DreamWeaver (IC)

OOC Thread is here ---> http://www.roleplaygateway.com/dreamweaver-ooc-sign-t26810.html

Today had been full or surprises for Kayame. Most days she spent drawing or coloring, stuck in a hospital bed for nearly eleven years of her life. Today was in fact her sixteenth birthday and she hadn't expected much. To her delight, the teacher had brought her classmates in to see her and they had all made her cards for her birthday. It was the first group of visitors she had in over five months. It was usually just her mother and her. The class stayed for about an hour while she opened cards and thanked them all very much. She noticed a new student in amongst them. He was tall and handsome and her heart jumped when he caught her eye and smiled. She blushed furiously and looked down at the card in her lap. She knew that he was out of her league but it was nice to know he had made her a card.

After the group left she helped her mother arrange the cards on the stand next to her bed. It had been a good day so far. The nurses were planning a little party, she knew but wasn't supposed to. She had overheard them the night before when they were checking up on her. Her mother was going to run down to the store and buy some coffee and Kayame, from all the excitement decided to take a nap. She had no sooner closed her eyes when she heard someone calling her name. Her eyes flicked open and she noticed an oddly dressed woman standing next to her bed. This woman had blazing green eyes and long black hair. She was wearing an odd emerald dress and a black shawl. Kayame looked at her puzzled, "Do I know you?"

The woman was silent for awhile studying Kayame with her eyes. She then smiled at her, "Kayame, you have been ill for a long while. It is now time for you to have your freedom." Kayame was surprised that this woman knew her name but also curious as to what she meant by 'freedom'. Was this woman going to kill her? The woman smiled again, "I won't kill you. I am giving you the most extraordinary power. You shall have your dreams become reality. Now you must rest." With that the woman touched Kayame's forehead and she was enveloped in a bright white light. Her eyes grew heavy and she fell back onto her bed fast asleep.

Outside, the world was slowly transforming into what was in Kayame's mind. The skyscrapers became trees and the roads turned to dirt paths. It seemed that the whole world was becoming a giant forest with tiny villages hidden within the trees. Animals scurried everywhere and the sun shone brightly without a cloud in the sky. The whole Earth had been sucked inside Kayame's dreams and had been plunged into a forest setting while Kayame slept on.

Amy was walking among the city,for the 'first time'. In a split second,though,everything changed back to her usual habitat,minus the population around her.
Scared,that she might be going insane,she ran back in the direction,she knew. Which was only a little ways off. When she stopped running,there was a lake in front of her. There was a girl standing there...It was her.
She recognized herself,from her dreams.
Her hair was pulled back with a black headband,her long bangs,out of her eyes. Her hair was neat,though. Not the tangled mess,it usually was.
Her clothes,were like her dream,as well. The baggy sweater over the skirt. She had sneakers,which was more,than she ever had in at least 3 years.
Amy felt her back grow heavy,and reached behind her,knowing,but not not expecting...the sword. She gasped,and it fell to the ground,by the river. Up to her hopped a rabbit,a very small,white one.She kneeled down,with opened arms. It was almost exactly like a dream. It hopped into her opened arms,and she snuggled it.
She put it down,and put the sword,back into the pouch on her back.
The bunny hopped onto Amy again,this time riding in the sweater's hood. She laughed,as she looked around,at this odd world.

Drake had been calmly walking home after school. It was a rather cloudy day and he missed the sunshine. His tiger, Tico, was holed up in his apartment and getting restless. It had been about a month since he'd moved here and he liked it quite a bit. He smiled at the memory of home and closed his eyes for a bit, reliving the past. When he opened them he realized the world around him had changed drastically. The buildings and houses had all disappeared. Instead he was surrounded by trees of all sizes and animals were running around through the patches of sunshine he noticed.

Drake bent down and noticed that his clothes had changed. Instead of the usual jeans and tee he was now wearing what looked like a Robin Hood outfit. He even noticed a cloak wrapped around his shoulders. He felt something in his boot and bent down pulling a small dagger from it. He noticed his wooden staff laying next to the path and picked it up. It was just as his dream had been! He looked both ways down the path and called out, "Tico!"

