Welcome to Gaia! ::

((-waves at Sil fer shadowwind- We're all in the underwater castle that Serene just found. I and Bran are keeping it. Would you like to join us as we RP? =]
Hehe, there are two stray cats sleeping adorably cuddled together outside... if I weren't worried about their wild behavior and possible diseases, I'd let the poor things in...))

Rowan nodded, a smile curling his lips once again as Lilo conveyed everything that had happened since she'd left his side. It was more than likely that the Caelynn girl was altogether harmless, which erased the possibility of those she came with being spies or bringers of evil. All the same, Rowan was wary of them. He was protecting more than a castle, after all...

Both man and daemon watched the puppet stage closely as the figures greeted each other, made introductions and settled down. At least two seemed suspicious of the room's purpose... but it mattered little. They would find nothing to support their theories. Truly, the whole castle could hear everything and see everything that occured... but this was the only room that had a puppet theatre connected that allowed Rowan, Lilo and Bran to watch.

As the pair watched the stage, their eyes continued to return to Serene especially. It was she they were growing most suspicious about. She said and did things that were unlike those of a girl of her age. Or at least, of the age that she appeared to be. It was she they trusted least, for she seemed the one least capable of doing harm, she was the one whom they understood the least, and she was the one whom they knew the least about. At this point, she had the highest probability for causing them any grief or danger.

Rowan turned his attention to Bran momentarily, to repeat his and Lilo's thoughts on her. He told his friend and companion everything that had transpired between himself, Breeze and Serene on their way to the Listening Room. Even if Bran could offer no new insight, Rowan was sure it was best to inform him of all the facts, just in case.

((Sorry if that makes little sense, guys. I'm reeeaaally sick, so half the time I don't make sense to myself. ^_^" ))

*Caellynn looked up as the girl sat next to her, surprised that she wasn't standing and talking with the rest of the people there. She looked the girl over, noting intelligent eyes that were overflowing with ill-hidden emotions. Unable to recall whether the girl had ever introduced herself, she tentatively greeted her.* I'm Caellynn, although you probably heard me say it earlier. What's your name?

*Realising that Breeze was speaking quietly so as not to disturb the others, Casllynn also lowered her voice.* It's nice to meet you, Breeze. May I ask you a few questions? I don't mean to pry, but I'm a little confused about some things. *She looked over nervously, not wanting to insult, but also wanting her questions answered.*

Manikarnik's presence invades the quiet surface of the island. A wide, heavy collar of bells, like that found on some sort of large mammal of burden, is slung around her neck. It jingles disruptively as she walks around the island, searching. Cradled in both arms, she carries a large, intricately carved box, made of some dark material - ebony perhaps. It is inlaid occasionally with ivory as a counterpoint, and the whimsical design apparently pierces through the thickness of the material in some places. Looking closely, listening carefully, there appears to be a flutter of movement inside.

Pacing the island continuously, Manikarnik fails to stop at any of her usual resing spots in the trees, noting only how empty the island seems. She looks out across the lake, scans the skies, and peers down over the edge of the floating landmass on several occasions, careful not to lose her hat or her precious cargo in the process. It's apparent she's looking for something, or someone.

Breeze got up from her seat and went to where serene stood peering at the darkness, and puzzled at it. It was certainly another of the many defenses in the castle meant to get intruders lost. She reached out toward it, considering touching it to see what was happening, then stopped and thought better of it, turning away from it to defeat her urge to touch, to feel the darkness. she shook her head to rid her thoughts of the darkness that seemed so tempting, knowing that it was probably dangerous.

Then she walked to the other side, to the door where she herself had entered, and tentatively reached her hand through it. As soon as her hand went throught the frame of the door, she felt the cold air that she had been revelling in earlier. She stepped closer to the door, going through it and into the peaceful cold on the outside. She smiled, genuinely happy in the cold surroundings, and whirled around a couple of times with her arms slightly raised, as if she were a child twirling in a new dress, before finally sitting down on the cold stone floor just outside the door.

Arianna looked back and forth between the two doors speculatively. A few questions were on her mind, the first and foremost, how did she do that?, but she would not ask that. The next was, where does that door lead? as she took a longer look at the door that Serene and Breeze had entered from. Then was, where do all the doorways we saw downstairs lead? She was tore between going to the new door and going back through her door and checking out all the rooms they'd passed earlier.

Then she remembered that the likelihood of navigating the stair back to the hall they'd entered from successfully was rather slim due to that all-encompassing darkness, and she sorely doubted that those nice lights would turn on for them, and so she crossed the room to stand in front of Breeze's door. She had watched as Breeze entered the stairwell and spun and had dimly wondered how she'd managed that without tripping on a step or ending a bit dizzy and falling and consequently rolling down the stairs.

The stairwell looked average enough. It wasn't particularly illuminated, but then there were few windows in the stairwell to allow in light. It seemed like a completely normal stairwell and so she stepped through the threshold and gasped in the ensuing rush of cold air that surprised her.

Breeze smiled at the surprise on Arianna's face as she stepped through into the frigid temperatures. "Isn't it beautiful out here?" she asked sincerely, "It is so much nicer than in there. So much cooler; it helps me to think, sitting in the cold." She leaned against on of the walls of the stairwell and a blissful smile came over her face. "It's perfect here; I could live here forever."