Welcome to Gaia! ::

___Esprit snuggled closer to her mother, the warmth comforting her as the terrifying experience somehow millions of thoughts away as she escaped into her dreams.
___"Mmn ..." Uennie mumbled, shifting as she always did when sleeping. Her arms rested solidly upon Esprit in an embrace it would take ten men to break. Safety and security engulfed them both. The young woman's lashes fluttered as a small wet drop pattered on her cheek. Eyes adjusted, and moved quickly within the sockets to analyze the surroundings. Esprit was sound asleep, and Uenoh'ai sat up. "Edwin ..." She hissed, reaching out and smacking him on the head. "EDWIN."

___The young man jerked up, his eyes looking completely disoriented. "Where are we." She whispered hoarsely, seeing nothing but a field of flowers and trees. He remembered what was going on and pulled out a GPS device.
___"I-uh ... I don't know ..." He stammered, punching buttons. "Well ... well this can't be right." He adjusted his glasses. "It says we're in the mountains near the Barton Cliffs." As he continued to analyze the readings, Uennie stood and looked around the hillside questioningly. Looking up, a great mountain range loomed. Down, the dark expanse of the sea beckoned. To the far right the Great Crater lay, somehow they had gone a massive distance with no recollection.
___"How ..." She whispered.

___Uennie touched Esprit's cheek, as the nervous child clung to her mother. Her eyes were wide as she drank in everything around her, she had never really been outside city limits, and being in a place where suddenly there was nothing but everything seemed so foreign.
___Are you enjoying yourself, little one?
___Esprit turned, looking for the whispered voice. She didn't see anyone who had anything to do with speaking to her. It wasn't her mother, was it? Everyone else was too busy sleeping or being disoriented.
___The trees dear, the trees!
___A wind swelled and blew through the glade, as the large branches trembled with excitement. Esprit gaped at them, suddenly she was seeing faces and hearing voices.
___"Mommy ..." She whined softly, tugging on her mother's arm. Uennie was too busy trying to calibrate where to go from there.

___Oh my, are you actually afraid of us? The trees chuckled at her. Doubtfully, Esprit released her tight hold on her mother and gingerly touched a trunk.
___"Nuh uh ..." She argued softly, lying about being afraid and in disbelief over what was going on. The trees laughed, leaves falling and surrounding her.
___You are a plant, though you look human. One of you came through here not long ago ... But he went back to Gaia as all things do. The trees tsked to themselves about the poor man and his little love, and what a shame it had been.
___"So ... Because I'm a plant ... I can talk to plants." Esprit whispered to the trunk, not wanting someone to overhear her. "Can he see you too?" She motioned to Opuntia.
___Oh no dear, only special plants, like us. The trees drew themselves up with pride. The ones in the city ... Well, very few still are able to be coherent about much of anything. That metal world stifles them from their natural abilities. Various trees in the area agreed and began to converse about the tragedies which befell their distant cousins. Here, we are free to grow and talk and do as we like. We are far more sentient that humans give us credit for! The great tree conversing with Esprit seemed especially forceful about this fact. As far as the little boy-plant ... He will see us when he feels us, just like the others here. Esprit nodded, and looked over at her mother. She really couldn't hear the trees ...

___Ah! The trees gasped with delight. The sun is rising! The flowers will be waking soon ... They can be a little jittery and loud but they are quite entertaining. The trees sighed dreamily, anticipating the romance of the sunbeams on their leaves.

___Esprit shivered and wondered to herself what was going on. Gold light began to slowly spread across the ocean and gently touch the vast hillside. Something wet began to patter on her feet, and she looked down to realize the flowers were moving and turning their faces to the sun. She was absolutely dumbfounded, she never noticed flowers moved like that before, or at least not the flowers at home ... Delicately she sidestepped them and clasped her hands together, they really were alive! Esprit felt a delicate tickle by her toes and knelt, cupping her hands behind her ears very carefully to try and hear what was going on. Silvery laughter like tinkling bells rippled across the meadow, leaves and petals brushed her skin as they drank in the glorious sun.
___The sun is here! The sun is here! They cheered happily, chattering to each other as they preened and bathed. The flowers seemed to pay her no mind, until one noticed her staring quite intently at them.
___Human! It's a human! Where? What? She's come to pick us! I don't want to be picked! Humaaaaan! The flowers cried out hysterically until one of the trees demanded they calm down.
___Has it been so long that you ninnies have forgotten how to tell the difference between a human and a Plantling? It scolded the flowers gently, as they shrank back in shame.
___Plantling? Plantling! It's a Plantling! Well we knew that didn't we? Of course! Yeah me too! Well I didn't ... They turned their petaled faces up to her, smiling brightly. Hello little Plantling! They chorused. Esprit smiled softly and wiggled her fingers shyly.
___"Hello flowers ..."

___"Help! Something's wrong!" The call echoed to Uennie's ears and she swiftly turned her head to the noise. Alinedra was lying there, still unawakened, but who was that beside her? How did he find them out here? Uenoh'ai narrowed her eyes and closed her notebook.
___"Edwin! Observer Alinedra needs assistance! Find out who that man is NOW." She barked, and Edwin quickly dispatched himself to the situation. He had now too noticed the young boy next to the woman, and felt apprehensive. The boy didn't appear to be doing her any harm, but wasn't doing much to help either.
___"Excuse ..." Edwin mumbled as he brushed the man to the side and began checking her pulse and temperature. Pulling out a cloth and wetting it from his canteen her wiped her face and checked for signs of injury or sickness. Shaking his head he laid the cloth on her forehead. "She's just disoriented from ... whatever that was. She's fine, just needs some rest." Edwin called back to Uennie. She nodded and he eyed the young man. He guessed she was probably fatigued from all the activity leading up to it all, but ...
___"Who are you?" He asked carefully.