He listened for a minute and heard something coming towards him at a fast pace. Suddenly, a white tiger came into view racing towards him. The tiger stopped in front of him and sat on its haunches looking up expectantly at his master. Drake smiled and patted him on the head, "Good to see you. Let's explore this place. Its all too weird." He climbed upon the tiger's back, who was extrememly strong and twice the size of a normal tiger. They set off down the path and came upon a lake. Drake noticed a girl standing there and called out to her, "Hey, who are you?"

Amy swirled around,at the sound of a voice. It was a man,standing in a Robin Hood,like costume. He had a..tiger at his side,and she stared in awe.
She shook her head,for a moment,and decided,she had a sword if she needed it.
"Amica. And,you? Who are you?" She asked,still a little scared.
The rabbit climbed on her shoulder,and looked out,not scared of the tiger,for some odd reason. It didn't seem scared of anything,for an odd reason. It scurried to the top of her head,seemingly in excitement.

Alex slowly opened her eyes. She was no longer in a hospital bed. She was in a forest. She could see a lake, and two people standing there. She stood up, expecting to be wearing her hospital gown. But instead she was wearing a pale pink dress, like in her dreams. She stumbled over to the lake, and looked in. A pink crown stood atop her pale pink hair. Alex looked healthier than ever. She felt a weight on her hip. She looked down and saw a pink sheath there. She drew the sword. It had the palest pink blade, and a hot pink handle. She returned it to it's sheath. She walked around the lake, amazed to be feeling so strong. She spun around, smiling and laughing.

Kayame didn't know if she was awake or still dreaming. She was no longer frail and pathetic. For the most part she felt better than ever. She felt a slight twinge in her back and went to put her hand on it and instead touched something soft. She turned her head back to look and saw a pair of blue butterfly wings protruding out of her back. She looked down and grasped the black dress she was now wearing. Her hands traveled into her hair and she felt the springy curls that she had always dreamed of having. She jumped up in the air and her wings flutter. She was flying! After a couple feet though she dropped back down. It was hard work to fly!

Just then she heard voices drifting through the trees. She also heard someone laughing. She hurried to investigate. She hid behind a tree and looked out onto a clearing with a lake. There was a boy with a tiger standing there, a girl with a fluffy rabbit on her head, and another girl that looked like a princess. Kayame slightly recognized the boy, it was the one that had came to visit her that she had liked. Her cheeks flushed red but she decided to wander out and meet these people too. The Dream Goddess had given her this? Kayame couldn't help but smile.

Kayame stepped out from behind the tree and approached the boy and the girl and her rabbit. She stopped a few feet away from the both of them and waved at them. "Umm..hi. I'm Kayame. What's your names?" She noticed her voice sounded nervous and her palms were sweaty. She didn't want them to not like her. She was always worried about being shunted out of a group because she was sick. But was she still? She didn't feel sick at all.

Amy turned. There were two new people in the forest,now. One was laughing,and spinning. The other had just introduced herself.
"Hi,I'm Amy." She said,nervous. None of them seemed like a threat...except the boy with the tiger. "Do you know what's happening,here?"She asked,confused by everything happening.
Amy plucked the rabbit from her head,and petted it's fur. In all the years that she had lived out in the forest,she never really interacted much with the nature around her,she just usually ate berries,and built some fires. The rabbit,seemed happy.
Amy didn't know how she could tell,ot if anyone else could,but it seemed to emit,an aura,like the dream rabbit.
She closed her eyes,and shook her head. She counted to ten,and then opened her eyes. Everyone,and everything was still there. It was like a dream come true.

Alex couldn't help but smile as she felt the strength in her legs, how easy it was to breathe, how good her body felt without pain. Her pale pink hair fanned out behind her as she spun. She laughed as she ran towards the others. She ran, without feeling weak. She saw her reflection in the lake, and laughed again at how healthy she felt, and looked. Her laugh was light, and breezy. Her cheeks glowed. As she reached the others, she stopped to observe them all.
There was a boy, with a tiger. Alex's hands wanted to reach out, and stroke it. There was a girl with a rabbit, who looked nervous. And then there was a girl with the most beautiful butterfly wings. Alex laughed, a breezy, carefree laugh. I'm so happy! I think my cancer has gone, and I'm stronger than ever before, even before my cancer! She skipped over to them, in the least nervous. "Hi! I'm Alex!" Her dress seemed like the one that she had dreamed about so many times, and her strength was like something she had never imagined.

