Jake stood at the edge of a cliff, his friends around him. He looked over his shoulder, back to the forest that didn't quite look the same. Then he turned his attention back to the great floating mass of islands before him. He checked his friends reactions as he wondered if he was dreaming. He pinched himself for good measure. It hurt. This was real.

They'd just wanted to take a short cut and now look where they had ended up. "I don't think we're in kansas any more." he said quietly, more to himself than to anyone else. A breeze whipped up around him, tugging at his hair and causing him to hold his black blazer a little tighter around himself. This was too freaking weird. He could see no where else to go, no path that would take them across to the islands. Something told him that turning around and going back wasn't an option either, besides he was far too curious for that. He stepped up to the very edge and peered over, looking down at the swirling clouds below. They made him feel slightly sick.

He pulled back, covering his eyes against the glare of the sun he squinted at the far off islands. Sure enough in the distance there was something heading towards them. A sort of ship that seemed to sail on the clouds. As it drew closer he couldn't help but think of what his grandpa used to say. Don't leave the path, we all know what happened to little Red Riding Hood. When she left the path she turned into lunch Was that what they were going to be? Lunch? It seemed that the strange vessel was their only way off of this cliff, unless of course they wanted to run back into the forest. He doubted any one would want that.

---

"Seth! We're close, you better come look at this."

Seth was sitting below 'deck' his head on the table in front of him. The cool wood calming him a little. He'd refused to go up top for the whole ten minute journey across the cloud. The motion of the ship always made him feel sick. He hated this, the queen had asked him to lead the mission to collect the new comers from 'Half way point' Of course initially he had refused, not wanting the hassle of such a journey. But she'd pressed him into it, practically ordering him to cross the clouds and pick up the kids. He shook his head, forehead still against the table. He hated being told what to do, and hated even more the fact that he'd given in and gone and fucking done it.

"Seth!"

Seth pushed himself up, groaning slightly as his stomach rolled. And that was just from moving into a seated position. In reality the vessel was barely jostling at all, the steam powered engine kept the thing surprisingly steady. It was one of the very few technological advancements that the Fey had made and most of it only worked because of the people who ran it. He stood slowly and carefully, bracing one hand against a wall of the vessel he made his way towards the stairs. Grasping them tightly he began to clamber up them. He wore tight black jeans and a tight burgandy t-shirt, a black choker hugged his neck. His dark hair whipped around his face as he popped up on deck. Still clutching the stair rail for support. The man who had been calling him, one of the queens Guards named Bobbie Reed, was standing at the head of the vessel, the wind pushing his shoulder length hair back so that it rippled in the sunlight. He smiled at seth, laughter in his gaze.

"Come on old man." Bobbie grinned.

Seth flipped him off as he staggered to the side of the vessel and grabbed onto the thick rail there. He felt his stomach turn as he caught a glimpse of the swirling clouds beneath. He made his way gingerly to the front of the vessel where he ended up standing beside Bobbie. He looked out at the cliff that marked half way point. A cluster of kids stood there. Seven or eight in total, perhaps more. It was a really big group, perhaps the biggest that Seth had ever picked up. It'd be another five minutes before they reached the cliff, and he hoped that none of them would turn to go back to the forest, then he'd have to send people after them and that would just be effort.

"Orders, captain?" Bobbie asked, poking a little fun at Seth who had been named leader of this little mission. No doubt he'd also have to baby sit these kids. The thought put Seth in an even worse mood.

"Piss off Bobbbie."

Regan watched the skies as he looked about where the ship should've been. He had wanted to go up there to meet the newcomers at the halfway point with Seth and the crew, but his mother would not allow it. He apparently needed to stay here to prepare for their arrival. If preparing meant sitting outside on the steps leading to the front door to their grande home, then Regan was doing very well at his preparations.
He leant his elbows on his knees, propping his head up with his hands. He sighed heavily, watching the clouds for a sign of the ship's return. It wasn't like he couldn't go up there himself, all it would take was a form with wings, perhaps changing into a Lupenvine would've been enough to get him up there.

But he knew that if he went against his mother's wishes, there would be consequences. So for now he would continue with his sulking. The gentle breeze passed by him, pulling his hair in all directions though he didn't do anything to stop it. He had a liking for his sapphire blue mess of hair, so much that it might've been the longest time that he'd stayed in one particular form. He used to have bubblegum pink hair before that, in an asymmetric cut around his face with big silver eyes. That looked pretty good. Perhaps he'd return to that look when he eventually grew bored of blue. Being able to change how you looked never seemed to bore Regan.

