Welcome to Gaia! ::

He had heard some sort of wheezy-giggly noise, and looked at Naida suspiciously...but if she was laughing, it was impossible to tell.

Her answer to the first question wasn't surprising, but the second was. So she was used to not having legs? Good! Cain answered cryptically. He shook his head 'no' at her question, the name not even ringing a tiny bell. Who is she?

As they spoke, the wind picked up, skidding loose flurries across the top of the snow. The flakes stung the eyes and found every c***k in Cain's fur and nook in Naida's coat; Cain got the faint, disturbing impression of impatience at how long the two children were sitting here. But where else could they go?

An icy chill had ravaged Alex's small form. His bare knees had buckled together as he felt snow surround his ankles. He had not been prepared for something so eventful, and, again he found himself contemplating the ridiculous wonders of having not glued himself to a coat. On his word, he would never leave Izzy's apartment without one again!

That did not solve the remarkable issue of things. There was a dread to his stomach. Where were they? What had just happened? His mind was a flurry of confusion, but a portion of him mentioned not to worry. It would be okay. Everything would be fine - no matter what.

Alex had shifted his leg somewhat, looking down as if to distinguish whether Raven was there still or not. Having found her put an ease to his mind, yet he wondered: were they alone? Of course not. They couldn't be alone. He could feel it somewhere within his stomach. They couldn't be alone in a cold, desolate wasteland.

He had huffed lightly, rubbing his shoulders in earnest. "Christ, it's cold!" He had chattered vigorously, twisting himself about in discomfort. "Cold. Cold. Cold."

He had paused, looking all about him before back at Raven. "You okay?"

Alex had been as preoccupied with the cold. There was something of a numbness settled within him. His knees felt flighty, warm, but chilled all the same, and a tickling sensation would ruffle with any slight change of the wind. When he thought about it, his arms felt rather odd as well - but he had not paid attention, nor had he looked.

As Raven had risen from the ground and brushed the snow away from her, his eyes had grown wide. He had taken a few steps back, his mouth agape. "R-Raven, your mouth!" He had yiped. "Y-your mouth!" He had repeated himself, looking down at his knees and paying a bit of attention. Just as she had screamed, he had felt himself on the verge of it. His face had grown long at the sight of feathers previously not there. What?

"I...I don't know. I don't know!" He had stammered, wrapping his arms about himself. That only made him a bit more uncomfortable. Feathers on his arms. Feathers on his legs. At least he ... His hand had clapped over his mouth to check for a beak. No beak! At least his mouth was normal.

"T-t-there has to be something." His teeth were beginning to chatter. "Do you see anything?" He had turned his head, squinting and looking out into the snow. He thought he could make out two figures, but ... He wasn't sure. His head had snapped back to Raven. It was more than bizarre, and though Alex didn't want to admit it, it was an unnerving sight. It was different. They had to figure out what was going on. Maybe someone had a clue?

"Is anyone out there?" He had called in the direction of the figures he thought he had seen. He had staggered a bit in the snow, heaving a great breath. "Hello?"

Naida had a habit of not paying attention to anything until it was absolutely necessary, which made the world infinitely more surprising. She probably should have heard the voices over the wind, and she probably should have noticed the girl trudging over to them, but as it was the girl might as well have stepped straight out of a passing flurry of snow for all she expected her.

She stared open-mouthed at her for a moment, taking in her beak and her clothes and her sheer bigness, and then nodded uncertainly. Her lips began to form an answer to the question before she remembered that there wasn't any sound. She blushed and rubbed her throat with an apologetic expression, hoping the girl would understand. Cain could explain, maybe. She looked at him imploringly, then at the girl, studying her with some reservation. She was older, which was frightening, and a part of her face was a beak, which was also frightening, but she looked nice and older and grown-up, and Naida couldn't help but feel reassured in spite of everything.

Alex had trudged after Raven. The wind and snow had nipped away at him, sending something of a chill until the cold no longer seemed to hurt. He felt numb, but that scarcely stopped him from moving along and enduring the awkward feelings of his body. It was a foreign sensation, but it was only a fragile portion of matters glued to his mind. They were lost in the snow, and there was the possibility of others being lost --- there were others lost, Raven had mentioned little kids!

He had breathed when they had reached the two, staring at each of them wide-eyed and sympathetically. It was freezing, and they were likely cold. He was cold. Cold.

"Glad to hear that you're fine." He had breathed something that sounded like relief before glancing at Raven. Who were they? Well. "I'm Alex. She's Raven." He had motioned briefly towards her before wrapping his arms about himself and biting down on his lip.