Welcome to Gaia! ::

Clouds flew past the window of the plane as Layla sat at her laptop, slowly typing out the few measly words that flew through her mind. Her fingers paused over the keyboard, her eyes staring off into the distance. She didn’t know what to think, coming back home after several years away from the siblings that she had barely seen once they entered their teenage years.

She glanced back at the screen, staring at the words that she had written. “This is….complete and utter crap!” She quickly shut the laptop and rested her head against the window. “Can’t think…don’t know what to write…” Slowly, she moved her head and rapidly began to bang her head against the window, making a dull thud sound throughout the private jet.

The door to the cockpit slid open and the copilot stuck his head out. “Ma’am--are you okay?”

Layla slowly looked up at him. “Am I alright? Am I alright? I have to finish three hundred and fifty pages by midnight tonight for this book, which is already thought to be a bestseller, and I only have two hundred more to go!”

“Well, I...um...well…I only thought...well…” he stammered, his face slightly red from embarrassment.

She grinned, an evil glint appearing in her dark green eyes. The laptop snapped open as she began to type furiously. The copilot slowly closed the door again, leaving it slightly cracked.

“I do believe she is a little crazy,” he muttered.

“Oh, no she’s not. Just wait until you meet her twin.” The pilot was checking their coordinates. “She’s nowhere as bad as Soraka.”

The copilot sighed and turned back to look out the window. “Hey--do you see that? Looks like we’re going to hit a storm soon.”

“Yeah, we’re going to have a little bit of turbulence--we’ll make it back a little later than originally expected.”

Layla sighed softly, rubbing her temples. She drummed her fingers against the laptop impatiently. “I don’t want to get home later than planned,” she muttered under her breath. Leaning a bit into the walkway, she looked out the pilot’s cockpit window and stared hard at the dark gray clouds. Within minutes, the storm dissipated.

“Whoa--looks like the bad weather cleared up pretty fast. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it do that before,” the copilot said.

“I have once or twice.” The pilot gave a slight nod and glanced back towards Layla.

She looked back at the pilot, giving him a small grin. “Yes? How may I help you?”

He chuckled and turned back around. “We’ll be home right on schedule, Miss Layla, don’t you worry.”

“Oh, I am not worried. I know we’ll arrive right on time.”

“First one in, last one out. Man Taro--you have some weird obsession with getting things done.” A young man with short brown hair said as he leaned against the table.

“Yeah, well I don’t want to have to deal with this over the summer. This is going to be the first time that all of us are actually going to be together like we used to be when we were kids.” Taro replied as he scribbled something on the page. “It’s better to get this stuff done early than late. You should be doing the same, Sam.”

Sam shrugged. “Eh, it can wait. I just need a break right now. The stress is really starting to get to me. I don’t even know if I’ll be able to finish.”

“Of course you’ll be able to finish. You’re always complaining about not being able to get something done in time, and then--bam! It’s done right on time. You have a gift of getting the things done in an unnatural amount of time.”

Sam grinned. “Thanks Taro. You’re the same way though. I don’t see how you can get all of this so fast.”

“It’s a gift.” He shrugged and shut the notebook. “There, all done.”

Sam picked up his bag, slinging it over his shoulder. “Do you need a ride home?”

“Nah, I’m good. I still have my motorcycle.” Taro stuffed his things into his bag. “I need to be heading home fast anyways. I can go faster on the bike and swerve around other cars faster than you can in that old beat up thing you drive.” Taro whistled softly as he headed outside. “Well, see you when school starts again Sam.”

“Yeah, see you Taro.” Sam opened the car door. “I’ll probably end up calling you to get some help on the homework.” He grinned.

Taro laughed. “Don’t worry, I’ll help you in any way that I can.” He strapped on his helmet and kicked the motorcycle into gear. “Bye!” He took off into the street. “Two hours and I’ll be home.” His stomach gurgled. “Hmm--but I will definitely have to get some food soon.”