He couldn't possibly change his humanoid form into anything more beast like anyway - his clothes were too tight to grow. They would rip too easily and his mother did not appreciate him ruining his clothes just because he was bored. It was not responsible apparently.
He wore a silver fitted button up shirt with an open collar and tight fitting black trousers. Later, once the newcomers were gone, he'd return to a looser shirt and his jeans. For how he had to dress up and look good.
And here he waited, hoping that Seth wouldn't take too long collecting the newcomers.

"All right, hold onto the rope with both hands and place your feet out in front of you!"

Jason stood at the bottom of a rock wall, his hair wavered a little in the wind but the gel kept the fo-hawk in place. He squinted slightly while watching the woman above follow his instructions. She did all right for a first time climber... but something told him this wasn't her first time. Her mistakes and slips were too deliberate, as if she was faking being bad. That seemed like an odd thing for someone to want to do so when she finally repelled to the bottom, Jason decided to test the waters.

"Not bad... you sure this was your first time?" His deep grey eyes looked hard into her darling baby blues. She gave a slight grin and twisted the carabiner off her harness and back into Jason's hands. She was quite beautiful with her long, strawberry blond hair and smooth skin.

"Well, everyone has beginners luck." She let the last word linger in the air as she rolled it off her tongue. No... this girl had most certainly climbed before and was here for something else.

"I'd love to have a little luck every now and then." Jason kept contact with her eyes.

"Ohh? Then how about tonight we see how lucky you are?" She pulled off her harness and slipped it too him along with a small note. Jason rubbed the stubble on his chin, thinking about how he was going to get back home in time to change for what was sure to be a wonderful evening.

------------------------------------------------------------

That night, Jason cut through the woods. There just wasn't enough time to waste on that stupid road that had to loop all the way around. He didn't even have time to put his gear up at work... instead he just took it with him. Beside, it wasn't like this was the first time he went running the the forest at night. As he kept on, he became more distracted with the beauty he saw today. Someone that stunning had to get whatever she wanted but what could you possibly want when everything is already basically yours? It wasn't tough to picture himself in her position. All Jason knew is that he would get fed up with it.

Holy crap this brush is getting thick as hell.

That was about when he noticed that things were changing. The trees became taller and more thick. The ground and brush seemed to radiate vibrant colors, even though it was night time. Then he noticed the light. The moon was full tonight, but not enough to create a light that bright. Beside, this light seemed to come from the end of the forest. Maybe it was a house or a car? When Jason finally cleared to the edge, he found himself standing over a never ending chasm of sky and clouds, dotted with floating hunks of land. The largest mass had all manner of vegetation, water, cities, and in the center, a towering pillar of stone... stretching higher then any skyscraper he ever saw. Jason's face blanked, his eyes darted from place to place and a slight smile cracked at the side of his lips. He didn't even notice the group of people a few meters down or the flying ship that angled itself their direction. What a place...

Oliver was normally a pretty calm fellow, but the scene that stretched out in front of him was enough to rattle just about anyone. Clouds swirled as though they were the only thing that existed -- except for a series of giant islands, floating in the mists like a child's mobile. The colors were incredible, brilliant blues and greens outlined by browns and grays so vibrantly earthy that nothing even seemed real.

Which was, of course, the solution. This couldn't be real.

Several other people stood around him, and they generally seemed to be as stunned as Oliver. As he turned back to see them, to gauge their responses to whatever this mass hallucination must be, he was relieved to see that the forest still extended behind them. Whatever this craziness was, there was at least the possibility of retreat. Maybe if they backtracked the way they came, they would wake up, or break the hypnosis, or exhaust the liquor, or somehow fix whatever was inspiring this.

"Okay, this is crazy." Oliver chuckled lightly, sweeping a hand out to indicate the fantastic display of floating islands just off the edge of the cliff. "I don't know what this is about or where it came from--," he looked sharply at Jake, who had suggested taking the shortcut through the woods in the first place, "--but this is not what I signed up for. I just want to get back to the hotel, no hallucinations involved."

"Anyone coming with me, or are you gonna stay and see this acid trip through?" With a charming grin, Oliver pulled his jacket around him and zipped it halfway up before looking up to see what kind of response he would get. Surely at least someone in this little group had some sense -- of course, since he hadn't even known them for a full day, he could be completely wrong...

Dani couldn’t look away from the magnificent sight before her, she hardly noticed the tension in the air. All her life she’d been hoping to discover something great, and as the wind whipped her mane of tangled hair she couldn’t hide her mounting excitement. This was it! All the stories her Aunt Tullie had told her, all the times she’d seen a flash of something strange in the wood, there was truth to all of it.

