Welcome to Gaia! ::

The teens all pig out on pop corn, retiring to bed with well rounded tummies, leaving Ai and Bez to sweep up the rest.

As Ai sits a large bowl of the stuff on a nearby table, Bez dumps the last of what had made it to the floor into a barrel to feed their chickens.

"Does stuff like this happen often around him, he asks with a soft laugh.

Ai smiles at him. "Only when he's tired and truly needs to rest. I should have seen the warning signs. He tends to be a touch more argumentative when he's skragged and prone to crashing. Guess he hadn't truly recovered as much as we all thought he had."

Ai watches the cocoon wobble and sighs. "As restless as he seems to be tonight, I hope he gets enough rest. If he was in a bed, he'd be entangled in the sheets by now."

Bez comes up behind him and gives him a hug. "I say we should all turn in... He'll be fine out here, right?"

Ai looks at the small black shape curled up under a blanket next to the cocoon and nods. "With Pasa watching over him, how can he not be." He yawns and leans into the embrace, sighing lightly. "I wish my shapes weren't under lock and key."

The next morning he awakens the the smell of fried sausage and potatoes. How it manages to penetrate his cocoon he doesn't know, but his stomach is growling appreciatively. dropping it's sheltering embrace he stretches and wanders into the kitchen where he finds Mara, Pasura and Bez eating.

"Where's Ari?" he asks taking a seat.

"With Mama. They are waiting up at your place. Ari wasn't very hungry." mutters Mara softly looking at her plate. At the rate she's pushing the food around on her plate, only nibbling when her father glares at her, she, too, doesn't have much of an appetite.

They are sitting on the boulders out in front of the caverns, talking quietly; Ai trying to keep her nerves calm, so she enters into this in a better frame of mind.

Ai smiles at them both and climbing slowly to his feet he joins the embrace. "Be well, both of you. We'll see you at dinner time. Any requests?"

"And packed with protein.... gotcha." laughs Ai knowingly. "I'll see what's in the stores. Bye, Sweetling." he whispers, kissing Ari on the cheek. "Be good and listen to what he tells you. Okay?"

She nods slowly and shuffles her feet. "Yes, Mama... I'll listen."

Bored isn't the word for how Ari feels, but she sits as still as she can, while he works. Occassionally she get the sensation of bright blinding lights behind her eyes and once there was a pain so intense, it made her flinch, but it faded so quickly she found herself wondering if she had truly felt it.

And finds himself face to face with a familiar green eyed, red-haired manifestation. "Uncle Kero! Is that you? Where am I? What is this place? I can't get out... Help me!" Shia cries frantically.