Welcome to Gaia! ::

It was well past midnight by the time Carter returned home, a thin layer of ice covering his clothes from where his watery attack had left him soaked to the bone. It was difficult to make it past the front door; he couldn't uncurl his right hand as cold and stiff as it was from his failed attack earlier. His left arm still ached from where the Ice Princess had grabbed and flung him earlier. It took all his might and concentration to manuver his house key into the lock and twist it, hoping that someone didn't wake up in the middle of the night to throw the deadbolt on him.

He was lucky -- the door slid open, Carter nearly tripping over himself in his haste to get inside. Nothing had changed since he last left: the dull carpet was still there despite the massive rug trying to hide it. The christmas tree in the corner was still lit up with its lights, the area beneath it barren and devoid of the gifts that had lurked there before. As quickly and quietly as he could, Carter kicked off his shoes and picked them up, tip-toeing through past the living room.

The boy stopped at the first door, holding his breath and listening. Silence. His left hand shook as he grabbed the doorknob and peered in, closing the door softly as soon as he saw the huddled figure on the bed move slightly. Good. The same thing repeated for the next and the next, even if he lingered listening outside of the last one for longer than the others. His family was safe -- that was good.

Satisfied, Carter entered his own room and dropped his sneakers, moving towards his bed and throwing open the window. He didn't bother with the light -- as stealthily as he wished he was, he wasn't sure if he made it in completely safe. Throwing a light on now would only incidate that he was Awake when he should be Asleep, and given the ice... Carter didn't feel like confronting that issue, not just yet.

By the light of the moon, Carter took ahold of his right index finger. With a wince, he struggled to pry his own fingers back one by one out of their stiff and locked position. It was during this process that he noticed something, something very important. It fit almost perfectly into his palm. His shoulders sagged at the sight of it:



It slipped out of his hand, landing on the bed. He stared at it. He had a crystal. He had a crystal. He was freezing. He shook his head as a shiver shook him, forcing him to recall reality.

As best as he could, Carter peeled off his layers of clothing, using his old clothes he wore yesterday as a makeshift towel to dry himself. It was too late in the night to take a warm shower -- it was the best he could do.

Carter carefully picked up the crystal, letting out breath he didn't know he held as soon as he touched it. He closed his eyes, opening them again as his hand was empty. A moment of panic seized him before it appeared in his hands, making his jaw drop open. "It's just like a senshi phone?" He murmured quietly in amazement. Or was it? He frowned. He needed help. He needed someone who knew about crystals. But who?

He ran a hand through his still damp hair, dismissing his crystal as he crawled under his cold sheets. That was something to worry about tomorrow.