Welcome to Gaia! ::

The ink wafting beneath her nose acted like something akin to smelling salts. The girl focused on the scent with enough energy to grope blindly for the pen with her hand and mouth. As soon as her lips latched on she bit the apart the pens with an audible crunch until bitter ink bled into her mouth. Not a drop went to waste. Every part of her acted as sponge for this elixir. Even the small amount that leaked from the corners of her lips was soon absorbed into her skin. The lavender light of her rune throbbed brighter and became tinged with the colors she had consumed.

Just under torn cloth on her shoulder David would be able to see her blood run muddy black before it clotted and stopped the flow. There was not enough ink consumed for the flesh to completely mend itself. Still, the bleeding had stopped for now and Lu's head was no longer spinning. He eyes fluttered shut as she breathed a sigh of relief. The sigel laid motionless on the ground for a few tense moments, probably putting off the fact she still had to get up and face the reality that she was still half dead while being stuck in a jungle.

The rabbit opened her eyes and they met David's, no longer glossed over with the haze of possession or death. She used his arm to help herself up. Her hand lingered as she examined his body for any superficial wounds she might have caused. A cut on his arm and dirty, but that was it. Good. Lu spoke to him softly, "Are you alright?" He might be alive, but Lu could not attest to his mental stability at this point. Already, a nervous feeling was beginning to develop in the pit of her own stomach, "We should find Luka and Prajna. It is dangerous here." Now that the threat in the forest was real and apparent, LuLu was worried for her fellow teammates.

Prajna tried to remain logical.

The Star tried to sew its lips shut and concentrate on paddling towards the surface.

But the fear, the cold, the darkness, all of them seemed to pierce through Prajna’s every pore, striking fragile bone and excited arteries without mercy. Prajna had been screaming when going under, the bubbles swallowing the Star’s androgynous features in an underwater cloud but in a sudden attempt to live, the Star had managed to swallow a bit of air. But how long would it last it? Prajna felt its heart slam against the interior of its chest. Was it going to die like this?

Then there was a muffled voice and Prajna remembered Luka! Prajna’s blue eyes opened, more fearful of dying than of the dark now, and then it saw a light. It had always heard of “the light at the end of the tunnel” from television shows but was this really what it looked like? Was this truly death? The redhead flailed towards its blinded friend and prayed, for both their sake, that it reached him. However, Prajna felt the weight of the heavy tentacles give another mischevious tug.

Prajna couldn’t resist.

It looked down for a moment, out of ignorant curiosity and saw the darkness. Saw the watery hell below. Prajna’s heart couldn’t take it.

Letting out a terrified scream, the Star immediately felt water invade its mouth and throat. As it gargled and battled for life, for freedom, for a merciful god, Prajna’s hands began groping the rocky sides of the pond, looking for something. Suddenly a sharp pain coursed through its hand and Prajna felt its fingers curl instinctively around some jagged stone. Its nails hurt. Its blood stained the water around its face. But it refused to let out. It had shut its mouth in one last attempt to stay alive, push whatever water continued to invade its mouth out, as the light came closer.

Luka!

Even within its own thoughts, Prajna could barely think straight…
- - - - -
"I'll..." David examined his wound, which was probably ... no, most definitely going to end up infected now, but nodded lightly, even allowing a relieved smile to slip onto his tired face. "I'll be okay. It's just a cut. I... um.."

He wasn't sure if he should bring up the whole stabbing bit, especially after he witnessed Lulu's magical body repair its wounds so quickly. However, the action in itself still haunted the man and would continue to do so for at least a month or two. He had never liked hurting people, especially not women, half-body or not. David eventually decided it was best to let the topic die off into the night as he helped Lulu up. His legs still felt a bit wobbly but the man felt confident that once he got some water and snacks in him and nothing ELSE happened to him them, he would recover just as well.

"They're going to be hard to spot because ... you know.." David glanced at where Lulu's legs would be. "But. Since it's night, I imagine those two have probably settled somewhere. Especially since they're young, y'know? I highly doubt they went boldly into the night haha..."