Her happy thoughts were interrupted as Oliver, someone she wasn't very familiar with, proclaimed the beautiful islands before them nothing but a hallucination. Dani looked at Oliver, her big eyes full of disbelief. “Tell me, when was the last time you heard of a group hallucination?” Without waiting for an answer she pressed on, “Can’t you see we’ve discovered something amazing?”

She focused once more on the sky and wondered who, or what, was sailing the ship steadily coming towards them. Images of all sorts of creatures flooded her mind, from the stereotypical gang of treasure seeking pirates, to the ridiculous idea of a stout little toad in a top hat coming to invite them aboard, this last image was so entertaining that she laughed joyously.

Lily gazed at the image before her. It was truly beautiful and breath takeing. Lily’s brown hair tickled her lightly in the wind as she stood upon the cliff in the clouds. What new sights and dangers could be here? Screw the group camping trip, this would be far more pleasurable! The light was too strong for Lily’s highly sensitive green eyes and they watered a bit. Lily heard Jake, thinking he was talking to everyone, but no one was really listening. They were too shocked it seemed. Lily enjoyed this. She loved to see him act as a leader, he seemed to fit as one well. Lily would never admit it in a million years to her friend Jake Armstrong, but she had always had a thing for him.

But the sight was beyond comprehension, it was magical, it was dangerous. Lily had to know more, the girl next to her, Dani seemed just as engrossed in the new sights. A man named Oliver wanted to leave! “She’s right Oliver, I see it too. Plus could you really turn from floating islands to never wish you hadn’t? I sure couldn’t..” Lily said reasonably. This was an adventure too good to pass up.

Sandi However was a different person. “Oh my!” she shrieked at the sight of the floating islands. “impossible!” she wailed. She looked over to see Oliver saying something about leaving. “Count me in handsome, this is far too much for a Lady to take!” It may also have helped that Sandi wanted Oliver from the moment she saw him, but either way she needed home… there was business to take care of…

DiDi laughed as she stepped up next to Seth and Bobbie on the ship. "Well, would you look at that. Big group this time." The Fey was grinning, her doll-like face angelic and bright. Her rainbow garb seemed to be shifting colours, but it was just a trick of the fabric. Her wings were barely visible in the bright sunlight - maybe they weren't even there at all.

"Are you feeling quite alright, Seth?" He looked uncomfortable with this arrangement - the queen's arrangement of him picking up the kids. DiDi quite enjoyed watching him struggle to hold down his lunch in the airship - silly man. Though maybe she was a bit biased by being a fairy. Even from here, she could see the emotions flashing across the human's faces - shock, awe, disbelief, instant love - the usual. She rested her elbows on the rail, her smile reduced to a smirk.

"So, do you want me to give them a pre-greeting before you get there?" The fairy did that sometimes - flying ahead, the magic imbued in her allowing for her to go fast enough as to turn invisible, seemingly appearing next to the kids and playing the lovely Seelie host. "I haven't done it in a while, and I'm itching to do it again."

As soon as he'd seen it he'd known that he wanted to go there. It was one of his instant reactions, one of those feelings that made him need to do it. His gaze tracked the vessel as it came closer, he willed it to move faster. Now that he was over the initial shock he could hear his friends growing worried. He turned to them, being the furthest forward he could see all of them. He was smiling brightly, his eyes shining with anticipation. "Come guys." unable to keep still he bounced a little. "Can you see this? You don't want to explore this?" He fixed his eyes on Sandi, then to Oliver. Of course some people wanted to run. Jake had been brought up to be curious, he'd also been brought up to be pretty damn tough. Which made him over confident and arrogant. When he turned back to look at the world they had found he noticed that the vessel was incredibly close. He took a few steps back as the large ship like object slowed and turned broadside, it seemed to hover a few feet out. What sort of technology could make a ship run so smoothly?

Jake had to step back a little further, almost knocking into Dani, to allow a ridged plank to be lowered from the ship to the cliff. A boy who look a few years older than himself appeared at the top of the wide plank. His hair was dark blue and caught in the breeze, he wore surprisingly normal clothes save for the black choker. A swirled pattern graced the left side of his sharp face. His eyes were narrow and he looked really pissed off. Jake's hands balled into fists, his first impression being that this guy was bad news.

"Sup Kiddies."

Okay, that attitude right there had to go.

