Welcome to Gaia! ::

[roll count!

Dead Ends: 4

Random Encounters: 6
(Bird poop, overgrowth, blizzard, bench, swinging axes, UNICORN)

T-Junctions: 5

Challenges: 1]

By the time Cesc and Xiu had arrived at the maze’s entrance, the crowd was already starting to enter in pairs. Xiu recognized more than a couple of them as they walked (well, the raevans floated) in. For the most part, everyone was laughing and chatting away. There was a jovial atmosphere to be felt as the group made their way into the maze. Not wanting to lose Cesc in the crowd, Xiu hurried over to the other’s side. He had not seen Lazarus. Perhaps the Sigel was still at the grill? Xiu felt a twinge of regret. It seemed almost unfair that the firey one would be left tending to the meat alone. But then again, Lazarus had made it perfectly clear that the white Sigel should participate in the garden maze event.

The crowd was beginning to disperse as each pair of participants went on their separate ways through the maze. The Sigel glanced up and noticed the uncommonly heavy mist forming above the maze, muffling most sounds and giving the whole environment a noticeably eerie feel. Was this...natural? Or had the Doctor done something fishy again?

Looking ahead, Xiu realized that he was being addressed by the frei. Giving a nod in agreement to Cesc’s remark, Xiu was just about to write a reply when the frei uttered a soft exclamation. Looking up sharply Xiu at once realized what had happened. The path which the both of them had chosen had closed in on them, cutting them off from the group.

The White Sigel did not like this one bit; regardless of how calm the frei might seem to be. Grey wings which were once held at ease were now tightly pinned against his back as Xiu tried to keep the image of lonesome graveyards at bay.

That strategy we discussed earlier... the Sigel wrote It might not work here with the maze shifting like this .

For all he knew, they would end up walking in circles if they tried that method.

"You're right," Cesc agreed quietly, reading Xiu's notepad. The entirety of the maze around them seemed different somehow -- the solemnity of the hedges, the unerring, unbroken perfection of each tiny leaf... there was no blemish anywhere. It was haunting, unnatural, and so everyday wisdom was not going to help them here. His hand dropped from the greenery, back to his side.

Then, as if in response, the maze communicated! Cesc's ears twitched gently in surprise, his eyebrows lifting into his hair. He looked at Xiu with half-shocked amusement, his smile wry. "Wow," he breathed, floating back from the flowery message and turning to go back the direction they'd come. A thought occurred to him, warming his eyes with humor. "Well, let us hope the maze likes us. If it doesn't, we might be stuck here a little while. It is a little like Alice in Wonderland, don't you think?"

Looking over at Xiu, Cesc instantly regretted the words -- the other did not seem to be enjoying the overall feeling the maze gave off, his shoulders tense and his expression one of concern. Certainly they weren't in any danger, were they? The doctor wouldn't gather all the Raevans, just to put them in harm's way, certainly not. It was just the feeling, the feeling of magic drifting all around them, the feeling of such sudden and complete isolation. It was difficult to relax in.

As the Raevans turn into a new path, they found a group of pigeons of about thirty pecking at the dirt floor before them, cooing softly. However when the pigeons realized the Raevan's presence, the whole flock took flight over their heads, raining down a bombardment of bird poop.

The flock of pigeons blocking their path certainly took Xiu by surprise. Were these actual birds then? How did they come to be here?

Blue eyes stared at those feathered creatures suspiciously. If only he knew for sure...

Then, as though reading his mind, the flock took off. The thunderous sounds of flapping wings filled the misty maze and for an instant, those awkward moving birds actually looked...majestic.

But that image was soon replaced by one of pressing concern. The flock (if it was even possible), seemed to have developed a kind of mass diarrhoea as soon as they took off. Splatters of pigeon poop were raining down just as the last of the pigeons took flight.

Horrified, Xiu had just enough time to shield his head with his arms before the rain of poop struck. Splatters of warm, organic smelling gunk pelted the two raevans for what seemed to be a good few minutes. Horrified, Xiu let out a silent groan as some of the poop dribbled down the back of his neck and into his collar. His clothes would smell for a week! And the stains!

When the last of the diarrhoeal pigeons had left, Xiu chanced a glance at his newfound friend. Blue eyes stared in surprised as Cesc began to laugh; chuckling at first before it developed into a first class guffaw of amusement. The white Sigel wondered for a moment if Cesc had indeed lost his mind due to the horror of...

But no. His eyes were sane enough and his laughter infectious. Xiu was finding it harder and harder to keep a straight face. Come to think of it, there was a certain irony to this event...

And now that Xiu saw the joke, he was laughing along heartily with the pink haired frei while flicking his wings vigorously to remove the gunk. His outer clothes were a mess but his inner ones seemed to be safe from the worst of it.

Gingerly removing his outer robe and bundling it up as best as he could, Xiu allowed Cesc to help him remove some of the poop that had dirtied his hair. Really. This was too much.

When Cesc suggested that perhaps he should choose, Xiu gave their available options a thoughtful glance. Which path should they take now?

With the maze being as unfathomable as it is, let's hope we find a place to clean ourselves a little wrote Xiu with better humour than he had been prior to being splattered. I know I’d appreciate that

Picking a rather broad and well kept looking path, Xiu approached his choice warily.

"Yes... a lake or something would be nice," Cesc agreed, floating alongside Xiu as they took their new path, a high-humored smile still firmly on his face. He was glad that Xiu had laughed as well, considering the extreme ridiculousness of their shared situation. As he rolled up his sleeves, trying to preserve what cleanliness he could, he mused that he was glad to have met the sigel, and to have him as a partner in the maze.

But soon, the broad and well-kept path they chose became... narrow, and not so well kept. Twigs split in the crook of Cesc's antlers as the two passed, and the grass became higher and higher. Animals scurried as they continued through, and slowly Cesc began to have a hell of a time making sure neither of them went right into a tree-branch. Scratches lined his arms and hands, and he became somewhat bewildered.

"Well," he said as the path split into a T, "It's ... more natural, at least? But no lake here." He shook his head with a faint, wry grin. "I am starting to believe this maze does not like people with good grooming."

Unconsciously, he floated toward the left side of the T-junction; that turn seemed less generally overgrown and disheveled than the right.

"Your guess is as good as mine," Cesc replied, his ears flicking in an attempt to rid his hair of any remaining leaves or broken twigs. The two of them made an amusing pair -- so calm and well-dressed entering the maze, and now, look at them! They looked as if they had been camping for weeks, or rolled in a muddy embankment somewhere. When they got back to the party, they would certainly not make for very fetching guests...

... but this new pathway was looking a bit better now, with the reaching branches slowly receding back toward the maze's walls, and the grass gradually becoming lower. Perhaps they had entered some sort of calm area? With the relative jungle behind them and the earlier tension of claustrophobia broken, Cesc felt freer to talk with his new friend.

"Do you think the doctor had a purpose in inviting us into this maze?" he wondered aloud, his eyes reflecting as he looked up at the mist that hovered so opaquely above them. He looked back at Xiu, genuinely interested in the other's opinion -- Xiu was older, after all, and had obviously been through... many things. "I know you have seen more of these parties... does he do this kind of thing a lot?"