Welcome to Gaia! ::

Andarien hurried along as fast as he could, stumbling twice but not quite falling before they made it to the house. He was confused and scared - what was that noise? What did it mean? Why were they rushing now?

"Serenity!" Beren shouted after her as she headed away from the house after everyone else had gone in.

"I'm going to make sure everyone knows to find shelter," she shouted back to him. "Don't wait for me, I'll find somewhere else!" And a moment later she had become a falcon, the swiftest way she knew to look around.

"What's going on?" Earendil asked anxiously as Laer and Beren began to barricade the door and windows.

"Sandstorm," Laer replied simply - and then she ran to get the windows in the kitchen.

"We only get about a minute or two for warning," Beren explained, stuffing the gaps around the door with pillows from the couch. "Used to use a bell, but we found that half the time the storm was on us before anyone could get to the stupid thing. War horns are loud and portable, so we went with that instead."

"Not often, in the summer," Beren replied, moving from the door to the windows. "But in the winter, every week or two. Be grateful if you haven't experienced one while you were traveling through the desert. They're deadly."

He finished with the windows and headed to the stairs to get the upstairs windows, but Nadya appeared at the top of the stairs and stopped him. "All is pre-" she began to say; but she was cut off when the storm suddenly struck.

It was as if something had slammed into the side of the house. The entire building shook, and pictures fell from the walls. Outside, the wind roared and whistled, and grains of sand found their way through tiny niches in the walls.

"Nana!" Andarien cried, running to Lin and grabbing her legs. He was pale with terror, and tears hung in his eyes, threatening to fall.

Earendil reached for Miyuki and put his arms around her and pulled her close. He wasn't exactly comfortable with the noise either, but he hid it well. He was getting used to that by now.

"It won't last long," he assured her softly.

Andarien just whimpered and clung tightly to Lin.

The house continued to rattle and shake, and sand kept drifting in through the smallest little cracks of the walls.

From the kitchen there suddenly came the sound of breaking glass, and Beren hurried to help Laer to minimize the damage. Before he even made it to the door, however, the noise stopped as suddenly as it had begun. As if someone had flipped a switch, it was finished.

For a moment, all was silent; then, from the kitchen, a sigh could be heard.

"That's the same window as last month," Laer murmured ruefully.

Andarien sniffled and looked up at Lin. "It's not going to come back?" he asked fearfully.

Earendil was stroking Miyuki's head, reassuring her, as Lin was Andarien, that the storm was over and that they were safe.

Nadya came down the stairs slowly. "There were people caught outside in it," she murmured softly, and only the slight crease in her forehead showed her anxiety.

Beren came back into the living room.

"I'm going out to see if Serenity's all right," he told the others, heading towards the door. "That storm wasn't bad, as far as storms go, but the wind can still ..."

He trailed off, unwilling to finish his train of thought. He took out the stuffing from around the door and shoved the door open, using his shoulder for extra force. The sand outside the door was piled only a few inches deep, and it took a moment for him to force the door open enough for him to slip through it.

"Only if you feel up to it," Nadya replied to Daemon. "You've only been out of the sword a little over a week now, after all. I'm going to go, though. Gion is out there somewhere."

She didn't know if he'd made it to shelter or not, or if he'd even been out in the open in the first place, but she intended to find out.

"Lin, Earendil," she added, "you're welcome to come, though if you want to stay with your children that is more than understandable."

She headed to the door, which was still ajar, and slipped through it and was gone.

Earendil hugged Miyuki tightly, making sure she knew he wasn't going to go anywhere. Andarien was feeling calmer now, but when he saw that Miyuki was still so upset, he let go of Lin and ran over and wrapped his little arms around Miyuki's waist, hugging her as well.

Earendil put one hand on Andarien's back as well, then looked over at Lin. "If you'd like, I'll stay with them," he offered.