Half an hour later Taro stopped at a gas station. “Okay, food time.” He walked in and looked around. He walked down an aisle and stopped. “Okay--where is it?” Taro looked up and sighed. “Great, right where I can’t reach it.” He glanced around to make sure nobody was looking. Jumping slightly, he reached his hand forward and grabbed a bag of chips. “Ah, that’s better.” He walked around, picking up several things to eat.

“Is that all sir?” The man behind the counter asked as Taro walked up.

“Yeah--I think this will do.” He set the things down.

“Okay--that’s going to be---fifteen dollars and sixty cents.” He took the money that Taro offered. “Out of twenty. Your change is four dollars and forty cents.”

“Thanks.” Taro picked up the bag and left the store. Just as he was about to stuff the money into his pocket some of the money flew out of his hand. “Crap,” he muttered and his eyes narrowed. The money came back towards him and he picked it up. “That would have been bad.”

Raj grudgingly grasped some supplies and backed out of the closet. “I wasn’t expecting you to be home so soon. I would have had it cleaned before you arrived…”

“Hmm,” Layla glanced over at Raj, her hair falling into her face. Pushing her hair behind her ear, she moved past her youngest brother to begin the cleaning.

Already the Domovio of the house had begun their job. The house spirits were really a blessing when there was a big mess to clean up. It always was amazing how fast and silently they could clean anything up.

Layla walked over to the vase that had been broken, picking up the largest of the pieces. The vase had come all the way from Egypt and was one of her prized possessions. Her parents had brought it back from one of their many vacations. She cleared her throat and began to speak.

“Oh ancient vase of ancient times
You, who have been broken by careless minds,
Right yourself and once again be whole.”

Suddenly the vase began to reform itself. The larger pieces flew from Layla’s hands and connected. There were still spots where smaller pieces had broken off, but they soon arose from the ground and attached themselves to the vase. The vase spiraled down slowly and Layla reached out her hands, taking a hold of it.

“There we go. I think this will have to go up in my room for now on since it seems to be broken a lot.” She turned her gaze to Raj, her eyes piercing, almost it seemed, into his very soul.

Raj shifted uncomfortably in his spot, looking down at his feet. “I am sorry Layla. I should have moved it to a much safer location. I know how much you love that….”

Layla gave a small wave of her hand, indicating that Raj didn’t need to say anything else. “Do not worry about it. It is more my fault than yours.” She held the vase close, almost as if she were afraid that it would suddenly fall apart once again. “I am just going to go and place this in my room really quick. You go ahead and start your cleaning. Although it seems that the Domovoi have already taken care of most of it as they usually do.”

Without another word Layla moved to the spiraling staircase and made her way upstairs. It seemed like an eternity had passed before she finally reached the landing and began to make her way down the hallway. She had been gone for so long that she had almost forgotten how large the house really was. In New York she had chosen to live in a place small enough for just her. It was not like she needed a large home to be in. Some of her friends could not believe she lived in such a dingy little place when she had all the money from her book sales to spend. Why waist money and a fine, big house when there were more important things in life to get?

Layla pushed open the door to her room and just stood there silently in the doorway for a moment. It was spotless, as always. Nothing had been moved since the last time she had been here, she could tell. She moved further into the room, taking in the sweet smell of roses. It seemed that the incense that she had used still lingered in the air. A small smile graced her lips. The little house spirits had definitely done an excellent job. She set the vase down on her desk and left the room once again to go and join Raj in the rest of the cleaning.

Meanwhile, as Layla left to put the vase away, Raj began to clean downstairs. The first thing he did was to take the drinks that had been left out and place them back in the refrigerator. As he entered the kitchen he gave a groan. The others had made a huge mess and the house spirits hadn’t started here yet. “Might as well begin here,” he muttered as he began to pick up trash and throw it in the large trashcan located near the pantry door.




((if you want to know what a Domovio is..then just pm me and I'll let you know))