---

DiDi stepped up beside him as the ship turned broad side. It moved smoothly due to the magic that enveloped it. He was so pissed off that when DiDi stepped up beside him he turned away slightly. His hands braced on the rail in front of him. He was actually going to throw up now, his stomach rolled horribly. He just wanted off of this damn ship. "I'm sorry Di, we're docking, I really need to go." He turned away, practically running to the plank that had already been lowered. Before stepping into the view of the new comers he took a really long, and a really deep breath to clear his lungs. It didn't help.

"Sup kiddies." He sauntered down the plank his thumbs tucked into the waist band of his jeans. There was a good group of them there. The Queen would be impressed, although he knew that she'd already know. That bitch knew everything, probably even that he had just thought that about her. Who cared? "I guess you lot left the path." He managed a thin smile, he may not remember any of his life in the human world but he knew about the path. The path that was laid down after the collide so it never moved or touched this world. He looked back to the ship as he stepped onto the firm ground, his stomach gave a final lurch. "Di?" she could give the opening speech. The smile had fallen off of his face. He stood aside to let them get the full view of her, she was after all beautiful.

Dani sidestepped as Jake almost backed into her, hardly noticing that as she did so she bumped into Lily. "Sorry." She mumbled under her breath, she was more concerned with who would step off the ship. The anticipation was too much and she fiddled with her hands, a normal reaction when she was excited. Then a guy stepped onto the plank, not a pirate or a mystical creature just a person with what looked to be a swirled tattoo on his face. She stared unfaltering at him, so this was the mysterious force hidden in the woods.

"Doesn't look very otherworldly does he?" She wondered aloud and stepped closer to the plank, but he moved to the side before she could get a better look.

Dani had just bumped into Lily but Lily didn’t mind as she politely moved out of the way for her and walked up to where Jake was. He was obviously annoyed at the man for calling us “kiddies”. Jake seemed to already be getting angry, as his fists looked as if, if they would have had a rock in them, it would be ruble by now. Lily sighed and looked pleadingly over at Jake. “Jake… you alright? Don’t worry or anything, this is going to be fun. An adventure” She said trying to sound cheerful which was hard for her to do if something was wrong with Jake.

DiDi smiled politely at the kids as she stepped off the ship. "Don't be so rude." She chastised Seth in a half-teasing way, before giving a little flutter of her wings and going on to address the kids. "Well, it certainly seems like you did. Go off the path, I mean. I'm DiDi, and you can all call me DiDi, unless I tell you otherwise, okay? And this is Mr. Hunter. Welcome to Ilvescape. Hmm, how do I say this?" She pretended to ponder. "Well, no matter. Would you come with us for tea? It won't be long. Surely you're curious about this place?" Her voice remained polite and very much like a hostess, but inside she was cursing. Something felt like she had said something wrong, or maybe it wasn't the right grease to this group - but no matter.

DiDi Stepped to the opposite side that Seth was, extending her hand to gesture up the plank. "We're honored to have you here. Right, Mr. Hunter?" There was no turning back for these humans.

Oliver, always trying to keep his situation as controlled and level-headed as possible, returned DiDi's polite smile from the back of the group. "Thank you just the same for your offer, but I believe at least Sandi and I have things to attend to back home." He looked to the woman who had agreed to go with him, nodding encouragingly as he took one step backwards -- without turning his back.

Whatever the source of this craziness, it certainly felt real enough that he was beginning to take it more seriously than he had at first sight. Mass hallucinations of landscapes were one thing, but... it seemed like everyone was seeing the same people, responding to the same conversation. That was a little more difficult to explain. It was obvious that everyone else wanted to accompany them; the fire in Jake's eyes particularly was apparent at a glance.

Oliver tugged at the bottom of his jacket, then gestured back towards the forest with a jerk of his head. "Sandi, let's just head back to the path, eh?" And his smile never faltered, nor did his courtesy. The whole situation was... weird, to say the least... and he wasn't willing to be reckless when all of reality seemed to be turning inside out.

Jason crouched down and rubbed his hand on the soft grass at his feet. The cliff dropped for several hundred feet but then connected to another floating island by massive vines as if it was anchored. Jason pondered to himself how realistic it would be to climb down there and walk over to the other side. The vines would most certainly hold but could he make it all the way down there?

Of course you can!

