Welcome to Gaia! ::

Fae looked down at her wrist while rubbing at her eyes. "Well, we should get going now. It's five till." Scooping up the still half asleep Zanzibar, she pushed the door open. Golden red light rushed inside, casting silhouettes of Fae and Pueblo walking down the front steps.

Pueblo held onto her guardian's hand and carried her paint pallet in her other arm; she felt more secure with it. Wide emerald eyes gazed across the yard to the sea where the suttle rushing waves echoed in her ears. She smiled some- the colors of the sky astounded her. She always wondered who was the brilliant artist behind it. She could only dream of painting something like that.

As the two approched the Centre, Fae's haze broke when she saw Alyosha standing there. Here heart quickened a beat and smiled polietly. "Morning, Alyosha."

Pueblo drew close to Fae's leg and peered around conspicuously. Where was Acia and Nehanda?

Nehanda ran along the path toward the centre, as she had so many times before. But this time was different! She was meeting Acia and Pueblo! The sun was barely beginning to reach its light through the trees as she glanced back over her shoulder. "Foenix, hurry up! I don't want to be late!" She hitched her small carry-sak higher over her shoulders, so that it didn't interfere with the movement of her large, snowy wings.

Foenix blew out a breath as she caught up with her young charge. "Don't worry, hun, it's only another minute until we're there! I promise they won't leave without you."

Sure enough, as they passed the final bend of bushy plants, there were Aly, Fae, and Pueblo. Foenix wasn't particularly surprised that Acia wasn't present. She remember from their previous encounters that the adult Aerandir was practically terrified of most humans. "Morning, folks. Sorry to have kept you waiting." She looked knowingly over to Aly. "I'm assuming Acia is inside or something?" She smiled and shrugged, understanding the pretty Aerandir's fears.

Nehanda immediately stopped at Pueblo's side. "I'm really excited. How 'bout you? Are you nervous?" She stopped her barrage of questions and touched her friend's hand. "We're gonna be together to whole way."

"That's exactly right, Nehanda." Foenix stooped to give her little girl a fierce hug. "You're going to have an amazing time. I can't wait to hear about everything when you get home." Straightening, she grinned over at Fae. "What do you say we get out of here, and give Acia and the girls a little breathing space? You can come back to my place for tea, if you like." She looked over at Aly. "I guess that's it. Nehanda's got everything she should need, so I'm trusting Acia with her safety."

Even though she liked and trusted the shy Aerandir, she was finding it very hard to step away.

Nehanda looked between the adults and sighed. When were they gonna leave?

As soon as both of the owners had left Acia, watching from a peekhole in the double doors of the Center, came out shyly. She had heard all that was said and felt slightly foolish and embarrassed that her shyness caused so much trouble. The understanding nods of the humans had made her feel like a child again - she often felt so much younger than Rahujo and Osero, more still a youth than an adult.

Acia remembered the time when she was taken over to the Island, Osero was still a youth himself at the time taking the small, happy child Aerandir on a trip she'd end up never forgetting. It had been both good and bad, she'd learned things which had uplifted her and others which had left her with this lingering fear.

The shyness had mostly started there, at that time. She just hoped that things would be a little less troublesome for Nehanda and Pueblo.

Spotting the little ones she grinned. She hadn't seen Nehanda in such a long time and she wasn't sure she'd ever seen more than the photographs taken of Pueblo in the logbooks. "Hi!" she said, kneeling down to their height "Are you both ready to go?" her long, fine wings flared slightly to help her balance.

Off to one side she noticed Alyosha smile a little and wave as he walked back into the Center. "Have a good time." he called over his shoulder.

"We need to meet Osero at the tip of this Island, he has a boat waiting there for us. Have you been on a boat before?" she addressed them both. Standing she indicated the way and held out her warm, fur covered hands to each, tail swishing happily. "Can you both hold my hands until we get there?" Acia really did mean to keep her promise that both would be safe and was happily in her element in the company of other Aerandir.

Pueblo watched the humans off until Acia came outside. Never actually meeting her before, what her guardian had said about her was true: Acia was pretty. An instant fondness grew inside Pueblo and nodded her head. "I also brought my paint pallet an' brush. I hopes that's okay... I don't feel complete without it." She wondered idly if she was the only one that felt that way. Ever since she was a wisp was the last she could remember.

Gladly accepting Acia's hand, Pueblo waved with her other at Aly before looking up to the bigger Aerandir. "Osero's coming with us?!" she asked enthusiastically before stopping herself. Boat? Refraining from sounding stupid, she merely replied, "No, I haven't been on 'un 'afor." She looked at Nehanda who seemed more confident, however.

When Acia came into view with the two young Aerandir, Osero had been standing near the water's edge, his sharp eyes scanning the island for any sign of them. Spotting the trio, he lifted a hand into the air, giving them a short wave.

Behind him in the water bobbed a wooden rowboat. The boat was already loaded with the supplies that they would need for the trip. Osero had figured that they should be enough for the four of them. If not, he'd find something as it was needed. It was part of the reason he was there, afterall.

As the three Aerandir approached, he took a few paces forward to meet them, folding his broad wings back. He smiled warmly, nodding down to them.

"Hi there. The boat's ready to go whenever you are." He turned, indicating the boat a short distance away. Turning back to glance down at Nehanda and Pueblo, he wondered to himself what this trip would hold for them. It would almost certainly be an unforgettable experience for them, but in what manner, he could not say. After a moment, a faint smile returned to his face.

"Ready?"

Pueblo still held onto Acia's hand but almost let go at the sight of Osero. Smiling to herself, she was glad she would be surrounded by friends during this adventure. With her best friend Nehanda, Osero whom she's known since a mere griff, and friendly warm Acia, her nervousness seemed to vanish.

Walking up to the boat with Nehanda, she peered down as the contraption seemed to move with every tossle of water. Raising her brows, she looked between all three. She trusted them, so she was more than happy to climb inside. "Ready!" she beamed.

But before Nehanda could decided what to do with the sandwhiches, she touched her wrists and offered an idea. "Maybe we can break the bread up and feed the fishes? That way we wouldn't be wasting any," she smiled.

"You go ahead" she said to the eager children. She was standing in a few feet of warm, tropical water beside the small boat. She removed her staff and lay it along the length of the boat and tucked a small parcel away amongst those Osero had already loaded.

"How have you been, Osero?" she asked "It's been a while." her smile was warm for the older Aerandir. She respected him greatly and found his presence comforting. This whole trip, with the promise of no humans around, had put her in a more relaxed mood. For once in a long time she could just let go and relax. She should take tips like this more often!

"Be careful." she added, watching as the children leant over the boat to feed. Once they had done she liften each child into the boat carefully before carefully trying to crawl into the boat. She had tried to land in a boat from flying once and never would again - the downdraught from her wings had nearly turned the small craft upside down!

"Ready to go?" she grinned.