Welcome to Gaia! ::

((Picking up where the contest left off))

Each the Fa'e in turn spoke their piece, and Airi was unnervingly attentive to each one - not just with eyes and ears, but the whole of her essence in this place that was made nearly of nothing else. Their observations, in many ways, confirmed her own intuition. The Dream girl's doubts began to slip away, and the glade crackled with energy as she became more and more certain.

Her mind was made. With an unembellished gratitude, Airi told the Fa'e who had helped her, "Thank you," and turned her attention aside from them. There were more things they would want to hear, answers they would want from her, and there would be time for talk later. But now, she had spent too much time already to achieve the information that she now knew to be true, and could afford no more waste. Morning was nearly arrived - it was time for the dreamers to awaken, and then they would know each for themselves what the truth was.

But there was compassion now, tripping up her prudence as she set her attention back on those gathered. Their eyes were on her - the icy Raina's, the self-assured J'dyr's, the feisty Zahra's, and sitting by one another, the child Astor's and the determined Zaoll's - and her resolve, while not doubted, faltered. They were still fearful. They were unsure. These were the most convincing of the echoes, and the chances were strong that one or more might be Lost Children yet - and if they were not the ones calling for help tonight, what would that say of tomorrow? What would they make of this dream once they had awoken, and what dangers might be waiting if one of them should dare to speak of it?

"... I have decided who." Airi spoke with a strange reluctance, disdaining her own responsibility, suddenly acting her apparent age. She was not... good at these delicate talks, but she couldn't cast these children out without a gentle word. Her hands folded behind her, and she swayed her body to one side. "But I feel certain that this is not my last meeting with some of you. And so I ask: When you awaken, do not speak of this dream. Keep quiet, and wait. And if we do not soon meet face-to-face, I promise you, we will meet again in our dreams."

Her eyes hopped from one child to another, urging their faith in her promise. It would take time, it would be difficult, but they were her children. If any among them were real, she would find them!

But there was one that she knew to be real. And her eyes fell on them now, and the childlike weakness faded into resolve. Her decision was made. And she would be right. "Zaoll. You do not need to be afraid. We will bring you home, safely - you and your Guardian, for better or worse," the girl promised, her voice going soft on naming the girl's potentially traitorous caretaker. "But you must go back now, Zaoll - close your eyes, and return. When you go, I will know where to find you, and we will bring you home...."

One by one the humanoid shapes of visitors to her glade began to disappear. Within a few minutes Airi was standing alone, still looking thoughtfully at the place where Zaoll's shape had just been. Instead of the marble girl and the tan boy with a head full of fireflies two thin strands of white were curled around the limbs of the ancient tree. Airi picked up the one that used to be Zaoll and paused. What was she to do now? The phantoms of Roth and Mikhail, as well as Riven and Sei had, too, left the clearing. Conrad, the world walker, was gone as well. She was alone and the morning on Zaoll's world, this ... Earth ... would be coming soon. There was no time to call another Fa'e to her help and there was no way she knew how to get hold of Conrad, wherever he was.

Carefully, Airi wound Zaoll's thread around her left wrist, then gently picked up the white thread which used to be Astor and tied it to a branch. As an afterthought, Airi stretched out her right hand, and three more strands landed into her palm, which she also tied to the tree. She would deal with them later, whether they were real or just really desperate to be real. The fate of the girl that was Rome came first. Taking a deep breath, utterly terrified of what she was about to do, Airi walked up to the small stream running through her glen. In one spot a large stone obstructed it's path, causing the stream to widen into a shallow pool. Airi climbed upon the stone, slowly winding the white strand further and further around her left wrist, as it became obvious that its other end was inside the water. Now, the dream child took a strand of her own hair and wound it around a low hanging tree branch above the pool.

She was ready now, as ready as she ever would be. If nothing else, this first walk into a different world would allow her to establish the situation. Airi prayed that the captors who were holding Zaoll and her Guardian were not in the same room as the Fa'e. She prayed that her movements would remain unnoticed to Chaos and other enemies. She prayed and then she jumped ...

Crossing worlds feels always different - to some it's a merely unpleasant shiver on their skin, to others it feels like free fall from a skyscraper. Airi experienced a bad case of vertigo, cut short as Airi's bare feet touched soil. It was dark in here and stuffy, suggesting that the space was small. The tiny window high up allowed just enough light to illuminate two shapes huddled on the floor. One of them was of a pale girl.

