Welcome to Gaia! ::

((and now, fast-forwarding; in part because I've no idea how far it really is. lol))
It was a decent trek, and by the time they passed Bass'ken lake & entered the woods Liliana was showing the strain of concentrating on the levitation spell for so long. It did not show in the spell itself, but the red furred female looked positively exhausted and she only answered questions specifically directed at her.

A flair of relief filled her green eyes to see the path up ahead through the woods and her brown & gold wings beat a little faster. Some light flickered through needles of the conifer trees & the branches of the deciduous trees of the woods. There was a fairly clear path though the woods, a little wider than a large draft horse. Some old wagon ruts lightly marked the edges.

Deep in the woods a clearing opened up to reveal a quaint little cottage, perhaps one and a half stories high. It looks only large enough to have 4-5 rooms inside. Smoke curled welcomingly out of the chimney bringing with it a soft, comfortable warm smell.

The cottage itself was surrounded by a lush rose garden, beautifully blooming dispite the snow on the ground. Amid the roses there were Amaryllis, Morning Glories, Moon Flowers, Midnight Candy Phlox, Strawberries, Raspberries, and something that looked to be mangos. Around the corner of the house to the right there was a vegetable garden with asparagus & broccoli & spinach & sweet potatoes. All grow with health despite the weather. To the other side there was a strange, metallic looking shed beyond the garden with no windows & an odd door.

Liliana avoided even looking to the shed to their left, bringing their odd party through the garden & to the stairs that led to the porch. Hearing a rustle in the plants nearby, Liliana smiled wryly. "Hello, Amaryllis. Peter."

Two little white heads peeked out from the garden to notice the group. The larger of the two had green leaves on her cit cheeks and deepening pink to match the amaryllis blooms in the garden on every point. The rabbit beside her was as white as the snow covering the landscape. The cait cit put her pink paws together & bowed her head formally, the rabbit Peter merely dipping his head half hidden in the snow. [Sweet Water, Liliana & guests.] She seemed fairly unperturbed by their coming, only glanced with worry at her plants as if more afraid that the garden would be damaged by their passing then that so many kitsu were there. [I would meet you all later, but my plants need extra care to thrive in the white cold.] Amaryllis bowed her head to excuse herself and Liliana grinned as she opened the front door with a paw.

The front door opens onto a communal greatroom. The room is fairly large, with a vaulted ceiling overhead. In the corner to the right of the door a television was on; Cats playing though no one seemed to be watching. Going to the right wall was the fireplace with a cozy fire burning brightly behind a very secure grate. Above the fireplace hung a portrait of a human woman, the young boy, & a man who was broad of shoulders & kind of face with a mischievous crooked smile to match the child's. The name "Relm Arrowny 2006" was scrolled in the lower right hand corner.

Across the room were two entrances, one to a short hallway; the other into what looked like a kitchen. There were smells of a home cooked meal coming from inside.

The left wall had but one door, which looked like it lead out to the gardens. In the floor to ceiling window to the left of the front door was a beta tank with five fish and one fish egg -with an oddly glowing winged speck in attendence- inside hung suspended four feet from the floor. There were a couple sofas as well as a dozen pillows & beanbags & cushions scattered upon the floor.

There was a hammock about halfway up the height of the room, with another one located higher up if one cared to look.

A shrill screech greeted them before any other creature in the room took note, acompanied by the rush of a 6-inch winged blue-gray blur. "Nenemne!!! Pelae!!!" "Not now Tien!" Liliana adonished the kunkun anxiously but with force.

"Oh my." Setsumi took her time observing the home. The outside was lush with plants, and nestled in the center was a simple cottage. She paused outside the door, peeking her head inside. The only building she had ever entered was HQ, since she was used to living outdoors. She gave a sheepish grin and sweat-dropped. "I suppose I'll wait outside."

Terasu had followed Lily inside, still pestering Atae of her 'accessories'. His jaw dropped though when he took in how big the inside was. "Holy cow! This place is huge!" He blinked as Lily spoke to what seemed to be a speck of dust with wings. Okay?

Liliana was about to answer when the kunkun latched itself onto Edward's braid with a happy hug. Tien knew this 'pelae' -he had been here before! "Aamha! Aamha! Disa mit san?"

A humanoid creature in green & red artist garb turned around on one of the sofas. She held an egg in her lap patterned much like an opal. Tucking a light brown curl with a gold nail beneath her red beret she took in the situation. "He can't play, Tien. His legs are crooked. Unnaturally too." "Yureshe..." The kun pouted, not releasing its hold. A purple and gold feather tailed cat on the sofa beside her hissed unhappily as she turned around. "Shhh, Dea. I'm not moving." Then a smile for the group as she turned back around. "Rikku's in her workshop."

"Thanks Relm." The winged kitsu replied gratefully.

