Welcome to Gaia! ::

Julia was soon home, clutching her new orb in a plastic bag that the pawnbroker had given her. She was feeling very happy, for her purchase was exceedingly pretty, so she went ot the kitchen of her small apartment to bake some cookies. Soon, she had a batch of Milk and Cookies that she would save for when she needed it. Placing the cookies in the freezer, she then put the glass of milk in the fridge, knowing that she could replace it if it went bad.

Then, she realized how hungry she was. She walked over to the cabinet. Upon opening the doors she found... Nothing. She headed over the her tiny refridgerator/freezer unit. Opening the doors she saw... The Milk and Cookies but nothing else. She was almost tempted to eat them herself, but for some reason she found herself closing the 'fridge and saving them for another day. She picked up the phone and quickly dial her parents' number.

"Hey Mom, Dad. Um, I'm out of food.

. . .

Yes, yes, I know you just sent me more money, but money slips out of my hands easily.

. . .

I'm sorry. But can I please just have another $1oo? I'll love you forever!

. . .

Fine. $75 will do. Thanks, Mom! I'll use the credit card, then send you the bill for seventy-five dollars. Thanks. Bye~"

With that, she grabbed her purse, leaving her orb on the table, and ran down the street to the store. Once inside, she found herself surrounded by fragrant gingerbread aromas, as well as other sights and smells of the season. She smiled, and soon found herself at the checkout, her shopping cart loaded with food and a few other goodies. She had not only bought herself the necessary food to get her by, but also some wrapping ribbon, five golden rings that had appealed to her, and a sprig of mistletoe!

After paying (the bill was exactly $72.31, so she had a LITTLE left over), she headed home, her heart full of joy.

That night, Julia had an extremely strange dream. The dream was very realistic, for she had simply been walking around her apartment and scanning the newspapers for a job opportunity that she believed she could get. Then, she felt as though someone were watching her. She set down the newspaper onto the table, and then gaped at the strange... thing in front of her. It had long magenta-coloured hair that reached down to the middle of what seemed to be its chest, if you could call it that. It was humanoid in form, except that from a little above the waist down it had simply ghostly ribbon-like plumes. Even the humanoid parts of it weren't quite human though. Its ears had a distinct point to them, almost elven in shape. However, that wasn't the weirdest bit of the creature. Its skin had an obvious purple tint to it, some parts being purely purple. In fact, some parts of its skin had dark violet markings on it, reminding Julia of flower petals. It had deep amethyst eyes like so many of the people in the animes Julia had watched when she was younger and living in her parents' house.

The ghostly tendrils were flowing around in the air, almost making Julia dizzy, and, to add to the dizzying effect, the thing was holding onto an orb that was identical to the one Julia had bought in the pawnshop in the daytime.

Just as Julia was about to ask the creature what it was, the dream ended, launching Julia into a dreamless state of blackness.