Welcome to Gaia! ::

[The market was extremely crowded, dangerous for any lone Illumen. The humans walked carelessly in the hustle and bustle. A paw or tail in the wrong place, and it could be crushed without notice. Most would strays away from the market at a time such as this, but one brave girl stays. Something is much too important for her to simply leave.]

A wave of panic flows through the girl as she darts through the Market. Weaving between the numerous legs around her, keeping a close eye on the ground as she tries not to be stepped on. Her heart beating steadily within her chest as she reaches a clearing near the edge of the market, stopping for breath before risking the stampede of feet again.

She glances to her side and feels her heart sink a little further as her gaze falls on the empy Orb. The glass housing of the Orb split in two, and it's precious contents nowhere to be seen. She takes a deep breath and throws herself amongst the hoard of humans once again, keeping her tail flat against her back to reduce her chances of being stepped on as her head swims with worrying thoughts.

Moonlight: "Oh why on earth did I say that I would look after such a young Kit? Whatever made me think that I could be so responsable? Sure I wanted to impress Phos and have him finally notice me, but what will he say when I tell him that I've lost the Kit? Oh no, and what about the Owners? How am I supposed to explain to Squee that Solas was lost in the Market?"


He mind clears a little and she screeches to a halt, noticing what looks like a yellow ball of fluff with ears in the centre of the busy Market. She hops sideways to avoid being crushed by a heavy boot and begins working her way towards the Kit. Weaving through the legs carefully and elegantly towards her goal.

She finally reaches the Kit and bounds towards him. Ready to snatch him up from the floor at a seconds notice, but stops in her tracks once again. Unable to believer her eyes as the Kits actions become clear.
She tilts her head to the side in Dis-belief as the Kit sits there happily in the middle of the busy Market, his eyes closed tightly and a small grin curling his lips as he slurps on a carton of chocolate milk.

Moonliight: "What do you thing you are doing? Why did you wander off like that? Don't you realise that you could be hurt here? Where did you find that drink? Are you even listening to me Solas? Why won't you answer me?"

The Kit tilts his head upwards as he hears his name and forces his eyes open a little, pulling the straw out of his mouth and smiling brightly at her
as he holds the shake up towards her face with his tiny paws.

Solas: "Murrrr...?" o.o

He presses the straw against her lips and makes a small slurping noise, sucking his cheeks in a little as if trying to show her how to drink from the carton.
Moonlight shakes her head a little and picks the Kit up by the scruff of his neck. Taking a deep breath before darting across the market floor once more. She breaths a sigh of relief as she reaches the clearing again, still a little shaken at how unphased Solas had been through the entire thing.
She drops him gently into his Orb again and closes it over, Sealing him inside before lifting it off the ground and starting her journey home again.
Nestled safely inside his Orb once more Solas curls into a little ball and smiles to himself. Moving his arms away from his chest to show the choc milk carton, still gripped within his tiny paws.

[The market was extremely crowded, dangerous for any lone Illumen. The humans walked carelessly in the hustle and bustle. A paw or tail in the wrong place, and it could be crushed without notice. Most would strays away from the market at a time such as this, but one brave girl stays. Something is much too important for her to simply leave.]

She was a bolt of lightning – dashing through the crowd – and they were the thunder, they’re stomps and voices echoed in her ears. It was all so loud, and yet she could focus on none of it. All the speech was just a slur of words, a booming distracting from her true purpose of being here. It wasn’t safe, she wasn’t supposed to be here and she would’ve have been had she been sane. Yet, she needed it back, she yearned for it more than anything else in the world. Her strides were short and quick as every moment it seem that she had to change her direction, dodging and weaving her way through the sea of people. Her heart beat in her chest, pounding louder and louder, a drum roll that seemed to announce its presence to the world. Mirage’s mind was filled the sound of her heart and the sharp pants of her breath, and yet she had to press on. Being tired held not a candle to the importance of what the Illumen sought.

Mirage danced around their legs, leapt through the openings, her pace catching up to the rhythm her heart set. Faster and faster she moved, perhaps, one another day, Mirage would’ve enjoyed such a challenge – avoiding being trampled in such a massive, and naïve, crowd. But today was not one of those days. Today she only cursed under her breath, cursed at every step she took. The seconds were ticking away, and with every passing moment her nerves grew, bigger and bigger and soon she was sure she’d be unable to contain herself. How could she have been so ignorant, so careless, so foolish? What if she had just lost the one object that meant the world to her? Mirage shook her head slightly, yet refused to falter as she swam through the crowd, she could never forgive herself if she did.