Another female in a red beret -this one different with one upright ear one folded ear & wearing headphones- poked her head out of the door to the left that otherwise seemed to lead to the gardens. A large black & brown dog peeked out his massive head below her arms as did another creature dressed like her but looking more like a goat. "You need Blondie? I'll knock for you. Wanted to ask if we could borrow Dreav. The three stepped from the room, showing a full artist's studio behind them. Then the speaker shut the door & knocked on it loudly. "Blondie! Liliana and some other kitsu are looking for you, and BlackLuck Relm & I want to know if we might borrow Dreav."

A blonde haired audio in a tight bright yellow dress opened the door. Another room altogether could be seen behind her -this one a workshop & bedroom combined."What's that, Relm? You need Dreav?" Rikku whistled and a small blue hummingbird like creature flew out of the poof of her high ponytail, humming loudly. Then she blinked her swirling green eyes at the kitsu group. "Fayths! What're all of you doing here?"

A black skinned Elven looking woman in mint green straitened her witch's hat as she leaned against the hallway she had just walked from. "That's what I'd like to know."


~~~~~
Amryllis looked up to see one of the kitsu had remained outside. [Do you know your Latin?]

The sudden appearance of other creatures in the house had Setsumi backing out of the home. She was not a kitsu that enjoyed crowds. She settled herself on the front steps and took in the scenery. Closing her eyes, she took in the smell of the flowers and enjoyed the warmth of the sun. Which reminded her...

"Help you not be shy?" Terasu blinked, thinking that chains would be more embarrassing than helping. He himself was shy too, but not as bad as Atae. He gave her a grin. "You seem to be getting better though with the more kitsus you meet."

Edward didn't really know what to say as those around him spoke of him and his metallic limbs that needed to be refitted. He felt like he was imposing, and the teen wanted to tell them not to worry about it. However, he needed his limbs to get around. He couldn't just hobble along on two legs, although he did have wings. But it was unacceptable.. not to mention if he had another enounter with Envy it would leave him at a disadvantage. Thus, Edward was tight lipped, despite his pride. That is.. until he heard the word 'little' used.. and his expression immediately turned sour. "I'm NOT little!" he protested loudly... although not making near as much of a fuss as he usually would. After all.. he was a guest here and they were offering to fix him.

The request from Liliana drew a surprised glance, before he nodded slowly, "Yeah." He remembered enough to think up a decent room. Ed sighed, before quietly thinking.. and getting a clear image in his mind. With a few flaps of his wings, and the aid of Liliana's levitation Edward sailed over to the door and pushed against it, allowing it to open easily.

What was on the other side, drew a flicker of emotion in the teen's golden eyes. It was a room that looked to be directly out of the early 1900's. A living room that held a comfortable sofa, as well as a few other articles of furniture. Off to one side there was a workbench with various tools, charts, diagrams and books on automail. Not to mention various spare parts. An old timey phone sat on a lonely little table, and not far from it.. a board that held various photographs. Photographs from Edward's previous lifetime.. of himself, his brother... and others that he had known. It was the living room of the Rockbell estate, a place that he had grown very familiar with in his past life. Where he often came for work to be done on his automail.

As he wistfully gazed around the room, his eyes fell on a familiar looking wrench. He almost expected to hear Winry's voice, greeting him.. or the bark of the dog.. Din. He shook his head, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to come to his eyes.

Was she getting better? Atae ducked her head and allowed herself a small mental preen. Maybe she was getting better! After all she was still ok right now... but then... she was sort of in the middle of her friends and none of the new arrivals had... y'know... spoken to her.

She started to follow Terasu over and felt a tug on her belt and turned around to look. Ok... what was that and why had it hooked her belt? "Uhh... what're you doin'?..."

Except for his ears tilting farther and farther back Endless appeared unruffled. At least he recognized the Relm and Rikku audios. He imagined Chroma and Ginny were around somewhere... "I guess I'll stay with the kids... unless you guys need me for something?" He wasn't sure which he'd prefer at the moment.

He truely felt comfortable in this room, which would probably help keep the young teen at ease during the whole process. Relm audio getting nothing more than a little huff from Edward before he was set down on the couch. "Thanks, Lili" he voiced towards his friend, wanting to make sure that he appreciated her efforts. She looked exhausted, and he felt somewhat guilty for having caused it. But no matter.. there were other things to worry about and he was sure that Liliana would be fine. Edward easily made himself comfortable, curling up on the sofa and watching as Rikku audio milled about.

The teen laughed lightly, amused at the audio's enthusiasm. She acted just like Winry, who always got excited over anything automail or mechanical in any way. Including his state alchemists' silver pocket watch. Hearing Terasu's question, Edward looked his way and flicked an ear. He laughed and shook his head, "No blood, don't worry. My automail can detach from my body pretty easily."