Welcome to Gaia! ::

Wasa straightened up and shrugged to herself. Wasn’t much she could tell just by looking and sniffing them. She didn’t want to be rude or selfish, but then she had not crossed a single (living) soul in all the maze or so much as heard a far off whisper. It was possible all these drinks were here just for her…

She held up the pink one first and let the soft light of the hazy sky filter through the soft hue. She took a full sip and set it down again. Interesting enough. She sampled the orange and then the purple too, letting the flavors wash over her palette. They were unique concoctions each, but the memory of the wide spread of delectables back at the part and the rumbling of her empty belly reminded her to push forward. She made sure the goblets were lined up as neatly as she found them and used her sleeve to wipe down the rims just in case she was mistaken about being the only one to cross them. Then, with her chest still safely tucked under her arm, she strode towards the exit.

It felt like vertigo at first, the maze walls growing taller as the tiles below her feet stretched further out in front of her. As she closed her eyes to try to shake away the disorientation she felt her center of gravity shift suddenly. Fortunately there was a nice, smooth wooden table to drape over as her body began to sway. Wasa spread her arms out over the surface and rested her cheek against the cool metal strappings. Maybe what she thought was a sip of tea had a little something extra in the brew. It had been a long time since she had indulged in such things.

Wasa slowly raised her head and looked out over the table, blinking away the last bits of disorientation. She squinted through the golden tendrils of her mask. Everything seemed so… detailed. Every crack in the stones, the soft, luminous quality of the stained wood beneath her, that 3 foot long centipede that just cruised by-

Wasa jumped up suddenly, skittering back a good few steps. There, from her new vantage point, things became very clear. The table that so graciously provided her with a few moments of rest was none other than the snail-guarded chest! It wasn’t hard tea she had sipped. It was SHRINKY tea!

The artist spun around and put her back to the chest. Where did that creepy crawly go? Oh god… what about the toad? She put her hand up to the level of the bottom leaves of the hedge, trying to recall the size the ambivalent amphibian. At about foot and a half she still had an edge over the croaker, but she wasn’t about to issue a challenge. The exit was looking wider and more welcoming than ever.

Wasa circled around the box, seeking out the best handholds and testing its weight. She hadn’t relieved the snails of their charge just to leave it a few ‘feet’ from the maze exit. She set her umbrella down on the lid of the chest and wound her chains of silk nasturtiums higher on her arms. “Hokay… a one… a two.” She placed both hands on the edge of the box and dug her heals into the raised edge of a tile, getting a little momentum into her first shove.

Wasa peered over the top of her box at the curious fluttering of glassine. “Oh, hello there.” The cockroaches weren’t nearly as intimidating as the centipede with its poisonous bite or the toad with its gaping maw. The little mandibled critters were actually rather cute with their twitching little antennae and glistening eye stalks. “You guys are going to get smooshed if you don’t keep going. Er… not that way though.” She walked out from behind the box, grateful for the break, and tried to scoop her hands under one of the dark amber carapaces to turn the bug away from the lurking toad.

Wasa blinked as if emerging into a bright light at seeing and hearing mingling people once more. The sounds of the maze had been so subtle that it made her suddenly woozy to hear so many overlapping clinks, steps, and voices. She tucked the box close to her chest. It seemed so light now that she felt the need to tense her fingers around it every few seconds just to be sure it wasn’t slipping from her fingers.

She didn’t see Pasha right away, nor the charming French woman and her pink haired companion. Without the distraction of company, the box took on a little more weight in her hands. Perhaps Dr. Kyou was still nearby. If he was not the ‘creator’ mentioned by the accompanying note, he would likely be able to narrow her search. Spotting him at his post, she tucked back the little disheveled bits of her hair and dress and approached.

Wasa approached the table, the smell of the searing beef making her already nervous belly lurch with longing. The feeling faded as fast as it came as she watched the doctor go about his preparations. Her fingers rubbed gently on the edge of the box as her teeth worried the inside of her lip. She didn't want to interrupt, but she really had no other idea who to talk to about the mysteries of her find. "Excuse me, Dr Kyou... but when you have a moment..." She held up the small chest and watched his face closely for a hint of recognition. "I wanted to ask... or at least just see if you, um." She waved quickly with her other hand "When you are done, of course!"

Dr Kyou was direct. She liked that. Usually, if she had to work her way up to a question, she found herself gracelessly wandering from topic to topic. An invitation to go straight to the point made her release a breath of relief as she took the offered lemonade. "I just completed your maze. Beautiful and clever, I have to say." She set the box on her lap, keeping one hand on the lid as she sipped her drink. After throwing all her weight behind it to get it out of the maze, she felt understandably protective. Or, at least, a little clingy.

"I found this box inside." She lifted her knee just a touch to indicate it though there weren't really any other boxes around to confuse it with. "There was this note...." She fished it out of its secure place and offered it to the doctor. "It mentions getting a key from the creator. I looked it over but didn't see any maker's mark, but I was hoping, since it was your maze..."

Wasa took the little key in hand. Though it had every reason to be, she was still amazed at how light it was. She almost expected it to rise off her fingers and disappear in a wisp of smoke. She tightened her fingers around it and worked the teeth into the lock, turning until she heard a ‘click.’

She held her breath as she ran her thumb over the seam of the lid. What had been so heavy but so precious to her pint-sized self? She exhaled as she lifted the top to reveal the mystery of the maze.

Her head shifted back on her shoulders as she beheld the odd contents. Her eye went first to what appeared to be a post-modern Christmas ornament, an empty glass ball topped with a conical metal ‘hat’ and a little band of spotted silk or something like it. Before she could ask, she saw the second item.

This one she picked up to get a closer look. It was a simple glass jar, nothing extraordinary about that, but inside were two halves of a nautilus shell. Now, she was familiar with nautilus shells. Heck, she had a whole drawer full of them back in her storeroom. But this one was unlike any she had ever seen. On the outside, mahogany tiger bands branched into even smaller bands, and those into smaller still, like forks on a river. Inside, the chambers had yet smaller chambers within, as if each could have housed its own tiny creature. As she narrowed her eyes to peer into the center, where there was usually just a core of mother of pearl, she saw the pattern continuing to spiral inward. “Amazing…”