The girl,who wore the pink dress,and looked like a princess,had introduced herself as Alex. As strange as it may seem,her mood was really lightening up Amy's mood.
She smiled,and waved. She didn't know if the girl had heard her the first time or not,so decided to just say her name.
"Amy." Amy spoke,sitting down on the grass,she set the rabbit down,gently. It hopped til it got near the water,and fell in. She gasped,and crawled over to the water's edge,much to her surprise,it came up again,and she grabbed it,putting it on the grass again.
She calmed down,and faced the people again,just sitting by the water's edge. The bunny hopped away,soon hidden by the forest,surrounding them.

Phoibos walked down what used to be a street but had magically turned into a simple country road right before his eyes. Looking out upon the houses he noticed that they were no more and in their place stood trees of beautiful green bearing fruits that hung off their branches making them hang down low. Everyone else was gone that was in view even the people in the houses had just disappeared right along with them. All the wonders of the big city had vanished into thin air and in their place a great forest rose, it was amazing to say the least.

Phoibos passed another man who looked in some way, different from what a normal city person. This man had a sword slung over his back and looked stronger than anyone he had ever seen without even having much muscle at all. The close on his back were more regal looking than anyone other than someone in a queen's presence would ever think to wear. He had a blue and white shirt that had two pieces of fabric coming off the back and falling down to his heels, getting progressively smaller and ending in a point. The shirt's front had two buttons on either side of his torso which held the shirt firmly on his body and ended just a bit below the beginning of his pants. The pants were white with blue embroidering on the sides and fell in a straight leg sort of fashion to his expensive looking black dress shoes.

Phoibos walked past the man and thought about what was going on. He didn't know what was going on or even how anything got like this but he did want to figure it out. Looking down at himself he noticed that his clothes were all the same as they had been when he was walking around the city and he didn't seem to be changed at all. No feeling of increased strength, speed, stamina, anything. The man who walked by before looked as though he had been totally changed but he himself felt no different at all.

As he walked down the road Phoibos soon came to a river that had a few people near it. The waster was the cleanest he had ever seen and was amazingly full of life, this surprised him he had never expected to see something that looked so beautiful in person. He always figured he would be stuck living in the city forever right where nothing beautiful ever came by and nothing majestically ever happened. As he approached the river he decided to simply observe what the people there did so he climbed up into a tree and sat on a branch. He sat there and saw the exchange of greeting between the few who were at the river and waited until something important would happen. He knew it would, something always happens.

Alex smiled. Her cheeks felt warm as she looked at another boy, climbing into the tree. She realized she was blushing. She looked away, and sat down. Her cheeks stayed hot, however. A little tiger cub came out and rubbed against her. She smiled and picked it up.

Kayame smiled as another girl skipped into view. She was wearing a lovely pink dress and looked like a perfect princess. Kayame nodded as she introduced herself. So Kayame glanced around, the girl with the bunny was named Amy and the girl in pink was named Alex. Kayame glanced at the boy and his tiger, she didn't know his name yet. She wanted to touch the tiger. It was so beautiful. But she didn't want to upset it or the boy next to it. She instead addressed the whole group of them.

"I know what's going on here." She paused as she got everyone's attention. She continued her story, "You see I have been ill for a very long time and today is my 16th birthday. I was in my hospital bed when a very strange woman came in and told me that she would grant me eternal sleep and make all my dreams become reality. I think that's what happened. Everyone's become the dream version of themselves." She stopped there waiting for a response as she glanced at them all. She didn't want them to think she was crazy.

Drake listened as the girls all introduced themselves. The weird thing was that he was the only boy yet to be here. Where were all the other people? Or maybe they didn't exist in this world? He noted that the girl with butterly wings, Kayame he thought, looked like someone he knew. She started to explain and he listened with rapt attention. It was the girl from the hospital! She didn't look sick at all now. She, in fact, looked beautiful. All of the girls did, from the princess to the girl holding the cute white rabbit. Well, at least he could get whichever girl he wanted first. No competition at all. He grinned.

He turned to the girls, "By the way, my name's Drake. I already introduced myself to Amy here. That is an interesting story. I wondered what was going on. Oh well, this place beats the city life any day. I must be off. Come, Tico." He turned away from them and headed back towards the woods. He was more of a solitary person and wanted to explore this place for awhile. Maybe he could find them again sometime? It didn't bother him leaving them. He figured they must know how to fight a little bit or they wouldn't be so careless. He tucked his staff into the holder on his back and walked on with Tico at his side.