The baby screamed, crying out in pain as the light swallowed their group, something Aly had only done twice since her ‘birth.’ The girl screamed again as the pain burst in her head, her eyes streaming with tears, blinding her. Flailing out, she grabbed for Sodashi, struggling to keep consciousness, but to no avail, one more burst of pain shot through her head, and the baby was out cold.

Sodashi lay face down in the grass sprawled in a rather unladylike position, asleep. Taking a deep inhale, she breathed in a full breath of Mother Nature's creations, including that of dirt, bugs, grass, and whatever else happened to be on the ground at the moment.

Coughing viciously, Sodashi wiped at the tears streaming from her eyes from the stinging dirt which had gone up her nose, gasping for breath.

Aly sat watched her, taking a careful moment before snickering.

Sodashi spun at the sound of a snicker. She was the only one here that snickered at others. The job was taken, kthx. But at the sight of the suddenly grown Aly, Sodashi was sent into another fit of hacking and coughing.

Aly grinned that same smug grin she'd seen on Sodashi's face for so many months, amused she could finally contort her face in that ridiculous fashion. "Surprised?"

Sodashi just stared. Well, as best as a person could between streaming tears and hacking up a lung. What the duck? When did that girl learn to talk?

Aly plucked the green grass in her right hand sprinkling them into a passing breeze. Such a relief to finally move her body properly.
She had no idea where the growth spurt had come from, but what she did know, was that she didn't care. Her ragged dress was torn down the side from the sudden growth, and the fingers of her gloves had been torn off as well. But she’d finally gotten proper control of her muscles. As a baby, she’d known the words, but her ridiculous jaw couldn’t make the sounds. She’d known her feet were what she was supposed to be walking on, but her body was so oddly shaped, she’d loose balance every time she tried to stand.

Well, she still didn’t know if that would happen. Hence why she was still sitting in the grass, despite emergency just a few feet away.

Eden's urgent tone came again. She and Sodashi shared a glace, each waiting for the other to get up and answer the plea for help, when finally Sodashi rolled her eyes and moved to squat beside Eden, who as it were, had also experienced a bizarre growth spurt, the little bugger.. which had been a little bugger just moments(?) before, was now.. quite the opposite. Aly stayed where she was, running her hands through the grass, watching the cluster around Ali.

Sodashi nudged her friend, the last of their group to wake. Honestly, some people just work themselves too hard. Sleep was a good thing. Sodashi had first hand knowledge on the topic, spending at least 85% of her college life doing so. “Ali being a sleepyhead?”

___A mild look of shock crossed Edwin's face, but then quickly disappeared. It was a long time coming, generally the Specimen grow up gradually but perhaps something had triggered. Whatever it was, it was done now. He overheard Kyocho's suggestion and called back to Uenoh'ai,
___"I agree! Head count captain!" His loud voice carried over the glade and he turned back to Alinedra. "I'm going to go make sure everyone else is alright. Try to wake her up, if she doesn't respond carry her over to the group." He smiled and clapped Eden on the shoulder, "You're a pretty big boy now, eh?"

___Uennie pursed her lips, mulling over what had just happened. Brushing it aside she whistled shrilly,
___"All those to be accounted for line up now!" She ordered crisply. If anyone had been separated that would create a massive problem. She had no time to run a recon mission for both Amelia and the unlucky wayfarer. "Esprit! That means you too!" Uenoh'ai looked at the little girl carrying on a conversation with a flower quizzically. There is no understanding children unless you are one. Jumping up, Esprit tiptoed over to Opuntia and gently touched his hand for reassurance. Edwin came to her first and checked her body for bumps and bruises, before moving down the line to Opuntia and Kyocho. He briskly removed the cactus spines from the elf's body and doctored them before awaiting his other patients. Uennie tapped her finger on her clipboard and stuck her pen behind her ear.
___"Sound off, one at a time!"

___Uenoh'ai glanced over at the figure lying in the grass and frowned. If she was on medication she should have made that clear right after the trip was announced. Nevertheless it was apparent it could not be avoided for now. She sighed and rapped her pen on the board to get Eden's attention.
___"Very well, seeing as how you have grown so much you will have to carry her. Your belongings will be split between the rest of us to carry. Edwin!" She turned to him, "Retrieve the medications and keep watch on her. We can't hold off on this."
___"Mommy, where are we going?" Esprit gently whispered into Uennie's warm coat. She was frightened of the new Eden, and didn't want to leave her new friends yet. Uennie sighed and held her daughter close to her side and looked around.
___"South, into the mountains. There's nothing by the sea. We might have better luck there."

___Edwin moved quickly, there was nothing like a possible medical crisis to cause Uennie extra stress. She would be on her nerves for at least a day about this. He looked over at the rising sun and felt comforted by the slow warmth. He leaned down and took Alinedra's pulse again before checking her glands. Slightly swollen.
___"What is the medication for?" He asked briskly, trying to assess the situation.

"Kyocho and Opuntia are here and accounted for!" The elf rang out. Picking himself up off the ground and offered a hand to Opuntia to take, but the boy helped himself up.

A smile radiated from the boy as Esprit drew closer. Something seemed fore reassuring having this girl around. The boy then looked up at his guardian with a sad look on his face.
"Sorry I jabbed you, but you wouldn't wake up!" The boy wailed.

"Your fine. Thanks for getting me to snap out of my dream." Kyo smiled back down.
"Ah..ouch..." He shot a stingfull glare toward Edwin as he removed the spines from his arm.