Welcome to Gaia! ::

After her run in with the well and how damp she’d been for hours afterward, Dani decided her next adventure should be a drier one. The strange little fires she’d been reading about were concerning; if nothing else, Dani planned to get a few pictures of the destruction, maybe inspire a painting of the carnage afterward. Snapping a few photos of the sunset and a few melted patches of asphalt, she nearly screamed when a brightly colored lizard darted between her legs and underneath a vehicle, it’s tongue flicking wildly as rubber tires began to bubble and pop in it’s proximity, tires hissing and spitting as air spewed out of them once melted through. Seemingly startled, the creature darted off with something shiny gripped between it’s jaws.

Her phone.

Spotting Esfir running after the creature, she pointed frantically, scrambling after it. “My phone! That little— thing, it’s got my phone!” She crowed, her heart beating double time as she watched the crimson critter scramble down an alleyway and out of sight. She could only pray the Otterbox on her phone would hold up against the heat a little longer than the debris around them. Frustrated, she threw her water bottle after the beast, watching it hit the wall and steam upon impact where the water spewed out across its molten flesh.

Dani opened her mouth to retort, only to yelp and pull the girl by the arm, stopping her before she stepped in a bubbling pool of asphalt. She picked up the pace after letting Esfir go, skidding over a slippery bit of pavement as she rounded the corner, her eyes widening, mouth agape. “Oh s**t.” Dani groaned, covering her mouth with one hand as she watched the lizard practically slither underneath a fruit-laden table, disappearing from sight, the only indication of it’s path being the shrieks of surprise and smoke from where it’s skin brushed against flammable surfaces.

The farmers market was not the kind of place for that thing to be running around, even if the scent of roasted fruit was almost pleasant. Chaos erupted, people scattering in every direction, while others tried to catch a glimpse of what was causing the commotion, creating a barricade of bodies Dani knew they’d struggle to get through. “We need to stop that thing before it sets the whole place on fire,” Dani groaned, her heart hammering in her throat. “I’m going to try and cut it off, do you think you can chase it down? Try to steer it towards some water or something? You’re pretty fast!”


As if on cue, there was a shout from one of the stalls deeper in the market, the huge, glowing lizard having dropped the phone in favor of shoving his head into the portable barbecue lined with rows of roast pork, the table groaning underneath his weight as he leaned on it, teeth crunching through roasted bone and sinew.

Dani nodded, the tumbling nerves in her belly mixing with the excitement of seeing something so strange and new but she’d have time to think about that later. Later! Shoving a hand in her purse, she came out with a handful of dollars and tossed them onto a table selling tomatoes, grabbing a small container of them and running towards the beast. She didn’t know if she could scare the thing, but she could try to distract and annoy it into leaving it’s meal. Tossing one, it split as it hit the lizard square between the eyes, making it hiss in surprise and stumble off of the cart it had climbed on, tongue flicking wildly.

Attempting to resume it’s meal, the lizard tried to climb back up, only for Dani to repeat the action, pelting the creature with her makeshift ammo. It hissed again, baring glowing golden teeth before turning to run in the opposite direction, in search of an easier meal. She had just long enough to grab the cooling remains of her phone case and grimace, shoving it into her pocket before she redirected her attention again, stamping her feet to try and get the creature headed away from the commotion of the crowd.