Alex just shrugged as Drake walked away. Wait, hold on. If I'm a princess, then where's my castle? She looked around her, searching for any sign of royalty. She thought hard about her dreams. She had never actually reached the castle, but she had started approaching it, and had actually seen it. Then what Kayame had said sunk in. "Wait... you were that girl that all the kids were going to see? No way! I was in the room next to you! The doctors were worried that I was going to be in for a long time, because of my cancer,so they put me in a private room!" She smiled, before standing up. The tiger cub climbed off her lap, and stretched. "Well, if you'll excuse me...." Then she stopped. "Wait... have you guys got anywhere to stay for the night? Because, I am a princess, and where do princesses live...?" She folded her arms, smiled, and waited for it to sink in.

Rhia blinked and looked around. She had been on her way to archery practice and had spaced out. It seemed that she had stumbled into the city's nature park, though that didn't make sense as it was all the way across town from the community center she went to to practice archery. She must have been pretty far into the park too because all around her she could hear nothing but the sounds of nature. There was no roar of cars or shouts of road rage. She couldn't see the sky scrapers through the canopy of the tall trees. She couldn't even smell the smoggy polluted air she had become accustomed to by living in the city. Everything smelt clean and fresh and even new. She was befuddled for a moment and she gripped the bow in her hand tighter in confusion.

It was only then that she realized the object gripped in her right hand was no longer a bow but a staff. It was about four feet long and made of a silver metal that she suspected to be pure silver. At the top of the staff was a huge sapphire orb that caught and reflected the light and gave the appearance of pictures within it's depths. Ancient looking runes were carved in a spiral down it's length and oddly enough Rhia could read them even though she'd never seen writing like it in her. She murmured the words aloud. "O Staff of Magick," She whispered, "Grant upon myself the power to call forth thou ancient book of knowledge. Gift me with thy ability to summon forth the heavens; to bring ruin to my enemies and to bless my allies." She was trying to discern the meaning to these cryptic words when the jewel at the top of the staff began to glow

Three rays of light short forth from the precious stone. On filled her empty left hand and began to take on a rectangular form. The second her her neck and she could not see what form it took. The final ray of light hit her square in the chest and it's light flooded over her entire body. The light blinded her and changed her. When at last the light faded she looked down at herself in shock. The light had changed her clothes. Where she had originally been wearing a white button up blouse with bell shaped sleeves there was now a deep blue tube top that was underneath a black corset like shirt and both were trimmed in silver. Her pleated black mini skirt was now blue and ankle length in the back while it remained mid thigh length in the front. Her boots were loose and comfortable, made with a blue material the same color as her skirt. Around her waist was a metal armor like waist guard. Tied to the front of the guard was a deep blue sash that went to her ankles in the front. It was beautifully decorated with silvery blue embroidery and blue gems in an intricate design and trimming this too was a beautiful silver colored fabric. In addition to the metal waist guard she also wore metal arm and leg bracers and shoulder guards. All were silver edged and made initially of a bluish metal. Studded into the metal were beautifully cut sapphires of all sizes. Tied around her neck was a deep black robe made of velvet. It was heavy but warm. She wore various jewelry including silver hoop earrings, a black leather choker with a sapphire heart pendant, an intricate silver and blue jeweled hair clip in her waist length ebony hair and a silver chain with a key on it. She looked at her hand to see what the first ray of light had done.

In her hand was a leather bound book that was locked on the edge. In golden writing on the front the words, 'Encyclopedia Magicka' could be read. The book was thick but strangely it felt weightless. She lifted it to her neck and unlocked it with the key. She flipped it open to a random page only to find nothing written in it. She frowned and flipped through the pages. They were all blank. 'What is this?' She wondered to herself, 'It's kinda anti climatic now isn't it?' She looked down at the page again and her jaw dropped. There before her very eyes writing was filling the page she was open to.

'I am the Encyclopedia Magicka.' The words read, 'I will answer any question you have about the world of magick. You have asked me what I am and so I am answering your question. I am a book bound thousands of years ago by a Dream Weaver. I was destined to be assigned to the first human mage who could read the runes on the staff of magick. That has proven to be you. I am filled with all known spells and as more are discovered more are added to me. I am written in a language only you understand and the writing fades as soon as you close the book.' The words were unbelievable but Rhia believed them.

