Welcome to Gaia! ::

Rahujo lies on a large rocky outcrop in the middle of Cetalu's western beach. It is a warm evening on the island, the breeze smelling of salt and seaweed. She props her chin up on her hands and stares out to sea at the blazing sunset.

Absent-mindedly, she reaches into her bag and pulls out a warm palm-leaf-wrapped parcel, then places it in on the rock in front of her and opens it to reveal a steaming mound of rice mixed with red spiced fish. Mmmm.

Scooping up some of the rice and fish with her fingers, she looks around the beach for a chance sighting of Osero. At the bottom of her bag, wrapped in a length of coarse grey cloth, is a bone-handled knife in a leather sheath, her project for the last few days.

The beach is deserted, from the grassy cliffs to the south to the northern jungle headland. No sign of the tall dark Aerandir.

Rahujo finishes one leaf-wrapped parcel, sets the emptied leaf aside, and pulls another from her bag, carefully unwrapping it and enjoying the savoury smell.

As she eats, she watches the waves roll in and crash on sand painted golden by the setting sun. Far out to sea, a few seagulls wheel and cry over the water, simple brushstrokes against the red of the sun as it sinks below the horizon.

Rahujo continues munching on the food, enjoying its subtle spiciness. She herds up the last few grains of rice with fingertips stained red by the curry paste, pops them in her mouth, then licks her fingers clean happily. Thirsty now, she stands up and takes a long draught from her water skin, then re-corks it, tosses it in the general direction of her bag, and yawns massively, full and satisfied.

The sun is almost gone now, the beach dark with the occasional boulder or stick casting long shadows on the sand. Rahujo stuffs the two empty palm leaves into her bundle along with her water skin, and picks her way over the flat rock, still warm from the day, heading towards the little cluster of yellow pinpricks that is the village.



(( ... I'm really hungry now sweatdrop ))

Foenixfyre slips inside the community center of Cetalu. Her two artifacts clink softly against each other from their cushioned place inside her bag. This is her first foray into the main part of the village, and she's somewhat disappointed to find it so empty. She simply can't wait until the Aerndir have merged and evolved into living beings; it will bring some much-needed life to the beautiful area.

After looking around, she places a dish of cookies on a nearby table, trusting that people will help themselves.

With that, she slides a letter from her bag and goes in search of Alyosha.

For the most part, the forest was quiet, seeming almost to slumber in the heat of the afternoon sun. The only sounds breaking the quiet were the occasional bird call, along with a faint rustling in the undergrowth from time to time.

The winged hunter padded through the area, keeping his spear propped on his shoulder with one hand. The two-pronged spear, his bonded weapon, was always with him. It was like an extra limb to the Aerandir. But, despite being armed, the hunter was not hunting. He was merely wandering.

With enough food already gathered to last the day, Osero did not intend to attempt to catch anything else. Food and prey here was bountiful, but there was little sense in taking more than what they actually needed. In fact, it wasn't the wisest of ideas to do so. Perhaps it was the wolf in him, but Osero enjoyed roaming the islands. He liked slipping through the forests, padding over the beaches and even flying out to the other islands in the atoll. If you 'island hopped' the flying distance between most of them wasn't far.

Just now though, he was in the forest north of Cetalu. By his reckoning, he should be emerging through the southern edge soon. The undergrowth in this forest was thick; but if you could find the natural trails, then it wasn't as difficult to move through. The sunlight was becoming stronger - there were less leaves and trees to block out the light. That was a sure sign he was approaching the edge.

With the trees and shrubs thinning out, Osero emerged out into the light. The sun was warm on his face, although the heat was not so great as it had been a few hours previous. Smiling faintly to himself, the hunter shifted his dark wings, moving his sharp gaze about the clearing. Finding everything as it had been before, as it always was, the Aerandir set off again, slipping through the tall grass.

When he reached the village, he should probably see about trying to fix that net he had left. If the holes in it could be repaired, it would make retrieving his catches that much easier, particularly for the bigger fish. Unfortunately, as it was at the moment, it wouldn't hold anything for long.

Nyxa was down at the beach digging around in the soft sands that created the shore. The bottle that contained her artifacts was strapped safely to her waist. Glancing up, she noticed another human standing near the village houses. Excited, Nyxa gave a wave, "Hello?!" Grasping the small rucksack she'd created from leftover fabric, Nyxa moved swiftly to the stranger.

Nyxa beamed at the other girl, promptly sticking her hand out to shake the others. "I'm Nyxa! Man, I'm glad to see someone else around here, I can't tell you how lonesome I've been getting." Her head tilted curiously, "I have to ask, what two artifacts did you get?" Wrifling around in her small makeshift rucksack, Nyxa produced her single jar, "I have a panther tooth and a cockerel.. er.. rooster feather. His name is Lucius!"

Nyxa pointed over to the group of village houses, "Over there. It's modest at best, but the next time I go back home I'll be sure to bring more things back with me." She chuckled, "I've just yesterday started a garden next to the house. Where do you live?"

Nyxa chuckled, "I was studying botany for a while, my adopted daughted Adrienne's somehow leeched my knowledge of plants from me." She chuckled again at the slave labor comment, "I have three kids, all girls. Adrienne, Olivia, and Zora. Adrienne seems to be around twelve, but the others are just babies yet."

She waved a hand towards the houses again, "I'm thankful for the furniture that was there already, but I brought some stuff to decorate with."