Welcome to Gaia! ::

(( Me as well, so no problems! ^^; We'll have to just keep reminding each other. Maybe bumping up the main thread a bit with random chatter or something. XD ))

MoogerMint's ears twitched to the sounds of the voices, and her face finally cracked a smile. No use worrying over something that doesn't belong at a time like this... Get ahold of yourself, Moogz, she thought to herself, shaking her head to get the thoughts out. Her tail waved slightly in distraction as she followed suit over to the pond, replying, "This is a great place to find some bugs. Some can only be found here, after all!"

Gingitsune grinned, happy that her master was on a different train of thought now. However, she knew the kitsune might still be stewing over it, but at least this was a step forward. She yipped happily as she began wagging her tail like a happy dog, leading Ritsu over to the pond he pointed out. "I wonder what we'll find over here?" she said, pondering aloud. She knew there were plenty of other living things in the water, but what sort of insect life was there?


Hajari allowed Sybil to pull him into a hug, still shaken over the ordeal and not finding it necessary to pull away. After all, when his mother hugged him, it made him feel better. "I... think I'm okay," he said, still unnerved but aware. He looked over to Avery as he felt his hand on his shoulder, watching as he took a look at his hiding place. He didn't mean to cause so much trouble...

"I... I dunno..." the harpy child murmured a reply to the angel. He wanted to tell them he was up for anything they decided upon, but wasn't sure if he was. A rest sounded good, but he didn't want to come across as being to weak. His wing still hurt from getting caught on the roots, and he realized he was still holding the wingfeathers clenched between his fingers.

(( Don't worry, my internet died on me during that time, so I wasn't around to see it. sweatdrop ))

MoogerMint situated herself by the water's edge, curling her bushy tail around her waist as she turned away from the lake to watch the trio. Gingitsune watched the light bounce off the water's surface as they strode toward it before realizing that Alida had handed Ritsu a slip of paper directed at the both of them. Interested, Gingi lifted her head to try to peer over Ritsu's elbow to see it before he had lowered it to her eye-level, unhampered. "Oooh, that was really nice of you, Alida!" she exclaimed as she poked it with her nose delightedly. However, after a brief pause, Gingitsune looked up to the boy before her sheepishly and said, albeit quietly, "Hey, Ritsu. Can you... umm... read it to me? Please?"

At that, MoogerMint couldn't help but laugh. She tried to stifle it with a hand, but it came on so suddenly that she wasn't able to tame it before it was overheard. "Oh Gingi, forgot you couldn't read?" she snickered, shaking her head. She knew that Gingitsune could get so wrapped up in the moment that she would 'lose her head' of sorts, forgetting she wasn't human because she could relate so well with others.

Alida's sudden turning of the head made the kitsune woman jump slightly, still fixated on what had just happened that she wasn't aware of the large dragonfly until Alida's swift movements caught her attention, then leading to the bug. "Oh, that's excellent! It's a very beautiful one at that!" she said as she wandered closer, spotting the gemtoned exoskeleton.


Hajari nodded a quick agreement to Avery's suggestion, ready to take a break if suggested but not about to say so himself. He was still a little shaken, eyes darting back over to his cramped hiding place at random intervals before coming back to look straight on. He gave a nervous smile to show that he was alright, even if his mind kept obsessing. He had made it out! So why must he keep thinking of 'what if?'

A nice warm spot to sit in and just take it easy for a few moments seemed ideal at a time like this, and indeed the relief showed on his face at the thought. He didn't mind trying to take on the game again when he got his head straight, and indeed being the seeker this time around, but in his current condition he would only dwell.

The boy jumped as Sybil exclaimed, unfurling his fingers to reveal the small feathers that had been torn out of his wing when he first hid beneath the tree. He held them up slightly, snapping his hand shut when the wind started to blow and threatened to blow them away. "I-I... They... I got my wing... caught..." he tried to say, only to find himself failing. After a brief pause in his sentence, fingers tightened on the feathers but for one that pointed to his hiding spot, he managed to finish, "My wing got caught." He was biting back nagging emotion; he didn't like to talk about things like this, for he knew it would only upset him, but in a way it only made him stronger. He could fight back the tears, if only in front of company, and that was a start. "I-I'm fine..." he mumbled, holding the feathers as if they didn't exist as the hand clamped around his skinned elbow.

Gingitsune listened intently to the words that flowed off the paper, hearing Alida's voice for the first time through another being. She definately had her own personality going through her words, something that interested the silver wolf. "Sounds like fun! We should see if we can recognize any of them!" she exclaimed after Ritsu was finished, nudging him along towards the pond as she saw Alida motion them over.

MoogerMint watched the dragonfly with intensity, not noticing that the young girl beside her was just as interested. She loved dragonflies, one of her favorite kind of insect in fact, and this one was a perfect example of how beautiful they could be. She wanted to study the intricate wings on its back, but as she leaned in to get a closer look it flew off. "Beautiful..," she marvelled as she watched it flit around for a little before flying off.

As she turned her eyes back on the water, she saw an insect whose light build and thin, spined legs made it so the little thing could walk on the water. "Speaking of water striders..," she said, pointing down at it as it jumped along the water every-so-often. "I used to watch these guys all the time when I was little, I was always so fascinated by them. We used to catch frogs in the creek out in our backyard, and these guys were always there to greet us," she explained, grinning. "We called them 'water skippers,' though, because of the way they seem to hop on the surface like that."