She sighed and thought, 'Alright then. Where am I?' The thought was obviously directed at the book and so the book replied with more writing and even a map on the second page.

'You are in the dream world of a girl named Kayami Nigori. Faced with chronic illness since she was five she has been confined to a hospital bed for nine years. Today was her sixteenth birthday and a Dream Weaver, a goddess who aides in the creation and destruction of dreams, paid her a visit. She gifted her with the ability that her dreams would engulf the world, and she would sleep for all eternity. You have been sucked into the dream as well and now gifted with the ability to shape shift and cast spells. The map is a map of this world. Use it as you will. The dot on the map marked Creator is Kayami.' Common sense told her she needed to find this Kayami so she started walking all the while asking the book questions and memorizing spells. She was so out of it she didn't even notice the black cat following close behind her.

After walking a while through the forest in the general direction of the dot she noticed a handsome boy ahead of her. He was walking alongside a large white tiger and she unsure whether he was a friend or a foe. She tightened her grip on her staff and threw a wary glance at him. Just in case, she turned to the page of the only jinx she had learned so far. It would turn him into a chicken for twenty seconds but that was more than enough time for her to shape shift into something suitable for flight and get away.

Amy let the fact she had become a dream version of herself sink in. She watched the boy,walk away with his tiger,into the forest.
She realized that,Alex would try to invite them to her castle. However in Amy's dream,she always lived in a small cottage/cabin,instead of the regular forest.
Amy shook her head. "I'm sorry,but I do have somewhere to stay. I just have to find it." She said,smiling. She got up,and started to walk away,into the forest. She went the oppisite way of the path the boy had taken,so she could be alone.
She wanted some time alone with her dream self. She realized,as she started walking,it would be rude to not say goodbye,so Amy turned around,slowly.
"Goodbye,I have a feeling our paths will cross again,sometime soon."She said to both of them. Then she turned to Kayame. "Thank,you for dreaming up this world. I'm not lonely anymore,and I'm happier than ever. I'm glad you all got over your sicknesses,and may you be healthy,now,and forever." She said,politly,not really knowing what else to say.
With her good-byes,drawn,Amy turned,and skipped merrily,into the forest. It took awhile,but she found a clearing. There was no one there,no one that could hear her. She could practice alone.
Amy reached behind her back,and grabbed the sword,from it's sheath. She held it,out in front of her,directly between her eyes.
She struck a battle pose,as if she way about to fight a great,evil lord. Amy grinned,from ear to ear,her face,intent. She rose up into the air,using her flying--flying! The girl with the butterfly wings wasn't lying,after all!--to lift her into the air,though not as high,for anyone to easily see her.
Amy quickly,manuevered the sword,around,and around. The weight was barely anything,though lifting one,before would have been almost impossible.
She hit the ground,running straight,for a tree,and quickly,pierced it wth the blade. Her grin streched,from ear to ear,as she relaxed,and toke,the sword out of the tree,and back into the sheath.
As she did this,the rabbit--The same rabbit,that had visited her,with the other people--appeared. It hopped up,into her waiting hands. It had a sense of urgency,as if it wanted Amy to follow.
She did,and with that,Amy had found her small cottage/cabin.

((The 'cottage/cabin' thing,was because I wasn't sure if it could be called a specific name,yet.))

Phoibos looked out at the group as it slowly dissipated into only two people. One looked like a princess one could only imagine in their dreams with an extravagant dress flowing around her body and a quaint tiara nested atop her head. The other girl was in a small black dress which was quite form fitting and on her back were wings of a butterfly. The wings surprised him the most and he was curious to see if they were just for effect of if they did something spectacular instead. The two who had left, a boy and a girl, seemed to go at about the same time and both left with a goodbye while failing to let anyone else say their goodbyes. He was glad that he did not intoduce himself yet he would not have liked to greet people only to have them walk off rudely into the forest.

The remaining two girls were just standing around one looked like she was overjoyed just to be standing while the other seemed ready to race off somewhere. Phoibos decided he could introduce himself to these two, it couldn't hurt considering there was no one else he knew here and this world was strange and new to him. As he approached he noticed the water behind them, it was ever so beautiful and he couldn't stop looking at it. Not paying too much attention to anything else he walked right past the girls we was going to introduce himself to and sat at the water's edge. While moving his hand through the cold, wet water he asked the girls behind him, "How do you suppose the water is so nice here? It's almost so majestic that it could be water from a dream." He was absent minded of anything but the water and the question almost seemed to be directed to the entire world as apposed to the two at his back.