The stalls started to become more familiar, and Mira’s heart on thumped harder and harder – ready to take flight and soar straight out of her heart – as she dashed through the crowd, she was close. Hope sparked within her, and yet her worry only fed off it. It hadn’t been that long, it had to still be there – but plenty can happen in a mere matter of seconds, and it had been much more than that. For every positive thought, every thought that pushed her to go faster there was another one, one that was darker, nagging in depth of her mind. But she wouldn’t know, wouldn’t know which one spoke the truth until she arrived, so Mirage had no choice. Legs ached, throat was sore and gasping for a breath of air and yet there was still a chance. It was that chance that propelled her, making her duck and weave faster than before, outrunning the nagging, doubting thoughts that pursued her. Colours swirled around her, smells greeted her and yet she could focus on nothing but the image in her head. In her mind it glowed, as clear as if it was before her right now, as if it was in her clutch. And then the vision would blur, moulding and melting back into reality – slipping by her.

She paused, her chest sinking in and out, her mouth thirstily inhaling large gulps of air. Bright eyes scanned the area, looking for any sign, any small speck of it. Mirage’s body swayed every so often, tiredly dodging the maze of feet and legs as they came crashing down around her. She closed her eyes, tired, sad… a failure. And yet, when she opened them Mirage saw something – In the corner of her view there was a silver sparkle between the rows of feet. Joy rushing through her, mixing in with the sweet taste of relief, energy stirred within the Illumen as she lunged out towards it.

Face first she flew through the crowd, her eyes grew wider and wider the closer and clearer it became. It sat alone in between the crowd, untouched by any damage or danger. The silver chain still glowed, the black jewel in the centre of the string still shone, Mirage’s amulet was still intact! And then she snapped back, the sudden stop of her motion caused the Ilumen’s body her lurched backwards, recoiling father away from it in pain. Mirage squirmed and scrambled frantically and still she couldn’t reach her desire, she was firmly secured in her spot. Hurried glances were snuck backwards, pain flowing through her – but more painful was the fact of how, how close she come, a boot stood firmly on her tail, the owner of it chatting carelessly away to another. Mirage wiggled forward desperately, her progress was slim and yet she was moving, inching closer and closer to her necklace, paws outstretched as far as they could, so close to holding her silver chain once more ---

In came stomping down. Another shoe landed, crushing the jewel beneath it. Black splints flew through the market, silvers of what had been landing in the maze created by humans. Mirage’s eyes widened, a mix of shock and horror across her face. She had failed. He had crushed it, crushed the present from someone she held dear. It was gone. Too many thoughts echoed in her mind, chaos pounding inside her. And yet all she could do was lay slumped on the ground, silently mourning it, alone.

People continued to pass by, their every step forcing Mirage to wince in pain. They had detroyed everything she had once held onto and now she was alone, and not a soul cared.

Áine growled softly, pressing her body low to the ground and slinking catlike between the booths and the slowly thickening crowd of the marketplace. This place was atrocious- the people smelled and the air was thick with perspiration and voices that were far too loud to be considered appropriate. 'Well,' she supposed with a roll of her dusty grey eyes. 'As long as they continue to not even think, I am unsurprised that they would bother hearing themselves or anyone else talk. Let alone regard anyone's opinion to how loud they very well may be talking.'

Squirming between the feet to get across the marketplace she gasped when, suddenly, she was completely drenched in alcohol. The growling in her throat increased and she slunk away from the hustle and bustle to hide beneath one of the booths, still so close but so far from her prize. She shook herself as dry as she could, sniffing her pelt and wrinkling her nose. She still smelled absolutely terrible, but at least she was dry... to a certain extent. Grumbling to herself, Áine shivered a bit with the cold liquid that had managed to get even the deepest portions of her fur, silver bangles clanging against each other. She growled at them as well. She didn't really seem the happiest person in the market...

She slunk between the booths carefully, avoiding falling things and large feet, before she finally found the place she'd been looking for. She slunk beneath the table, grey eyes sparkling when she found her prize. A dark paw outstretched to pull a piece of dirty cloth away from a large pile of knick-knacks. The entire pile fell with the off-balance, and she smiled brightly, pouncing a very small hand mirror. That wasn't all it was, however, just like everything in this marketplace. Áine outstretched a paw and popped open the mirror. Glitter fluttered from where it hadn't been stuck on very well, shining in the light reflected by the mirror itself.

