Welcome to Gaia! ::

LuLu was busily participating in her daily pastime: playing outside. The frei giggled as she tumbled about on the ground. Her arms writhed as she let out a squeal of fake terror. Most likely she was pretending to be some sort of daring heroine caught in a insidious trap. Anyone watching her would think that she had gone crazy.

The raevan let loose a more boisterous scream and quickly looked at the house's windows to see if she could spy her guardian. Sure enough, the boy had pounced hurriedly to the large plane of glass to inspect if anything had happened to LuLu. He shot the girl a soft pout when he realized nothing was amiss. Josh was still on edge when LuLu left the house. After all, she had run away before and the infection was not too far behind them. He almost regretted having her meet Eiry before. She seemed to take after him in some ways. The boy sighed and waved to LuLu before he slipped back into the confines of their house. Meanwhile, the rabbit was sprawled out on the dew grass trying to control a fit of laughter.

Blond ears shot upward as they caught an unfamiliar note in the air. The brittle grinding of wood and a the gentle displacement of air. The frei rolled over onto her stomach and hugged the ground. Lavender eyes deftly scanned the horizon. However, her search was interrupted as a rich, feminine tenor danced across the grass. Lucia? The rabbit was unsure. This voice was definitely familiar; yet, the cat's voice was usually more sweet, like a red wine. This tone was a bit more sour. LuLu floated off of the ground to get a better look at the intruder. Sure enough, it was Lucia. The rabbit's expression softened as she floated closer, a giddy bounce was in her 'step'. "Wow! A while since someone came over. I am happy you are here," a goofy smile splayed across her face, "What do you want to do? Play? Talk?" The rabbit added as almost an afterthought, "Are you sick?" Perhaps that would explain her change in tone?

LuLu could not help but watch Lucia curiously. The kitten seemed to have become lost in her own world for a moment. A smile was pasted on the cat's face but her eyes seemed distant and elsewhere. Maybe Lucia was thinking about the fun things that they could do together? After all, LuLu was.

The rabbit jumped slightly as Lucia approached. The cat frei's movement was sudden; however, it was not unwelcome. The rabbit relaxed and gave the other raevan one of the biggest hugs she could muster. She giggled softly as she released her friend. LuLu's laughter filled the air like a the chime of a bell.

She did not realize how much she had missed seeing Lucia until now.

The rabbit took the kitten's hand in her own. "We can play tag."

The rabbit floated in place for a few moments. Her hand opened and closed a few times as if trying to feel a presence that was no longer there. The warmth of Lucia's palm still lingered in her closed fist. Lavender eyes widened as she saw the aforementioned kitten speed off. It finally registered in LuLu's mind that SHE was the one who had been declared 'it'. Usually, the rabbit was the one who got to call the shots during playtime. The sudden switching of roles caught her off guard.

The small frei let out a startled gasp and barreled after her companion. Blond ears bobbled in the air as she made a clumsy path after Lucia. Her arms were outstretched like two lumbering branches. The girl was so used to being chased that she had never given much thought to the other person's position. She concluded that she was not cut out for this following thing.

She much preferred to be the one being hunted.

LuLu noticed the sudden lag in Lucia’s movements and took full advantage of the situation. She pounced forward and her slender arms wrapped around the kitten in a weak embrace. The rabbit squealed at the top of her lungs as though she wanted to inform the world of her accomplishment, “I got you!”

Josh made quick note of LuLu’s scream. He stood up from the kitchen table and approached an open window. The boy looked out through the small gaps in the blinds and toward the back yard. He was shocked to find that his raevan had an unexpected guest in tow. The other raevan was familiar. Lucia wasn’t it? He faintly remembered her from the Halloween party that they had left early from. The boy was about to go outside and inquire why she was there, but something made him stop.

LuLu’s smile.

It had been a while since he had seen her genuinely happy like that. The boy choked on a lump forming in his throat. It couldn’t hurt to let them play for a while longer. He would just watch them from here.

The second LuLu’a arms wrapped around Lucia she felt a foreboding aura surrounding the kitten. The rabbit nearly gagged on the ominous feeling that was smothering her. It was as if she was the one who had been caught rather than Lucia.

“click”

A muffled sound erupted from behind Lucia’s back. The rabbit removed herself from her kitten accomplice and tilted her fragile head to the side. Her blond ears swiveled forward like a curious puppy that was unsure what to make of its newest plaything. LuLu’s sharply cut bangs fell across her forehead to reveal the soft patch of skin and skull just catercorner of her eyes. It was like an enticing strip tease. A great reveal. LuLu’s temple was practically begging to be bashed in.

The rabbit’s eyes nearly tripled in size when they caught sight of the retractable baton that was poised rather viciously over Lucia’s head. Lavender disks traced over its sleek surface in fear. The younger frei felt her mouth go dry as she tried to let out another squeal. The honeyed, sweet voice she had possessed only moment before had been strangled into a number of airy gasps. She clenched her fists at her sides and allowed her gazed to fall onto Lucia’s face. She felt tears bubble up in her eyes like a fresh spring. The twisted smile Lucia wore was not familiar to LuLu. It appeared awkward on the kitten’s face like a Cheshire grin. This could not be the Lucia she knew. A shaky voice warbled faintly, “W-why?”

Josh watched casually as the two played their game. Judging by the way LuLu had tackled the other frei it must have been tag. He chuckled to himself. It seemed to be going well. The boy was about to resign back into the kitchen when he noticed the sudden change in LuLu’ s expression. The rabbit’s face had crumbled from an enchanting smile into a bleak frown. What was wrong?

The boy found his answer almost immediately as a baton hovered just above his precious frei. Josh wasted no time in grabbing the nearest blunt object and barreling outside. As he burst through the door, the boy made the gruesome realization of just how far away his raevan was. A few feet seemed to have stretched and morphed into few thousand miles as he raced towards the two. The boy prayed he would make it in time.

Josh felt his stomach drop to his feet. It knotted tightly almost as if he was tripping over it as he ran forward. He witness LuLu’s head snap the side like a brittle twig breaking in a ferocious breeze. He could see the frei’s ears go limp as she fell to a heap below Lucia. There was nothing the boy could do to stop the cat raevan as she bolted off. By the time he had reached LuLu, Lucia had already scaled the fence and escaped. She was now gone and Josh had been left with an incapacitated raevan and the early traces of a panic attack.

The boy lifted his hand to LuLu’s chest. Shallow breathes caused her half formed torso to rise and fall against his palm. Josh’s other hand grazed the swelling lump on the rabbit’s forehead. They were signs that the girl was alive; however, the vacant façade she now wore spoke differently. He grasped either one of LuLu’s slim shoulders and gave her a light shake before waiting for a response. Josh was met with a creeping silence that grew around him until it filled the air completely. He had to choke back a sob. The boy scooped up the rabbit’s sagging body and retreated into his home. He had to find help for her.

LuLu was not sure when she was struck. She barely noticed as the world began to slowly spin. The only sound she could hear the blood rapidly pumping to her brain. The sound was raw and carnal. It beat in her ears like a savage drum.

Her vision began to fade until everything went dark.