Ria jumped as Phobios approached. She found herself blushing again. What's wrong with me? I never used to blush! "That's because it is." She said, walking over to him, her cheeks still red.

Kayame was a bit sad that the boy walked away so soon. She watched his disappear before she realized that Amy was also going to be leaving them. Kayame listened and waved a farewell to the girl as she and her rabbit disappeared from sight as well. Kayame noticed though, that the girl had gone the opposite way than the boy. Kayame turned to look at the princess named Alex and was about to say something when a boy walked past them. This came as sort of a shock to Kayame and she turned quickly to see where he was going. She didn't see him at first but then noticed he had crouched down next to the lake and was idly running his hand in it. She heard his question about the dream water and noticed that Alex, with a slight blush on her face, answered him.

Kayame followed the girl over next to him as well. Kayame kneeled down beside him and glanced at her reflection. She smiled because she couldn't believe that it was actually her staring back. She looked sideways at the boy's reflection and saw a rather handsome facing reflected in its depths. She couldn't place his face among the students who had visited her before in the hospital. Maybe he wasn't from her school? She shrugged her doubt away and listened to the wind rustle the trees. It was beautiful here.

Kayame snapped out of her reverie and felt ashamed that she hadn't yet introduced herself. "Oh pardon me.." She started looking up at the boy, "My name is Kayame. I...er...created this world you could call it." She extended a petite hand in his direction trying her best to be gracious to all the newcomers. She had never realized that these people were now wandering around in her dreams. Did that mean they were all inside her head? Or were they simply pulled in when the Dream Weaver turned the world upside down?

Drake looked up and was surprised to see a girl coming towards him. She wasn't at all like those he had left back at the lake. She was carrying what looked like a silver staff with a beautiful gem on top of it and in another hand she held and ancient looking book which was open. He wondered if she was some kind of witch or wizard. He held out his wooden staff in front of him as if to shield off whatever spell she would throw at him. Tico, his faithful friend, stepped closer to the girl and sniffed the air as if trying to smell if she were good or evil.

Drake posed waiting for the girl to speak but decided he should break the silence first. "Who are you?" There was a definite coldness in the way he asked. He wasn't trying to be rude but she seemed ready to jinx him if he made the wrong move. Tico seemed restless and kept his eyes locked on the girl. Drake decided that he didn't have time for this. He wanted out of this dream world, he didn't quite know why but he did. He clipped his staff onto his back in its holder and swung his leg over Tico. He addressed the girl once more, "You know what? Nevermind. I'm bored with you." With that he nudged Tico's sides and with a great lunge the tiger took off, racing past the girl and out of sight.

Drake thought they had been running for hours and hours because the light seemed to be growing dim. Then he realized it was because the trees were more and more crowded in this part of the forest. He slowed Tico to a walk and noticed the path they were on was very slim and appeared as if no one used it very often. He slipped off of his tiger and pulled out his staff once again. They had had made it to a clearing with thick trees standing around it. In the middle of the clearing was what appeared to be a glove. Drake walked towards it and when he was within a couple feet a dark light shone from the glove. Drake then noticed the huge black crystal that adorned it.

The light was coming from the crystal and soon a shape emerged. It appeared to be a cloak but two eyes shone through. These eyes were not really eyes but two gleaming red circles looking out. There were also two hands that protruded from it but the hands appeared to be alive with flames. In between the hands was a crystal ball that appeared to be alive with pictures that zoomed too fast for Drake to pick out. He held up his staff and fell back, "What are you?" The mysterious cloak answered in a booming voice, "I am the Doom Phantom. The phantom of nightmares and evil." Drake didn't know what to think of this information.

He struggled to his feet, "What do you want then?" The phantom seemed to chuckle in a very evil voice indeed, "I need you to fufill my wishes." With this the phantom dissolved back into the crystal and the glove flew towards Drake and attached itself to his hand. A searing pain shot through him as he screamed out in anguish. He clutched his right hand which the glove was now on and fell to his knees. A darkness like he had never known was descending upon him and the trees around him were swirling. He saw Tico's face above his but it faded into a darkness that engulfed him.