Welcome to Gaia! ::

The giggling was louder once the door was pushed open. Little lights danced in the air, circling one another, and it became clear that this might be some kind of gathering.

Not that they were noticed yet.

With each movement of the fairy lights it was obvious there was more to them than just lights. They seemed to glimmer strangely to the eye.

Lily might have been tactical, America might have been sneaky, but Preacher was inherently neither of these things. So while she watched Lily move onto the shelves, she took a deep breath. In one powerful heave, she leapt off of America's shoulder and bounded into the room, right into the the middle of the lights. As she went, Preacher let out a loud squeak.

It was the mink equivalent of 'wasssssup'.

While Lily was seemingly not noticed, Preacher absolutely was and America was as well for the moment she cried out.

The giggles stopped abruptly, the fairy lights freezing in place. Close to them, Preacher might have noticed that they looked like pixies (with tiny insect like bodies and wings of varying types that emitted light).

For the space of a few heartbeats silence reigned, the little creatures still motionless, but that changed.

They started to shriek, the noise surprisingly ear piercingly loud and sharp, and their glow went from white to an alarmingly dark bloody color. It outlined their bodies all the more for it and they immediately started to dive bomb Preacher.

Every time one of them got close, it would feel like she was being zapped by a small electrical current and there were so many of them.

She shrieked loudly as they began zapping her and tried to knock some of them to the ground. Maybe the stealth approach had really been best, but at least she got to fight. Perhaps America could talk sense into the little thingers.

For now, though, she flailed about, lithe body leaping through the air at them.

With Preacher and Lily suddenly hidden within the shadows, America was the new target. Except that it did not matter what she said, what she did.

The tiny creatures did not care and continue to shriek and attack.

... and with America so tiny, they dive bombed at her to pick her up and start carting her off. Back out the way they came in. At least, once they had America in their grips, they seemed to stop zapping.

The world became a blur, and Lily stumbled on her paws as she sought to reorient herself, to find the lights again in the dimness of the shadows. At a lack for any visible cues, she followed the sounds of audible rage out of the shadows and back into the room, where the lights were carrying off a doll-sized version of their charge.

Preacher was already on the move, but it took Lily a moment to blink and process what was happening before she scampered along behind, bounding at full speed. She launched at one of the sprites with her head down and horns forward with the intent to full-on ram one of the kidnappers out of the sky.

It did not seem to matter because they swirled tighter around America, blocking her from both Preacher and Lily. For all that the moonwalkers tried to do something, the crowd of pixies grew thicker.

The pain of their zaps increasing until it was clear that they were all being herded back out. Through the double doors and right out the front door.

Thankfully America was not tossed but set on the ground. She was even given a pat on the head (the kind one gave to a child who did not know better) whereas Lily and Preacher got sharp shocks on their butts (like naughty little children).

There would be no going back in.

Mostly because now there was an agitated mob of small pixies at the front door.

... perhaps it would be best to regather and attempt this another day.

Lily fought against the pixies. She gnashed her teeth and screeched and blindly thrashed for America, but her paws were traitors and walked her backwards, away from the zapping and the pain. It wasn't even until they were nearly outside that she recognized that they had been herded, and she hissed at the last one to zap her, tiny needle teeth bared and fur puffed up.

And then America spoke and Lily's focus shifted just as she did, back to her calmer, human self. "Yeah, that was some s**t," she murmured darkly, laying on her stomach with a look that could have been discomfort of concern. "You okay? That's not...permanent, is it?"