"Zaoll ..." - Airi whispered, for lack of anything better to say.

She didn't have much time. Unlike Conrad, Airi was not a world walker and this jump into a place so far from Gaia was only possible by the link Zaoll's spirit left behind. But the power of the thread was dwindling by the moment and soon the pathway between Gaia and this world woudl be separated again. Wanting to avoid lengthy existential explanations, Airi made a few rapid steps towards Elsbeth and stretched out her hand.

"Zaoll called me. Take my hand now please, before it's too late. And hold onto Zaoll."

She had to trust this old woman, the Guardian of the marble Fa'e Zaoll. When their hands touched Airi squeezed Elsbeth's hand, hoping that there was enough power still left to pull through the non-space not just herself, but two more beings. Then, the dream child let go of Zaoll's now almost invisible thread and the white line began to instantly unravel, freeing Airi's left hand and so freeing her from any connection to the world called Earth. Save for the connection of two hands holding each other. The reality to which Airi did not belong rebelled finally at the intrusion, pushing the dream Fa'e out, Elsbeth and Zaoll with her. Again, a feeling of freefall, of vertigo and coldness and then the three of them were sitting in the shallow pool of water in Airi's glade, wet, but none the worse for wear.

Airi let go of Elsbeth's hand and leaned back on the boulder she had jumped from. For how short this trip had been, it was utterly exhausting to the pale child. Closing her eyes, Airi tired to gather her thoughts before the inevitable questions would begin. She did it. Zaoll was safe.

Airi opened her eyes and looked wistfully at her now wet clothing. With a sigh, the pale girl stood up and reached for the tree branch around which her strand of hair had been wound. As she carefully untangled the iridescent strands, she responded to Elsbeth, without looking at the old woman. After all, there wasn't much Airi was willing to tell, especially to somebody who had betrayed their own child.

"My name is Airi. Five years ago I created Zaoll and sent a messenger, a woman named Anya to entrust her in your care. You are Zaoll's Guardian and five years ago you were willing to take this girl and raise her as your own. But you failed and it was the desperate plea of Zaoll in her dream that brought me to you. I do not know how she did it, but she has done something amazing. She reached out across worlds to call to me for help. I have never witnessed this sort of power before."

Her hair finally free, Airi walked up to Zaoll's body, laying in the grass of the glen, still, yet breathing. Observing the marble girl carefully, Airi sighed, then turned back to Elsbeth: "Your charge has exhausted her strength. I do not know how long she will be sleeping now ..."

Apparently Anya had not been that great at explaining what Guardianship of a Fa'e entailed. Just like Conrad had failed to mention a few things to the Fa'e he brought back to Gaia. "It is not just a legality. If you stop caring for your charge, she will become less real, and eventually dissappear altogether. But Zaoll seems pretty solid, so you must still care a great deal for your charge and that is good. She also doesn't seem to be hurt and should wake up in time, I am certain."

However, there was another very important matter to address and Airi, for once, didn't beat around the bush: "Zaoll told me that you betrayed her to your captors, the ones who were to kill you in the morning. You must explain."

The old women seemed sincere in her apology and Airi felt that before further accusations she would need to wait for Zaoll to awaken. It was Zaoll's guardian and Zaoll was the accuser. It was not something Airi needed to concern herself with. But before she let the two rest for the night, she felt that she should at least explain to Elsbeth what had just happened.

"I see. Well, these men should bother you no longer, at least as long as you stay on Gaia. You see, you are no longer on this world called Earth, but in a different world, where Zaoll belongs to. You should at least stay here until Zaoll recovers and then you two can make the decision whether you want to remain on Gaia or return to your home."

Then after a short pause, Airi added: "You must be tired. If you wish to rest, you can follow this path and it will lead you to a house. On the second floor there are several bedrooms where you can sleep. Zaoll should probably remain here until she wakes up. Besides, she is too heavy for you and me to lift and carry. Please do not be alarmed by creatures you see on your way. They mean no harm."

"She will be safe." - Airi nodded, then watched the old woman disappear amidst the trees.

((And that's a wrap razz Airi needs to go change her wet dress and stuff now. Sleep well, Zaoll ^.^ ))