Hajari hovered over the subject reluctantly, feeling pressure on his own conscience for not telling the whole truth. He didn't want them to worry over it, though! It would get better soon, and then they could keep playing. He just wished it was sooner... He never liked it when all attention was on him, it made him feel like he was being scrutinized in the eyes of others, or just plain made him nervous. He wished it wasn't like this, for people who did this were usually friends and family, but it was just the way his mind worked. He found it not bugging him as much as it normally would, as his mind had already latched onto these people as friends, however.

His head perked up to Avery as he proposed they take a rest. He wasn't alone then, that was good; he didn't want to make everyone stop the game on his account. He wasn't aware Sybil had wrapped her hand around his wrist until she pulled him along, jolting him back into the here-and-now. He nearly stumbled on his own feet at first, but his balance came back to him quickly as he followed suit. He flashed a smile, finding Sybil's happy tone contagious. "Okay!" he chirped, though he knew he wasn't going to be of much help. This was okay, though, as he at least felt he was part of something, and that made him happy.

He giggled as he watched the girl flop over onto the grass, turning his head to Avery as he approached. He, however, didn't sit down until a few moments had passed, unsure but not knowing why. He tucked his legs under himself, his downy tail flowing over the talons of his feet safely. He nodded to Avery's question, replying, "Yep! It's really warm! I didn't think it would be so hot today!" The air cooled the rays of the sun down just enough for the temperature to be comfortable, not too hot but able to sunburn if one stayed too long.

Tilting his head to the wind, Hajari found himself asking, "Do you guys come here a lot?" His eyes weren't even turned to the siblings until after it had been spoken, an unreadable expression on his face as he tried to hide his slight nervousness. He wasn't very good at striking up conversation, and hoped he wasn't being annoying while he was at it.


Across the field, Mikadzuki, the moon-marked wolf left to care for Hajari while MoogerMint was off with the others, kept his careful vigil on the kids. There was a slight period of time, when they were in the protection of the forest, that he did not know where they were. Dozing off was not a very good idea, and he was on the verge of panic when he awoke to find them nowhere in sight. He was just about to go looking for them when they reappeared, converging in a patch of sun.

He sighed with relief, grumbling to himself that he should've been more careful. In the meantime, he would deliberate if he should go any closer so he could keep a better watch on them if they pulled something like that again...

(( *happy-dances* Gleee for shop re-openage! 8D *shot for making up words* And sorry if I make any mistakes in my writing... I'm responding at 3:30 in the morning because I'm inspired, and my keyboard likes to make me look like I can't spell because it has spazzy O and Q keys. XD ))

MoogerMint tapped at her bottom lip absently as she watched the water strider float along the surface, resting in its erratic dance. Ears twitching to wake up her mind, she responded to Ritsu's question, "They're so light that they don't really sink immediately. However, the main reason they don't fall is because they have these hairs on their feet that distribute their weight more evenly over a wider area than other bugs, kind of like a sort of flotation device. It's really quite interesting." She laughed a little, always feeling that hairy bugs were a bit silly to think about.

Gingitsune rolled her eyes, but it was all in good fun. "Yeesh... kinda creepy to me. Bugs with fur... thank you, scholar, I didn't need that image," she snorted, shuddering slightly in reply but grinning goofily nonetheless.

Suddenly, her eyes darted over to a slight movement in the marshy grass that bordered an edge of the pond, and without hesitation leaped at it. A large splash erupted from her landing area -- luckily not near enough to drench her 'traveling companions' -- and a sputtering came from her mouth as she tried spitting out the water. "Ack! Umm.... Hmm... I... don't suppose 'toad' could be added to the list, hm?" she asked as she poked at the leathery amphibian before her with a curious paw.

MoogerMint's eyes widened at the reaction, not expecting Gingitsune to act so much like a clown, but laughed at the predicament anyway. After all, the silver wolf was only trying to keep the mood light. "No, I'm sorry, Gingi, but toads are not bugs by any means!" she snickered, shaking her head at the sopping wet wolf as Gingitsune shook herself off away from everyone else.


Hajari's eyes brightened as he tried to imagine the kind of house Avery was describing to him. A home within a hill... it must be quite the sight to see! "That sounds so cool! What's it like living in a house like that?" he asked, unaware of there being a problem with socialization and distance. "You can see the stars at night, right?" Although now he lived in an apartment complex, there were a few things he had missed while living secluded in the tower. With all the city lights around, it was almost impossible to see any stars out at night, and living in an inner area of the apartment there was little he could do about feeling crisp, fresh air at night, either.

He didn't seem to notice his lack of nervousness, and for a moment there even forgot about the stinging in his elbow and wing as he remembered what it was like. Of course he wouldn't see much of a problem with the lack of interaction between strangers, and not being enrolled in school made him even more reclusive, but it was something he could possibly relate to with the two siblings.

He realized, aside from this, there was little that may interest them about his own home life. In fact, his was rather... normal. Not that this was a bad thing, but stability only came after he was rescued, and before that... well, he rarely wanted to talk about before. However, there was not much to base this upon but for storybooks that MoogerMint read to him and pictures in said books. Did he really have much common ground with them? It had only been a short while since he knew nothing but his own imagination of what the 'world beyond' was like... But now, he felt that he could belong, even if it took time.

"Where... do you usually go?" he asked, interested but still unsure of all his own talking. He knew he couldn't help but be a little ignorant on normal life, but he couldn't stop his nervousness from creeping in as he asked. After all, how many kids his age did ask these questions? He didn't want to be an exception...