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Andarien was atop Ponydash's back as they traveled today. He of all the group was the least accustomed to traveling, and his energy had waned faster than anyone else's. He almost seemed to big for the horse-like Pokemon, but Ponydash didn't seem to mind it, and had no trouble with carrying his master.

When Miyuki asked him to talk to Eon and Ai, though, he stopped Ponydash and climbed to the ground to make it easier for him to do so.

He asked Eon first, since he was closer with Eon than with Ai (and rightfully so, as Ai was Miyuki's Pokemon and not his). Eon looked up at him with glowing red eyes and blinked slowly before wuffing a short response.

Andarien looked at Miyuki. "Eon says it's like sleeping," he told her. "Once he goes in, he's aware of what's going on but it's like a dream ... and when he's let out he doesn't feel like time has passed, except that he's more rested and he does know that time has passed."

Andarien nodded and was about to go back to riding on Ponydash when Eon yipped at him again. He paused, then turned back to Miyuki.

"Hey ... Mi," he said hesitantly, "why do you still keep the babies in the bag all the time when we're traveling? They're more than a season old, they're big enough to walk with us ... and Eon and Ai would make sure they don't get lost or run off anywhere ..."

Eon bounded over to the Eevees as Miyuki let them out of the bag and licked both of their faces before prancing alongside them. Then he looked up at Miyuki and Andarien as if saying I told you so.

Andarien chuckled softly. "Just don't you let them get lost now, you hear?"

Eon looked evenly at his master.

"You know what," Andarien commented a while later, after having been lost in thought for nearly an hour, "we never did ask Shiro about those crystals we collected in Amon Darthir. And after working with Corazin for a year, I kind of wonder if they would be useful for something."

He glanced over at Miyuki again. "Should we ask him? Or maybe we should wait until we stop for the night, that might be easier and then we could even look at them."

He wondered if his sister was even still interested in the crystals. Though, considering that they had just about been killed when they'd found them, he kind of figured they would be rather unforgettable.

"Okay," Andarien agreed.

Suddenly Kyrie held out one arm, stopping everyone, her eyes narrow as she peered forward silently into the trees ahead of them.

Ponydash stepped in front of Andarien and Eon stood over the baby Eevees. Daeron put one hand on the handle of his sword and loosed it in its sheath, preparing to draw if necessary.

For a long moment, all was still and silent. Wind rustled through the trees around them, birds sang in the trees, off in the distance the sound of a woodpecker pecking a tree echoed ...

... then, just when Daeron was about to speak up and ask why they'd stopped, there came the sound of voices: low and soft, their owners clearly trying not to be overheard.

Daeron tightened his grip on his sword, slowing his breathing to quiet it further. How could Kyrie have possibly known there were people ahead of them? His elvish hearing hadn't picked it up, even in the silence, yet she had heard them somehow while others had been talking ...

Kyrie kept her eyes forward and remained immobile, clearly waiting, but she raised one finger to tell the others to wait before they did anything rash.

The voices grew slightly louder, and then the voices were joined by rustling sounds: movement through trees and bushes, footsteps on the ground, twigs cracking ...

Then there was a flicker of movement through the trees, and Kyrie's muscles tensed.

The voices were quite audible now, quiet though they were, but they were not speaking any language that those not native to the continent understood - with the exceptions of course of Iorlas and Andarien, the ones who enjoyed the effects of dragon's blood.

As the voices began to fade away and the distance between the travelers and the other group grew larger, Andarien looked at Kyrie curiously.

"What was that?" he asked in a hushed tone, not certain whether or not it was safe to be speaking yet.

Kyrie looked at Andarien, and then as suddenly as she'd stopped, she relaxed and continued on walking. "Better safe than sorry," she said simply.