Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Huh?" stammers Mara worriedly.

"Kero, enough... let her be. She was just blowing steam. I'll have a talk with her while we work." says Ai gently, rising to his feet. "You two go on... Shall I bring lunch by today? Or will you be feeding yourselves?"

"Sustenance..." mutters Mara under her breath.

"Big word for food." whispers Ari in her ear. "See you later, sis."

This time Ari looks around, locating a cushion and dragging it to the mat. It wasn't that she minded sitting on the floor, but yesterday she had noticed that the cold seeping up through the rush mat was a distraction. Placing her juice by her side, she sits down and gets comfortable. Closing her eyes, she reaches for her center, but eagerness does not always achieve purpose. It isn't until she remembers her Daddy's coaching that she finds herslef slowly slipping into the right mental state.

"Your body is a garment, set it aside. float above it, now move it. See like a puppet it resonds...think of lifting an arm, it will rise... some things like breathing, it will do on it's own... others you will need to do for it.... now see yourself as a ball of light and reach in....."

Frustration begins to mount as she first tries one method and then the other to no avail. "Why won't it work?" she demands throwing her hands up in the air. It was so easy yesterday."

"Daddy says I should step out of myself... you say I should step in... Mama says I should do what feels right and Mara thinks I'm loafing... Everyone tells me something different... it's so confusing." she moans squirming in place, wiggling about to find a more comfortable position.

She tries again, getting no further than before. In frustration she pounds the pillow. "I'm me!" she cries. "I'm not you! I'm not Daddy!..."

"Of course your not, my dear... You are not Kerobian, you are not your father you're not me... you are Argeeis su Ai `e Bezernia. But you are giving me a head ache. Here... let me help..." comes a voice from within her, bubbling up through her thoughts. "Try this... don't reach... float... think of floating on water... or air... close your eyes, relax... that's it... feel your toes go light, then your fingers... just float..."

With Shia's help Ari begins to relax enough to let go. Suddenly she finds herself back in the room, as she is now thinking of the boundary less space of her mind.

Ari feels a comforting arm slip about her shoulders.

"Here.." says Shia leading her back to her chair. "Sit... take a load off... you've been banging your head against the wall all morning... rest a bit, then we'll talk. Maybe between the two of us, we can figure out a way you can get here without so much trouble, hmmm?"

Ari watches as Shia pours her some tea from the selfsame pot as the day before. "Shia... what do you do when I'm not here?" she asks in a quiet voice.

Shia smiles warmly at her. "Not much, I suppose. Wait for you to come mostly. I... I haven't been awake all that long, only a couple of days."

"Isn't it boring?" the girl asks thoughtfully looking around.

Shia shrugs. "I guess so... never really tought about it."

"How did the chairs and table get here?" says Ari fingering her teacup. "They are the same ones as yesterday aren't they?"

Shia thinks for a bit and nods. "Why yes, I think they are. Scruffy old things, but I always did like them. That's why I had the brownies move them up to my room."

"Why are they here?" says Ari gently.

"Because I needed someplace to talk to you, that's why?" replies the taller kitsune in confusion.

Ari grins. "I knew it. You made them appear, didn't you? Why not make some other stuff... like your favorite books or a window..."

"No..." cries Shia quickly. "No window... I mustn't see the outside."

"But why?" begs Ari not quite understanding."