Welcome to Gaia! ::

Taking a deep breath, Niamh made another try to go in. She hoped her partner, who had yet to speak, wasn't irritated, but... She had to keep trying! When she came back to the tree, she made a HUFF, though she could have sworn she got closer this time...

A bit frustrated that they ended up at the painted tree again, Joseth took a deep breath to clear his mind. The fog was doing things to his head, he thought, as he felt an intense pressure build the further they ventured into the woods.

Suddenly, the pressure in his head vanished and the two were shrouded in darkness. Their lanterns did very little to cut through the inky black, but he raised it to illuminate his face. "Sorry I was so quiet. I'm Joseth." He gave the chimera a crooked smile before sitting on the forest floor. As his mind was clearing, he recognized a stinging on his legs, and upon closer inspection, realized that he must have brushed up against something thorny. The cuts weren't very deep, but he was slightly bleeding. He rummaged through his backpack and pulled out the tiny first aid kit that Burvia had insisted he bring, thankful it had made it into his bag.

Zahneel threw herself back into the barrier, determined to get through. Unfortunately, it continued to spit her back out.

With his scratches littered along his body, some deeper and lighter than others, Gaius was glad for the small break they earned after the bit of exploring already performed. Even one of his mini wings was torn up from getting caught in a rather aggressive branch...

When faced with their new task, his dark eyes stared at the eerie forest, curiosity sparked in the thin slits for pupils. His familiars all leaned forward as if to get a better looksee, the salamanders hunkering further into his pants pockets with mild displeasure. But with Claire's instruction, the mutant teen looked to whom he was tethered to, offering a light smile to the stranger. This would be the first person he'd actually interact with since being on this adventure.

The thick air made Gaius' eyes lid a little more, in attempts to try and pierce through the suffocating smokescreen. Of course, to no avail... so his attentions turned to his new companion, offering them a carefree grin, "Guess we should get going then."

After Claire paired everyone off, Lillith felt herself sigh with relief. At least she wouldn't have to take whatever was about to happen next on by herself. The other Nightmare introduced herself as T'kani, and the Dryad responded, providing her own name to her new partner.

The two struggled through the the thick air, working best they could to escape the strange miasma. Rather suddenly, Lillith felt they had managed to come out of the thickness, but still she could not see. Feeling the tug on her rope, Lillith moved towards the tug, lifting her own lantern closer to her face.

"Are we safe?", the Dryad asked of her partner, not really knowing if she wanted to know the answer or not.

Xerxes frowned as Niamh and him were ushered apart and partnered with other people. He wasn’t sure why they couldn’t have picked their own partners — obviously people had made friends, or were already friends, with certain other nightmares and daydreams. Sighing, he fidgeted slightly as he eyed the nixie he’d been partnered with and wondered what she was like. Xer didn’t like that they were tied together. Being connected, physically, to someone else was a little daunting. He stared at the area Claire had pointed out and watched as a couple of partners made their way through — others not being so lucky.

He took a deep breath, glanced at the nixie one more time, and took off towards the barrier. Xerxes hit a wall — or at least it felt like it. He hadn’t been going very fast, thankfully, so he just stumbled backwards, grumbling as he glanced towards his new partner. “Wanna give it a try?”