Welcome to Gaia! ::

As the pink liquid soaked into the ground below the two Sigels, the grass there seemed to slowly vanish while a nearby dandelion became too tiny to be noticed by the naked eye. Perhaps these drinks were indeed not what they seemed.

(Next post: Staff)

Pasha was about to take a sip in honor of her toast, when Rivener spoke. Shock was written clearly across her face at his words, and she set her goblet down untested.

"Didn't you...see? What he did?" She tried to remember the other details, of Rivener, of Laz. Both had been injured, and badly...but...the only image she could clearly conjure up was of Zul. His hands...Roux's jaws...

Melisande blinked back tears, but only for a moment. Tears didn't come as easy as they once did. She had set the glass down a little less than gracefully, and the orange drink splashed over the rim and onto her pale hand. "Roux wasn't himself. And Zul...he had already won." Pasha sounded miserable. Worse than that, the Muse sounded guilty. "You remember, don't you? He used to be our friend." Her voice was almost inaudible, face lowered.

Absently, she brought her hand to her face, putting her fingertip in her mouth like she had when she'd pricked it to get rid of the last of the spilled orange liquid. It tasted strange, but the that was the last thing on Melisande's mind. It had been so long, and she'd never spoken of that night. Now she was sure that the fledgling understanding between them would shatter, and Rivener would rage at her...

...but perhaps she deserved that. She'd been the only one uninjured, and she hadn't even tried to stop Zul before it was too late.

[[COUNTS: Dead Ends - 2 / Encounters - 2 / Challenge - 1 / TJunction - 1]]

Rivener blinked, listening to the Muse's recounting, frowning in puzzlement still. Rivener hadn't seen, but he knew Zul had killed Roux. By the way Meli was now reacting to it, the Scorpion could paint a rather accurate picture of what might have happened. His Flower had never gone into the details of it and Rivener had never asked... With a soft sigh, the Scorpion advanced and raised his hand, hesitating only a moment before reaching to touch her hair, tucking a stray blond curl behind one of those pinned blossoms. He spoke softly, but there was a resolute frown on his face.

"I didn't see, no. And I realize Roux was our friend... But you have to understand, Roux was broken inside. He used to love me, I think I was the closest to him out of most Raevans, and he tried to kill me, Melisande. He had gone insane. I doubt there was anything we could have done to make him return to the way he was. If he hadn't died, what would we have done? Kept him prisoner at the Lab, tried to cure him? And during that time, how many more people would Roux hurt? Zul did what he had to do to protect his kin. Zul did what would keep us all safe. It isn't always pleasant, and it isn't always the easiest thing to stomach doing, but someone has to make these decisions, do these deeds that aren't glorious or wonderful. Zul did what he did because he had mercy. He ended Roux's suffering."

He hoped she would understand. He hoped he hadn't missed something important by being unconscious, but as he understood things, Zul had been in the right and probably saved their lives.

"Come on, let's keep going." The hand that had been touching her dropped to hover near her back, guiding her towards the exit as gently as he could. He felt awkward now, wondered if she would be unable to accept something dark but necessary... Maybe she'd dislike him too, now, for agreeing with Zul's actions that day.

Seems one of those liquids was the correct one and the exit allows you to walk through it smoothly with no problems.

"A party song?" Melisande slowed, staring at Rivener. His suggestion was unexpected, so ridiculous, that the Muse was shocked. Suddenly, she smiled. Her laugh broke through the tension.

"A party song?" Tears filled her blue eyes as she laughed, but they didn't spill. If he didn't want to talk about it, she wouldn't make him. But she wasn't a child! If he wanted, though, she could act like one.

"How about you sing a party song." She wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand, and followed him through the junction, goblets forgotten. "That would cheer me up!"

(Next post: Staff - Encounter!)

Melisande's smile was still sad, but it dimpled as Rivener continued with his litany of excuses. For a moment, as he sang she was riveted. It was exciting to hear someone else sing, even if their heart wasn't in it!

The moment passed as soon as he stopped, and her wings fluffed and settled back into place. "Mock you? I wouldn't." Her eyes were still bright from the last of the tears, wide and sincere. "After you've taught me so much? Like...what a drowned cat and an angry crow sound like? And what coffee-flavored looks like?"

She had the grace to blush as she teased him, at least. Pasha looked away, knowing she would start smiling if she didn't, and took a peek at the maze around them. She hadn't paid much attention to their last few turns.

Where were they?

For the first time, the thrill of possibly being lost tickled through her.

[[COUNTS: Dead Ends - 3 / Encounters - 3 / Challenge - 1 / TJunction - 1]]

Rivener scoffed, running his hand through his hair one more time, hiding behind his arm for a second to let his cheeks cool down from that flush. He was smirking when he looked back at the pale-haired girl, once more surprised to see her teasing him, exercising that sense of humor he hadn't known she possessed. "Yeah, well... You better remember that sound, because you aren't going to hear it again. I-... What the hell?!"

Riv came up short as he spotted the first of the "glitches". He'd watched the Matrix, he knew what this was! But to see it in real life... When suddenly a box with an X appeared, like a broken jpeg, Rivener burst out laughing, almost doubled over as he clutched his middle, wings flapping softly to keep him upright. He pointed, and kept going through the glitchy part of the maze, unable to say anything, laughing too hard, pointing at all the X-boxes, rubbing at his eyes.

It even took a moment after they'd left that area for the Scorpion to gather himself enough to speak again. "So I guess we know how Kyou did this. Magic my a**- it's just some kind of projection, and his graphics are all messed up!"