Welcome to Gaia! ::

"A thing or two," Shiro nodded. "Or ... dozen." He flushed slightly and looked away. He knew he was a genius, he knew that language - or anything really - came more easily to him than to almost anyone else. He didn't like to dwell on the fact. He knew it made some people uneasy, and it made him uneasy to compare himself to them.

"Then we'll be fine," Earendil smiled. "Come on, we should help set up camp before we explore. It's only fair."

Shiro yelped and stumbled after Lin. "I'm coming," he laughed as he regained his footing. "I'm coming!" And he ran after her and Earendil, eager to get his studies underway.



Two days later, most of the ship's crew was living on the beach, while only a handful of them remained behind on the ship. By this time, Roydon had declared the island safe to explore - on the condition that no one wandered alone, and that they remained near the beach. They didn't know what was further out there, of course, and safety was always the first concern.

Storm and Starr were content to remain on the beach, while Shiro, Kaito and Ura headed out into the jungle to explore and to study.

Earendil was busy with his map making tools, and so it was Rhea who approached Lin.

"Want to go in with me?" she asked eagerly. "Earendil said he won't be ready until this afternoon, and I'm not sure about you, but I'd like to see what's out there a bit sooner."

"Not without me," Whisper put in. She had come on their second day on the island, and had not left Rhea's side.

"Maybe," Rhea smiled. "You never know." She smiled down at Whisper. "Let's go then. Lin, do you have your weapons?"

She herself had her staff, though she also had a small dagger at her waist.

"Then let's go," Rhea smiled, turning towards the jungle.

The growth was thick - between the vines, branches, leaves, and insanely tall grass, it was hard to get anywhere, and Rhea ended up having to use her dagger just to cut a path through the thick jungle.

"Have you ever been anywhere like this before?" she asked Lin as they went.

Rhea saw Lin glance upward out of the corner of her eye, and she stopped and grinned at her.

"Are you a climber?" she asked, her eyes sparkling mischievously.

Rhea laughed. "After you," she grinned.

The trees were good and thick here, nice and sturdy, and she had no fear of them breaking or even leaning under the weight of herself and her friend. After all, neither of them were very heavy.

Rhea climbed up after Lin, taking her time and being a bit more careful than Lin.

"You know," she smiled, "I bet someone has, in the past. Maybe we should ask Roydon if we could do that near the beach somewhere and stay in that while we're here instead of sleeping on the sand. What do you think?"

"I think you girls are crazy," Whisper muttered from where she sat on the ground, watching them.

"She has a good point," Rhea pointed out to Whisper as she joined Lin at the top of the tree. "Come on up and you can see for yourself."

She looked around. It was a particularly tall tree, and from up there they could see for miles and miles - even Lin would be able to, and Rhea of course could see much, much further.

Towards the northwest, a tall mountain could be seen, with smoke rising from its peak. The rest of the island was nothing but green, green, and more green.

"Looks like a volcano," Rhea pointed at the smoking mountain. "What do you think?"