Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Oww!" Aurora exclaimed, wincing slightly at the pain. A, fortunately small, shard of ice had dropped down much too close. And, though it only barely grazed the prince's cheek, it left a long cut across the otherwise unmarred, perfect porcelein skin. It wasn't deep, but blood had begun to well up almost immidiately. Too much blood to have come from such a shallow cut -- but, then, the shards of ice were magical and were likely to do more than would normal ice. He raised a hand to his cheek slowly, eyes wide, and as he lowered it again to look, he found it covered in blood. It was a small cut -- but he obviously wasn't dealing with it well because he was shaking slightly. No one had ever dared touch his skin. Ever. Particularly not his face -- the lovely face that ruled the dreams and fantasies of nearly every man in the Kingdom.

He didn't even seem to notice Nic's sheild, or the barrier of vines that was erected soon after words, and neither did he hear the knight's words. Aurora was in shock -- no one had ever dared to harm him, at least physically, in any way for fear it leave even a bruise. But a cut? A scar -- and one so obvious and... easy to see....? Never.

((Haha, I get is. The sonar. <3 Sort of like whistle singing. :3 Do you know what a whistle register is? [I'm going to guess not, so...] It's the really really high octives in singing that mostly only children can reach, and even then not that many.... for example, an octive about high C is in a whistle register -- called that because the sounds made in that range don't really sound like singing. I'm guessing that's what these atlantic 'moans' sound like. 8D;; ))

William had cast around for some time, wondering where the youth could possibly be. And it was then that he caught site of the boy -- that unmistakable shock of bright crimson hair almost glowing in the murky darkness. His eyes widened, however, as they traveled down to find... a tail? Then... this boy... wasn't trying to kill himself. He didn't even register when the other mouthed something at him -- his eyes were still fixed, almost unbelieving, upon the tail... And his mind was filled with thoughts of his own stupidity and his... hateful weakness for those giving up on life. He couldn't stand to see that to happen to others, not when he himself had come so close to Death's gate.

And it was right about then that he began to run out of breath. Of course, William wasn't quite... alive, so he could hold out a surprisingly long time beneath the water's surface, but even he had to breathe ocasionally. He rose swiftly to the surface, water cascading down his face and shoulders as he surfaced, eyes close to protect the bright emerald hues. He drew in a deep breath and then, after several moments of treading water, swam quickly to the lake's edge. He clambered slowly onto land, now thuroughly drenched -- not that he wouldn't have been even if the boy hadn't shown up. At least he wasn't hot any more, even if he had made a fool of himself. Oddly enough, after all that had happened and despite his souring state, William was rather the optimist. He quickly set about drying himself, ringing out his hair and clothes, before he set down to rest by the lake's edge.

"Yes, I'm fine, I--" he began, seeming to have snapped out of it at the sound of the other's voice. That is, until he felt the blood drip from his cheek down onto his neck, which had been caused by the motion of his moving mouth. His eyes widened and he slowly raised a hand to smear away the sticky, crimson blood. He had never... bled before. He had never felt blood drip on his skin, never felt the gutch-wrenching, sticky droplettes that smelled both natural and horrifying all at the same time. He winced slightly, his dark eyes seeming to have pretty much gotten past the shcok by now.

"No one ever... I never... I mean..." he began slowly, his voice empty, as he tried to explain to Nic just why he was acting so... strange. And yet, though he reassured himself that he was fine, he couldn't get his tongue to work properly enough for passable speach.

Flora's eyes had been caught by the bright red color -- and she could feel it, as well. That day when the princess had been cursed, she, as well as the prince's other fairy godparents, bound herself incredibly tightly to the prince. No doubt the others would be feeling it as well... She reached forward to Aurora and gently touched his cheek, and then his neck, and the blood vanished, as did the cut.

Aurora blinked slowly and murmured a small thanks to the fairy, a surprisingly gentle smile on his lips. No time other than this, when the beauty was so in shock, has he looked so incredibly... tender and ulnerable. He was usually covered by a mask of anger or frustration.

