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Well this is strange, when is it suddenly Christmas in July? And since when did Christmas include thunderstorms, hail, wind, and all manner of bad weather travesties? Like a certain other passageway, this path through the maze doesn't seem to realize (or care) that it's supposed to be a lovely summer's day out. Rain, hail, wind, ice, and snow are all going on at the same time in this place and it makes the path you walk a MESS! Good luck staying dry and remember - lightning tends to strike the tallest thing in the open first!

Perhaps Xiu shouldn't had mentioned about the hot bath so soon.

Sometimes boredom can be a good thing too wrote Xiu as one who has experienced both boredom and excitement and frankly, preferred the former. Adventures can...after all, quickly lead to misadventures....

Whether that statement was written from past experiences or personal views, Xiu had left that up to the frei to interpret.

While this was going on, Xiu had failed to notice the accumulation of storm clouds above them. It was only after the first crack of deafening thunder that the Sigel was snapped out of his reverie.

This is insane! Thought Xiu with horror as lightning flashed all around them with the occasional hailstone finding its mark between the two soaking raevans. This could actually be...dangerous!

And yet, despite all this, Cesc seemed to have taken the lead; holding onto Xiu’s hand firmly as he tried to lead the way out of the storm. Xiu momentarily wondered just what Cesc’s soul was. Some form of guiding spirit? In the gloom of the tempest, the Frei’s wings even seemed to glow a little.

Not that the Sigel had much time to dwell over this. The storm if anything, seemed bent on raging over the two raevans.

But when the two of them finally reached the opposite end of the maze, there was no exit! Even though there had been one right before their eyes a moment ago!

It was the Maze’s doing. Thought Xiu with some measure of annoyance. Truly. This wretched thing seems to have a mind of its own. But going back was out of the question. Where the lightning had only been bright flashes in the sky only a moment before, those bolts of electricity were now becoming blindingly white-hot pillars of light that hit the ground with a most deafening roar. They could not risk going back through there. Not if Xiu had anything to say about it!

Grabbing Cesc and holding the other close against him, Xiu leaned back as far as he could against the hedge, sheltering the Frei awkwardly with his stone wings. Perhaps the storm will pass soon, the white raevan thought fervently. Because unless it does, leaving the safety of the hedges was unthinkable.

As if to emphasize Xiu’s thought, a bolt of searingly hot lighting smashed itself onto the ground not too far from where the two were taking shelter.

Despite the Frei’s glowing wings, Xiu could feel the other shivering against him as the both of them huddled together against the hedge. The storm, if anything seemed to be growing stronger by the minute and the flashes of lighting through the air was making Xiu’s hair stand on end. This was bad. With so much untamed lightning about and the both of them drenched to their skins...

The sudden blast of lightning against the hedge right next to them nearly made Xiu’s heart leap to his throat. That was too close...extremely too close. A few inches to the left and the two raevans would have been electrocuted for sure!

But the lightning strike gave the two raevans the opportunity that they so badly needed to escape their predicament. A charred hole lay where only moments ago it had been an impenetrable wall. Taking heed of Cesc’s gesture, Xiu gingerly squeezed the both of them through the hole and onto the other side where they lay stunned and shivering, not only from the cold but also from their narrow escape.

It took a few long moments before Cesc could peel himself up off of the grass, a still-steady rain drumming his back, like a runoff from the storm. It was warmer in this area, and the rain seemed downright friendly as compared to the violence still raging on the other side of the hedge. In a way, Cesc was comforted to know that the storm was contained -- that meant other Raevans in the maze were not troubled by it, nor were the partygoers still lingering outside...

He lifted himself to his elbows with a relieved sigh, his still-lit eyes drifting upward to see... a bench? A normal wooden bench, mercifully sitting in this enclosed space. There was, unfortunately, no other pathway out -- and technically, there hadn't been a pathway IN, either...

... so this bench had been just waiting in its own garden-room, sitting alone, until that lightning had lead them to it.

"Xiu..." Cesc breathed, motioning toward the seat. His voice was still pinched from shock and horror, his deep tones now thin and high. He was sore, his scratched arms stung, and his ears felt half-frozen. His hair was still plastered to his face, his cold cheeks and nose almost the same shade of pink. Maybe a little breather was just what they needed? The rain calmed down to a drizzle as they neared the bench, welcoming them to just... sit. Have a rest. Get the blood back to their fingers and let their addled brains recuperate for just that extra moment.

Xiu seemed suspicious of the bench, a feeling Cesc could not help but identify with. Nothing seemingly innocuous had actually been so, not today, not in this maze. But his aching limbs took over his suspicion, and Cesc lowered himself into the bench with a feeling of gratefulness, his back finally supported and the weight off his wings. For a few moments, the two remained in silence, the only noise the punctuation of the thunder not so far beyond. Now and then, a spill of snow would drift through the barrier that lead into this quieter spot, and Cesc felt grateful once more to be warm.