But as David reconsidered Prajna's personality, he started to wonder if maybe the youthful duo really did go bounding off into the night, innocently enjoying this little man hunt.

LuLu was relieved to hear that David was alright. However, a nervous tremor still ran throughout her body and made her hands shake. Could Prajna and Luka really be alright in a forest like this? The rabbit wore at her bottom lip before she replied, "If you think so."

It took her looking down at her ribbon for what he said to finally click. David was right. It would be difficult to track them with a raevan's.... anatomy quirks. Also, David and herself probably did not know even their own location anymore. LuLu added, "You still have the map?" The sigel began to fish in her pack for her flashlight.

And there went the light.

Prajna's fingers felt weak and the darkness seemed to pounce on the Star in an animal-like frenzy. Prajna didn't mean to but its lips parted and the water surged back in as the redhead lost consciousness...

Luka... was Prajna's last thought before blacking out. Had they not been underwater, the androgynous soul imagined the Satyr would have witnessed it cry...

- - - - -

Map.
Map. Map. Map.

David felt his heart jolt into another small panic. He tried to nod as he rummaged through his bag. He had it right? He had to have it. He... David was just about to burst into tears when he saw something crumbled in the corner of his bag, hidden underneath a water bottle and some chips. Throwing the chips into his mouth, held up by the corner using his teeth, David whipped out the map and handed it to Lulu. He then grabbed the water.

"Got it," he said through clenched teeth, unscrewing the bottle. David then removed the chips from his mouth and began nervously eating, trying to regain energy as quickly as possible. "Can you find us? I need to eat. I think my blood sugar's gotten too low... Don't want to pass out on you, Lulu.."

He tried to laugh.
It sounded like the world's ugliest, most strained laugh.

LuLu plucked the map gingerly from the man's hands. The folded paper had crinkled somewhat from the trembling of his fingers. The sigel bit her lip in a moment of contemplation before she floated forward and closed the space between them. Her other arm reach out to David. She cupped one of her palms around his shoulder and gave it a gentle, reassuring squeeze. Her voice came out as a hushed murmur, "Take your time. Are you sure you are ok?" The space between her brows crinkled in concern. She felt responsible for his current state even if she had been a puppet for some cursed doll's ill will.

LuLu then unfolded the map one corner at a time, delicately, as though it may break apart in her hands. Her lavender eyes trailed up and down the parchment roughly three times before the top half of it flipped down so her gaze could meet David's. The rabbit looked woefully confused and it was obvious the girl hand not even an inkling of how to read a map. In her eyes, it looked like an abstract painting full of colors and squiggles.... only much less appetizing.

Prajna felt its limbs grow heavier, its movements still. Everything seemed to dark... cold... Prajna wasn't even fighting back anymore. It just felt itself let go...

- - - - -

As Lulu's fingers curled affectionately around the man's shoulder, David felt himself calm, if only for a bit. He nodded, again trying to force a smile as he nibbled away at his chips. For some reason, something as simple as a bag of salt and vinegar potato chips suddenly tasted marvelous...

In his bliss, David took a moment to glance over at the bunny Sigel to double check her status... only to find her confused. Licking his fingers, he raised a brow, "Have... you ever used a map before, Lulu?"

LuLu shook her head in dismay, a light blush crept over her cheeks from embarrassment. "I have not." The fact it had become night was not helping in any way either. In fact, the map was starting to become a bit difficult to see. The rabbit suddenly recalled the mission she had before David had given her the task of deciphering the map. Her hand reached back and plucked a flashlight from a pocket on her bag. She clicked it on and flashed a spotlight on the map so they could both see it.

The only things surrounding them were the chirp of crickets and a hazy darkness (the moon sailing above them to the edge off and prevented it from being pitch black).

In the back of her mind, LuLu was praising whatever fate had given them small, peaceful sojourn.