The shock had broken down Aurora's defences, had made him... tender for a moment. But only a moment. The next moment the ground seemed to tremble beneath his feet, and for all his learned elegance, he found himself stumbling slightly, his balance regained only as he reached out and grabbed hold of Nic. It was embarrassing, true, and a light flush did touch his pale cheeks, but this was no time for formalities. They were being attacked, after all.

As Nic finished, the green fairy, who had for some time remained silent, piped up. "Yeah, that's what I'm working on," he said, quiet by natural precaution. He seemed to be drawing something in the ground with a long, pointy stick -- lines that burned the red of dying embers in the hearth rug. And as he wrote, the stick seemed to gradually turn white, as if the color were being burned out of it. And, just as he finished the cirle, the stick crumpled into white ashes, to be picked up and hurled away by a passing breeze.

"Here, everyone, step inside," he instructed, pulling those within reach into the circle. It might hurt a bit, but it's better than staying here."

Nicholas hardly seemed to notice the fleetingly blushing appearance of the prince, as he placed a hand upon Aurora's shoulder to help further balance him. Finally they were finally going to get out of there, he thought to himself. Maybe then, Aurora would be allowed at least a few minutes of peace.

Sheathing his sword before quickly scooping up his dropped shield from the ground, Nic pulled Aurora by his elbow into the circle as if he would need urging to do so on his own.

"I think a little pain will be endurable considering the death we might find if we remain here," he said, body swaying from the sudden force of another blow against the vines. His battle-sturdy feet allowed him to keep his balance. "Everyone's in. Let's go!"

Nic kept his eyes shut, not out of fear exactly, but just awaiting for the moment when those terribly hot flames would engulf them next. But that moment never came. When next he opened his eyes, he was greeted with the sight and salty smell of the sea. It was almost an overwhelming change, he thought, eyeing their surroundings as if not completely certain if another attacker would come out of nowhere or not.

Pleasant, though.

Hearing Mint's warning at the last second, Nic just barely stopped his foot from coming down on the lines. Feeling himself about to lose balance, he had to hop out of the circle of his one other still-grounded foot. to avoid the circles. But, of course, he played it as if nothing had happened.

"So, uh.. Where are we exactly?" he asked curiously, spotting the not-so-distant castle.

Outside the vines, Algernon had released spell after spell to break through the shielding barricade. He hadn't paused to conjure a stronger blow, believing he had no time to waste in getting through. Afterall, there were fairies inside and they had tricks and magic of their own. Enough to find an escape route.

But seeing the melting vines, Algernon believed for a moment one of his own spells had taken an odd effect, but once the white flames came into sight, the truth was revealed to him. With sweat beginning to glisten anew on the elf's fair skin, both from heat and exertion of magic, he wildly sent a streak of glowing onyx light toward the fire, hoping to break through. But those hopes were dashed as he had time only to see it deflected before he was on his back, hit by his own rebounded spell.

Before he knew it, there was only silence.. They had escaped, leaving Algernon lying in the middle of the ruined area. His body ached, feeling he had exhausted much of his magic, having thrown much away in his last attempts to get through. And what had to show for it? The realization that he was leaving with nothing but a bloodied face and torn clothing, Algernon's body tensed before he released a bloodcurdling yell of anger and defiance.

This wasn't the last time they would be seeing him, though, that was for sure. Algernon wasn't one to give up so easily, especially on something he had had his eyes on for so long. He would have Aurora no matter the cost.

Indi flew over the lines on the ground and landed outside the ring, looking up to the castle with a distant look in his eyes. "He's waiting for me up there I bet." he said quietly, not really caring one way or the other if the others heard him. Kane was up there, probably standing in the castle kitchen cooking up a magnificent feast for the royal family. Indi let out a deep sigh and unintentionally made a small gesture of his hand that conjured a cloud of light blue smoke that furled and twisted into the form of two boys kissing, one of them almost obviously, Indi.