"... that was..." The stag cleared his throat, his normal rich lilt returning to him. "... that was something else."

It was a radical understatement, laced with relief and still a tinge of shock, but feeling was returning to his ears, nose, fingers, and Cesc was glad enough just for that. He wrung out the bundle that was his vest and cravat, half-amazed that he had held onto them through that overgrown jungle and torrential rainstorm. A waterfall cascaded from them onto the damp grass. He shook his head and tried on a ghost of a smile, turning to face Xiu.

"Thank you for..." He gestured to the ripped hedge wall. "... everything back there. Your wings are really wonderful. You aren't hurt?" His smile became tight with concern.

After a few long moments of rest, a piece of wry good humor tried to return to Cesc's face, also revived by the relative warmth of the slow drizzle and the fact that Xiu seemed, by all accounts, to be unharmed. As the stag looked back again at his silent companion, he noticed -- the enclosure was not as, well, enclosed as he thought! There was a pathway, hidden by the back hedge. Had it always been there? The place seemed so tightly shut in only a few minutes ago. If he leaned back, Cesc could see that it branched into two directions. It seemed... clean, normal, and most importantly, dry. Did they dare proceed? He tapped Xiu's shoulder and indicated the exit to him. They couldn't stay here forever... and they couldn't go back through the storm, certainly.

And now, which way...?

Xiu's notebook...

"Oh, no..." Cesc's smile faded as he saw the all-important notepad, realizing that this effectively silenced his companion even further. It threw into sharp relief just how delicate the sigel's communication opportunities really were -- a rainstorm, a dried-up pen, so many little things could take his power of voicing his opinion away. And it brought something else to the forefront -- his voice. Where was his voice?

Xiu hadn't cried out, even hoarsely, when the lightning struck. He hadn't audibly laughed after the birds rained poop down on them. He was truly, truly silent.

Cesc had not forgotten that feeling Xiu had given him the moment they'd met, the feeling that still lay in the back of his mind, even if it had been completely overshadowed by all the maze threw at them. He'd called it absence, an absence Xiu had that Cesc could not understand -- he understood it now. It wasn't an emotional loss, like that of Melisande, and that had thrown him off. It was a literal loss. A bewildering loss. What he'd considered to be a mere discomfort, a temporary annoyance...

... but it was still not the time to ask, even if the stag's expression was one of dawning understanding, his eyes dismayed as he looked back down at the notebook. Quickly, though, the expression changed to one of companionate warmth.

"It'll be dry in no time," Cesc said with a nod as they floated down Xiu's selected pathway, the drizzle now behind them. Cesc looked back at the bench and at the rip in the hedges beyond, where snow was still floating in and lightning was still crashing.

"You know," he said thoughtfully, offering the other a grin, "It's not all bad. At least that cleaned off all the bird droppings."

Great, just great. Of course it’d be just your luck to come across several giant pendulum axes in this maze. At first glance they are rather intimidating, yet on closer inspection don’t they seem a bit…odd? The one closest looks exceptionally flat with metal that looks like it was sprayed on and the edges aren’t smooth at all, they’re all jagged like the thing was cut out of cardboard or something.

The sight of multiple blades swaying ponderously back and forth across the expanse of the maze was heart stopping indeed and Xiu could not help himself as he stood rooted to the spot, his mouth slightly agape in shock. Even by any standards, this was going too far. Much too far!

But Cesc, who seemed to have a sort of natural curiosity for things, was already floating over to inspect the first blade closely. Seeing no apparent danger (unless the blades could suddenly alter their direction), Xiu allowed the frei to venture closer for a better look; all the while keeping on the alert just in case Cesc needed to be pulled back.

But instead the young frei gave a hearty laugh (short of a victory yell) and boldly reached his hand out. Before the White Sigel could do anything, the large blade had already swung downwards. Preparing himself for the worst, Xiu could only stare blankly at Cesc as the other waved the cardboard blade about. So this was all a trick then?

Snapping out of his surprise, Xiu was just in time to see Cesc laughing and knocking the second blade away with barely contained euphoria. Then the third then...

Warning bells were ringing in Xiu’s ears as Cesc approached the fourth. Although the blade just looked like all the others, there was just something off about its movements. Where the others had wobbled slightly against the friction caused by the air, the fourth blade... it was swinging back and forth with the most ominous weight about it. Giving a silent yell of fright as realization hit, Xiu made a mad dash over and tackled the frei to the ground just as the other was preparing to knock the monstrous blade away.

A loud and painful thud was heard as the blade came into contact with one of Xiu’s stone wings and Xiu felt a shudder of pain vibrate down from deep within his wings into his left shoulder blade. The giant axe may not have been sharp but its weight...it was enough to knock anyone out should they let their guard down or...in Cesc’s case, the weight of the blade may very well have fractured the frei’s wrist should he try to stop it as he did the others.