Welcome to Gaia! ::

She is wet and lost, whoever she is. (How silly of her to have forgotten her name.)

The trees circle her and though she kneels, attempts to peer through, the way out eludes her. She moves back, turns to -- "Oh! Hello," she greets the acha.

"Do I know you?"

Giveforward frowns in return. She doesn't think so but how can she tell? She doesn't know herself. It appears the acha is less concerned for she turns to the real problem -- being lost.

"Want to work together?"

A word of acceptance blossoms in her throat and then dies. Where did the acha come from? She fidgets and then shakes her head. She'll find a way of this grove alone, whoever she is.

Prompt 4: The Gnat's Guidance

For the first time... he felt peaceful. He didn't remember who he was, or why he was questing. But this feeling... He couldn't shake the idea that this wasn't how he usually was. It was an itch at the back of his head. The forgetting. He was sure it was a curse of some kind to confuse him, but it may have actually been a good thing.

If he didn't have a name, he wasn't sure what to call himself. There was a doe speaking to him, and he wanted to be polite and introduce himself, but he had no idea how one would do that.

She could be the enemy. But he couldn't remember why he would even have an enemy.

He silently nodded. That was another thing he knew had changed. He had a feeling he was usually more verbose. With that nod, he agreed to team up. This surely was a case of the blind leading the blind though.

PROMPT 4: THE GNAT'S GUIDANCE

When she plunged into the river, Through Your Eyes knew she had followed the advice of the wrong flower, but she could not admit that she herself had done wrong. The violets were too abhorrent to her sensibilities to have been the ones that she listened to. Their stupid cheer was too grating. So she swam and she fought; she did not lack in strength and she was no easy prey, even for a vicious river. Kicking and snarling, careful not to gulp down any water, Through Your Eyes tumbled and swam in the rapids. Teeth bared, she pushed on though her heavy, furred pelt grew heavy and her bones grew chilled with the water.

When she made it onto dry ground, she did not pause to gather herself. She pushed onward, determined to prove that whatever vulnerability one tried to present itself was long gone. Only strength remained. Not sure where she was actually meant to go, she moved restlessly anyway until the gnat, irritating as it was, settled into her ear. She followed its advice though she shook her head to and fro to try and knock its place from her ear. As much as it seemed more useful to finally explore her surroundings (they did not shift with each step), the gnat pushed her onwards to a clustering of trees.

When she finally broke through the trees, she was by herself and- What was her name?

She frowned, she was searching for something but even her name evaded her. The snarl was instinctive as was the stamping of her hooves. She did not know her name, but somehow she still knew herself or at least so she thought. She remembered strength, but here the fear was as strong. The feelings prickling and tearing at her skin, she charged the line of trees and tried to tear her way out of the grove. However, try as she might, the grove seemed impenetrable. She would keep trying though and perhaps she would discover the secret to these trees.

Deciding that it might be best to turn back and exit the way she entered, she turned around only to be confronted by the sight of a slight acha. Her eyes narrowed, instinctively distrusting the smaller creature in front of her. They both seem to have lost something that none should ever lose: their names. They surely do not know each other; even remembering nothing, she feels that this is not a doe that she would have normally known, but even she can agree that they must get out of this grove.

That, however, did not mean that she was eager to agree with the other doe about setting out together. She did not trust the acha. Alone, if the trees turned against her, she would fight. Together, the acha was only an additional threat should the acha also betray the strange, peaceful stillness of the grove. She shook her head, not even bothering to speak; she would go alone.

PROMPT 4: The Gnat's Guidance

When Fair Thought approached the river she immediately began wishing she hadn’t, but before she knew it she’d been swept up in the rough watery fury. While struggling to keep her head above water, her body suddenly collides with something hard but stuck-fast and stable: a large log wedged into the riverbed. With difficulty, Fair Thought pulls her self, fur heavy with water and mud, along the log to finally end up along the other side of the ferocious river.

Scrambling up the bank to safety Thought is in tears. She’s not tough, she’s not cut out for murderous mobs and raging rivers. This entire journey thus far has been nothing but ruckus, confusion and panic. All she wants is a moment to be herself, a moment to contemplate quietly, to not rush from place to place but to carefully obverse and meander by.

Lost in her begrudging thoughts and memories of simpler times, Thought doesn’t notice the gnat that has landed in her ear until it’s tiny voice interrupts her.

“There is a grove,” Thought shakes her head at the high-pitched voice, too loud directly in her ear. “There you will find your path. Eventually.”

Thought has had quite enough of others giving her directions but try as she might she can’t shake the voice from her ear and so she ends up heading through the valley but not without frequent defiance. As they pass through the forest of towering trees, meander she does, slower even than she would usually, never more grateful for the simple ability to do so.

When she comes across the grove, Fair Thought feels at peace, relaxed back into her normal state of being. She knows this, but somehow she’s no longer sure how she knows.

Peering slowly around her, she observes the the thick trees that surround her. There are scarcely any gaps between them and they form a tight circle. She wonders how she got in here in the first place, surely she couldn’t have fit through those gaps. Her fur is covered with bits of flaky dried mud so maybe she came from the ground? She looks around and sees no hole or disturbed earth, only grass and other little plants.