Áine gave a wide smile at the reflection that greeted her. It was only herself, yes. But it was her, just as she was, not warped or distorted at all. This mirror had been blessed, and only a single person was able to see themselves in it- not a hideous, warped, disgusting version of themselves, just their reflection. She grinned in the mirror lightly, puffing up her chest. It was a simple creation- a little circular thing that opened out. The outside was silver, covered in glitter that never seemed to fall off completely. It had blue jewels embedded in the back of it, as well as the front, and an engraving on the edge of it.

'Thee who can see beauty in others shall see beauty in only themselves,' read one rim of one of the the sides, while the other read: 'Thee who cannot see past themselves, shall see what they truly are inside.' Áine smiled softly, albeit proudly, upon reading these once again. At that moment, however, a large, gruff hand reached under to grab at the mirror. She squeaked and darted away. He wasn't going to sell it, she knew. She laughed happily as she ran through the flood of people. It was her prize, and her's alone.

Fear pulsed through Lexi's body. The crushing boots of the marketplace would have normally deterred her, but today she had a mission. Just yesterday, the Knim (a gang of terrorists who will stop at nothing to bring pain to the world) kidnapped her lover as he was sleeping. He was just one in a number of recent kidnappings. The Knim will return their victims... for a large price. But when the kidnapped return home, they are nothing but mindless zombies. With no money and her lover's life on the line, Lexi was running out of time.

The Knim's hideout is rumored to be hidden somewhere in the marketplace. It must be well hidden in such a populated area. Lexi checked every corner, every nook, every cranny. Nothing. She doubled back on her route- and was met with a boot the chest. She was kicked a good five feet. The wind was knocked out of her. She tried to scramble as fast as she could, but was quickly snatched up by a human child.

"Don't touch that, it's filthy!!" yelled the young boy's mother. The obedient boy set Lexi down at once, upon a cart of raw, smelly fish. Lexi paused a moment to catch her breath. The man pulling the cart didn't even notice she was there! He turned a corner away from the crowd and headed down an alley. Lexi was about to jump when he rang a small bell. A voice from the right called out, "Are you selling fish sir?"

The man dragging the cart called out, "I come bearing every fish of the sea! Cod and Trout, Salmon and Mackerel, Porpoise and.... um... and..." But there was only one type of fish in the cart....

"Beta3, if you cannot remember a simple passcode, you'll be killed off soon enough!" What was going on?

A door opened out of what had looked like a solid brick wall. The man entered with his cart.

"Leave that reaking thing in the alleyway!" The once mysterious voice turned out to be a rather elderly man... who carried a gun?!

"But won't it be suspicious if I leave my cart right next to this door?" asked Beta3.

The old man and Beta3 were distracted by this argument, giving Lexi a chance to hop down from the cart. In front of her was a long hallway with an open door at the end. Did that lead outside? Or could this possibly be the hideout she was looking for all along? It almost certainly was. Perhaps that door would lead to her love!

Lexi waited in shadow until the two men left. Their last words were about "taking care of the prisoner." Their tone sounded more murderous than caring. She crept down the hallway and peered in the open door. Inside was a group of humans and illumens casually chatting and smoking cigars.

"This one's going to be it, I can feel it. No more mindless zombies. This will be our warrior," stated an illumen. Could they be plotting to turn him into their war slave??

Luckily, Beta3 was there with his forgetfulness.. "Uh, which room were we keeping him in again?"

Lexi sprinted ahead of Beta3 towards the glowing blue chamber. She saw a security-disabling pin pad near the door, but there was no time to crack the code. She ran in. There was her love, bound and gagged. A motion sensor camera with a mounted laser fired at her as she entered. Luckily, the shot was aimed to hit a human at chest-level and missed Lexi entirely. Working fast, she bit through the cords and the fabric gag to free the one she loved so dearly.

Lexi could see Beta3 through the doorway, still dragging his feet, until he met Lexi's gaze. Beta3 ran into the room... and was shot down by the laser. The two illumens ran over him and in a fit of luck, made it all the way outside. They ran through the alley, through the market, the town, the roads, and into the forest.

There, they were safe. Just the two of them. No more pain. No more fear. Only love. And so the two lovers cuddled together for a long and much-needed rest.