Welcome to Gaia! ::

((Er, he wasn't unc-- never mind. We'll go with that.))

Regond was absolutely flustered. And red... as if he were embarrassed. Still an owl, and unchanged to his Ether form. Apparently, draining the Ether from a being truly did reduce its strength.

Regond was once known as the most powerful (most renowned) Guardian in Ether, along with Shef's father. Lumah now took that title.

"Y-y-yes!" Regond flapped over to... whoever these people were... and then landed on a nearby branch. Regond had wings--he could do nothing useful.

"Quickly, wake him up," instructed the owl.

Regond was actually very stringy, bony, vein-y, and wrinkled. He was the equivalent of an old man.

"Y-you..."

But Shef, with impeccable timing, woke by himself.

"I hate pickles."

The uncouth youth glanced around--MORE NEW FACES. Then blinked tiredly. Standing up, Shef rotated until he saw Regond.

"Where the hell have you brought me?" Ever the magnet for drama, Shef turned and stalked off into the Sylstern alone.

Regond let out a dramatic sigh and flapped, once again, after the young boy he was bound to Guard.

The Sylstern would eventually even out into powerful plains with sparse trees, albeit the few trees being larger around than the Empire State Building and far, far higher. This was the Reimli, which the River Nanne flowed straight through. It could be followed from the edges of Sylstern directly to the endless deserts that nothing, or so they said, existed across.

Harlin watched curiously, leaning against the tree. It seemed as though none of them had even realized his presence. How amusing.

It seemed no one had noticed Holly's hands either, nor the fact that crystals of ice were swirling around her like Gaara's sand.

((Another anime reference. Bwahahaha!

Geez... I feel like my characters are INVISIBLE. Thanks guys.))

((Meh. That's not it... Her power is influenced by instinct and emotion, but that's not it. Her hand got splashed with venom and disolved, to the bone in some places.

Oh well, thanks for helping Harlin out. I was trying to figure out how to introduce him I didn't think of having one of the students know him already lol))

Harlin nodded to his young students, Floreta and, of course, the extroverted Reign. "It has been a long time. I trust you haven't forgotten what I've taught you?"

Damascus, in his Ether form, which resembled a mongoose, crept up beside Harlin. He was as big as a lion, with front claws to match. His teeth gleamed faintly as he watched his old pupils. He had taught them as much about Guardians as Harlin had taught them about fighting and martial arts.

"We'll find out soon enough," Harlin said, making it clear that the lessons were to continue.

Damascus raised his head, a fearsome look in his eyes. One who did not know him well would think he was about to behead the offender using his teeth. As Alhiria and Floreta had spent some time training among them, she would know the difference between his amused expression and the murderous one.

He spoke for the first time since departing from the outskirts of Reimli. "Nice to see you're in one piece as well," he said. "Although I am curious as to how you would taste, if you weren't." An eye for an eye, my friend, he thought, amused.

"I'm Harlin Anders, or Master Harlin, if you'd prefer. I'm a teacher for newcomers to the Ether. You're all lucky to have survived that attack, although I'm glad to see that you have some kind of ingrained talent for this kind of thing."

At the mention of someone needing medical attention, Harlin turned his gaze on Holly, who had a severely injured hand. Probably as the result of the Bakka's venom or a misused ability.

"We have medicine in Reimli," Harlin mentioned, a brief frown crossing his features.

The crystals around Holly seemed to warp, then melted. They were so tiny, it seemed as though they had simply disappeared instead of floated to the earth. The water cocoon on her hand stayed, however. It was the only thing protecting her bone from the air and extreme pain.

Narissa looked at Falian with a gaze close to annoyance. "Of course she needs medical attention," she hissed, not unkindly. Snakes hiss, and she was just a bigger version of that snake. It wasn't meant to be menacing or anything, although many perceived it as such. "It's probably causing her incredible pain. She's trying to hide it, but she's not doing a very good job."

It was true. Holly's expression revealed something close to a grimace, but her eyes were moist with unshed tears. Her skin felt cold and on fire at the same time. She was lucky it wasn't worse, however.

((Edited to respond to Falian's question XD))

Why do I come back to you?

You hate me. You scream at me. You ignore me.

But I still come back to you.

You push me. You pull me. You shove me against random solid objects all hours of the day.

But I still run back to you.

Why?


Alhiria glared down at Damascus for a moment before dropping the murderous gaze and chuckling.

"My my, hungry as always, I see," she commented. "You gluttonous little Guardian." She looked over to Holly. "Human, I am not against carrying you to Reimli. It will be faster in the air than on foot."

"I will-" Floreta automatically began, but then she stopped herself short and gazed at the ground. "I mean, I am also not against walking, if that is all right..."

Reign turned to look at Floreta.

"Human, if it's not too big of a favor to ask you to fly with your Guardian..." she began, "I would appreciate it. There are things I need to speak with Harlin about." She glanced at the teacher. "Privately."

Falian pouted.

"Does that mean you don't want me around?" She pouted. Reign laughed, and offered the girl her shoulder.

"Nonsense," she replied as her Guarded clambered excitedly onto her back, settling on her shoulders and looking around in awe. "I can speak to him with you around, surely."

Besides, you'll be too curious about our surroundings to pay any attention to what I'm saying. The great wolf thought.

Floreta sighed, a little disappointed.

No. A LOT disappointed.

"All right. It was a bad idea anyway... I will fly with Alhiria..."