Perhaps she fell from the trees? Could she climb? Observing the trees though, she doesn’t think she’d have much luck, so probably not. Maybe she came from the sky, but surely falling that far had to have hurt, though not to say that falling from a tree wouldn’t-

“Do I know you?” Thought haven’t even registered that she had caught sight of the Acha doe that she now finds before her. To answer the other’s question, she doesn’t know, but feels a little reassured that she is not alone in that.

“We have to get out of here.” The Acha urges, but Thought isn’t in a rush, she hasn’t even figured out how she got here yet, why would she be in a hurry to leave? But something about the edge of fear in the other’s voice convinces Thought to abandon her curiosity, though it still hangs in her mind.

“Okay.” She simply tells the Acha, thoughts whisking off in another direction as she observes the sky above, wondering what time it is and how long she might have been here.

At this the doe smiles and asks, “Want to work together?” but there’s something a little off about the way she says it. Lowering her head from the sky, Thought observes the Acha with renewed interest but there's nothing more to read into, the doe looking on to Thought with wide eyes, awaiting her decision.

Thought belatedly agrees to team up. Regardless of unseen intentions this Acha might have, she can’t see how either of the two of them will be going any where, any time soon, anyway.

Prompt 4: The Gnat's Guidance

The valley proved a wise choice, at least insofar as nothing there had tried to kill him. That, at least, eased his frustration, until the most unhelpful gnat settled in his ear and refused to be dislodged. A strong part of him wanted to ignore it's advice as spitefully as he had the Lily's (that had worked out quite well for him after all) but considering the bug seemed permanently attached to this ear and capable of making this dream even more uncomfortable than it already was, he decided he might as well follow instructions. Why the hell not.

But wait. Actually. Why the hell not? Not what? What? He.. he couldn't remember. He couldn't remember what he had decided to do, or even why he'd decided it, or what he was even feeling about it. Strange. What did he remember? Hmmm... Well, there was. This thing. This thing he had to do. A quest. Yes, that was it, and to do that, well, he had to get out. Yes. Out of this goddamned grove. A faint memory stirred at the curse. Annoyance, maybe? He couldn't be sure. He didn't know how to get out.

"Do I know you?" He turned. "No?" Probably the mildest answer he'd given anyone in this dream. Probably?

"We have to get out of here. "Obviously." A snap. Frustration bubbled, as did memory, ever so faintly, at the very edges of his mind. It slipped away when he tried to bring it to the surface.

"Will you help me? We can-" "No." His response, so curt it surprised even himself, cut her short. Both of them stopped, him as stunned as she probably was at the (unwarranted?) violence of his opinion. However, even his bewildered self still trusted his instinct - surely the furor of his response had to mean something? "Uh, yeah. No. Bye."

He'd do this alone.

No. Nonono. Fear darted within her heart, head shaking when the Acha spoke. She did not trust their stranger. The look within their eyes were not agreeable. Shaking her head, the doe stepped towards the meadow, avoiding eye contact.

"I choose to go alone, I'm sorry."

Lust heaved himself onto the bank, his eyes slits to prevent the torrent of water from damaging them. That Lily! He should not have trusted that sharp tongued little flower. He'd even apologized! He gasped for breath, slow and long, before the gnat lands in his ear. His lips twitch, but he controls, barely, the urge to giggle at the voice. He pondered the words of the little bug, then sighed and shrugged. After all, he had no better advice, and at least he had not even so much as accidentally assaulted the gnat... So hopefully it was more disposed to honesty.

When he got to the grove and forgot his name, however, he had more pressing concerns in his head then the honesty of gnats. What was his name? Why couldn't he remember? And how did he get out of here? When he spotted the Acha, he blinked, slowly, and studied her. When she asked if she knew him, he gave a slight, silent shrug. She was pretty enough, but... he was suspicious. All of what had gone on, and the name forgetting especially, made him very suspicious. And where had the gnat gone? He didn't remember it flying away...

He considered her offer, solemn and serious, then, finally he said "I think this is a task to be done Alone. Perhaps that is why we forgot, so that we might be forced to rely on our wits and not the aid of others we once knew..."

Prompt 4: The Gnat's Guidance

He couldn't remember anything about himself. The gnat in his ear droned annoyingly about ways to go and things to do, all of them completely unimportant because the thing on his mind at the moment, the more pressing matter was that he'd forgotten his name. No matter how many times he flicked or pawed at his ear to quite the little parasite so he could have a clear thinking moment, the insect was unreachable and unsilenceable.

And then there was her. And she had the same problem he did. A part of him desperately wanted to tell her who she was even if he didn't know, anything to make her seem a little less scared. But was that something he'd do? Was that the sort of buck he was? His mind was reeling and fear was creeping in. Maybe thats why her offer seemed so..tinted? Go with her? Who was she? Was that a good idea? A team made sense, they could protect one another, but at the same time, she could just as easily turn around stab him in the back. If they split up, something may happen to her, and it'd be his fault for turning her down. He had the nagging feeling either decision he'd make would bother him for a long time. Taking a deep breath, he decided he'd go it alone.