he wasn't alone until he pulled down the towel and crossed eyes with Lottie, who had to break from her stare. "Uh, good... shower, huh? I mean the water is much warmer than I expected" she scratched her head, looking out the window wondering if she could see Tsuna from anywhere up here. Micha'el narrowed his eyes and wondered what made Lottie so awkward all of a sudden. Shirt! Micha'el stumbled, holding up the towel over his bare chest, "sorry!" Micha'el muttered, fumbling for his bag to find his white shirt. "No, no! Nothing I haven't seen before" Lottie said, widening her eyes. "No! I mean, not that I look!"
"No, I never said-" Micha'el failed to find the correct hole for his arm.
"Not that I wouldn't want to - you're strong!"
"Strong?!" Micha'el asked, elbow stuck in a sleeve as he turned and bashed it against the wall with a curse under his breath.
"Yeah! Uh - from all the training! Not that's its obvious-"
"Thank you?!" Micha'el said again, stepping into the bed and flopping down face first. "Please help me" he finally resigned, to which Lottie, bit her lips together and finally came round to help. With a chuckle she twisted his shirt round for him so that he could finally pull his head through with his remaining arm. He opened his eyes to find Lottie standing before him, a little taller than he as he sat. "Thank... you" he said slowly, feeling a thump in his chest. The two shared a silent moment, staring at one another. Lottie then smiled, quickly stepping away and said "the smartest one here and you can't even get a shirt on."
"You can't wear trousers" he said, watching her walk away. She gasped, "skirts are far superior when it comes to fighting monsters."

Micha'el and Lottie waited in their shared room for some time, talking through potential plans for this adventure and what obstacles they might face. When a knock came to the door they wondered why Tsuna was being formal, however when they were greeted by a well-dressed gentleman with a thick beard they quickly understood why. The basket of fresh food had been left for them, and instantly Micha'el sighed, knowing Tsuna must've left it whilst running off somewhere. "Thank you" Lottie said, taking the basket as the gentleman went on his way. Before she could even shut the door Micha'el was already taking up his damp coat from its hanging place and cursing under his breath. "How nice of her to drop the food off" he said with an empty tone. "She's not running, something must've caught her attention, Micha'el" Lottie said sternly, placing the food on the table by the window. Micha'el spun on his heat and summoned the Aria from his necklace, it unfolded from a small cube into the full tome. Lottie rolled her eyes at him, looking for the spare cloak she had brought with her in case she needed to be discreet. Now it would have to suffice to keep the light drizzle off her instead. Micha'el flicked through the pages of his Aria, its silver edges gleaming as they split to reveal pure white parchment lined with silver, gold and grey scripts. It hovered in place as he reached down to tear off a piece of of the thin cloth used to wrap some of the goods in the basket, and then tossed it over the Aria where it dissolved. "She should be close, so I can track her" he said, stopping the flicking pages on one particular chapter. He made some gestures with his hand and summoned a white ring around his body, then he clapped the aria shut, commanding the ring to levitate up and shrink just enough to hover around his head like a compass. It wasn't small enough to touch his forehead however. After a moment, a dull white light shun in one corner of the circle. They had their bearing.

As Tsuna left the Greymarket, and outside of the city walls, she found herself at a dense wood. The midday sun, already struggling to force it's light through thick clouds, was unable to get through the forest's canopy. Grey light barely let up the area, giving it an ominous atmosphere that only made the damp air feel stickier. The circling birds above were nosediving through the canopy to sweep beneath the trees and have a go at something in the centre of a clearing. A bear carcass could be seen among it, with the birds tearing away flesh with each dive. But as Tsuna neared it became obvious these were just birds. A couple of them landed, coming to run across the dull grass on their four paws a few feet before coming to a stop. They were like small canines, the size of a small child, with black fur that was longer and messier along their spine, becoming a flurry of black feathers at the neck to cover their avian head, covered in 10 piercing red eyes. The two that found Tsuna let out a growling caw, like a demonic mixture of beast and shrill hawk.

It alerted the others.