Jason would have slapped himself for such a stupid question. He had spent many years climbing, even freestyle climbing with nothing but chalk for his hands. This was no problem but the fact that he couldn't see the ground below the floating islands worried him. It was a scary prospect but nothing he couldn't handle. Finally, Jason heard the noise of people talking and looked to his right, just in time to see a floating ship pull up to the side of cliff. Jason's initial instinct was to hide and so he did. He stepped back behind the brush and watched as both parties conversed with each other. The ship's crew gave each other smirks and nudged while the spokesperson lathered on her best face and began charming the group. It seemed to take effect immediately, with each person looking on in awe. Jason couldn't blame them, he wanted to know more just as much as them. The only difference was that he wasn't willing to expose himself to whatever beings lived here. The fairy creature was acting a little too sincere and one of the ship mates had on a nasty scowl of "been there, done that... can we go home now?" This wasn't there first time finding outside people... so where did the others go?

Jason licked his lips and laid low... no need to go rushing off yet. But rest assured, he will follow this ship.

Kristen yelled something about a shortcut and ran off. Her friends laughed and continued on the trail they figured she would be back soon. Kristen figured one way or another she'd meet back up with her friends. She had the car keys, she smiled at the thought. Kristen never really worried about getting lost she knew the forest like the back of her hand, or so she liked to claim. She loved finding new shortcuts, but as she looked around she started noticing how lost she was and how unfamiliar her surroundings were, she started to panic and move a little faster. It seemed as if the tree branches were moving for her. Relief flooded through her as the trees started to thin, but what she saw wasn't the car or anywhere she knew.

Instinct told Dani to be cautious of this alluring new stranger, something about her charm seemed fake. For a moment she even considered joining Oliver and Sandi, but quickly shrugged the idea off. How would she ever be able to find this place again? She closed her eyes and imagined the amazing things this new world might hold, all her childhood dreams made reality, and decided to take the risk. No surprise, Dani always chose risk over sense, after all Aunt Tullie always said life was too short to be a dull person.

The thought of Aunt Tullie made Dani smile, and without another second of hesitation she opened her eyes and stepped onto the plank. “My name is Dani Ann Lowry, but you can call me Dani.” She contemplated giving them handshakes, but after looking at the expression on Mr. Hunter’s face decided against it.

With all the waiting, it wasn't surprising that Regan was growing more and more fed up of being bored. He was now pacing up and down along the step that he'd just been sitting on, pausing every other length just to check if the ship was coming down yet; only to be disappointed that it was still sitting at the cliff side. And with a huff he would carry on. He would have gone inside, but if his mother caught sight of his sulking face, they would probably get into a little tiff about him not being allowed to go up there which would end with him being in an even worse mood.

"Hurry up, Seth." He grumbled, having stopped again to turn his gaze upwards, the sunshine causing the light glitter on his cheekbones to shine silver. He knew there was a bigger group than usual, but that didn't mean they had to take so long to get down here. Some were probably hesitant to come down here. Hopefully, the majority would want to explore and eventually stay here.
Regan didn't understand why some people would want to return to the human world after seeing this place. From what Seth had told him, the human realm sounded like a horrid place to live in. So much sadness and pain. He was sure that any human would be happy to forget all of that, which was why Regan was so pleased that Seth did not remember his time before he came to Ilvescape.

Seth almost face palmed when Di started talking, she sounded far too pleasant, and it seemed like some of the kids were catching onto it. Although quite a lot of them seemed interested, nobody had moved onto the ship just yet. He rolled his eyes as one talked of going back, seemingly trying to get a girl to go with him. "Off you go then." he directed his words at the ones who were thinking of back tracking. "But the plains shift, that doorway wont be there any more, it pops up every few days or so, you can come back when it next comes around." he rolled his shoulders, quickly growing bored. He liked things to be happening, and whilst they weren't moving nothing was happening. Besides Regan was probably feeling a little lonely by now.

"You can either come with or stay here and wander around the forest for a few days, maybe a Snuk will eat you I don't care. But the Queen will be pissed at me if you ignore her invitation." He nodded to the one who called herself Dani, "And it's Seth, not Mr Hunter." he turned and walked passed Di, making his way up the plank and onto the ship. As soon as he touched the deck he felt his stomach roll. Great. He walked across the deck and went below to resume his position of head on table.

---

Jake gave a dry laugh when Dani mentioned Hunter's appearance. No he didn't really, he just looked like a messed up kid with a pretty tattoo. He didn't like him though, the guy was too cocksure to be trusted. Jake loosened his hands though, when Lily asked if he was okay. "I'm fine Lil, no worries." Of course he was okay, this was going to be an adventure. He just felt like he had gotten them all into this and if anything happened this would be his fault. He had suggested the short cut, although this had been one that people always used, he had still suggested it and carried on going when the woods thickened and it felt like they had been going for far too long. So if anything bad happened it would be his fault. If he hadn't calmed down because of Lily he did when a woman, no a faerie, stepped up and came down the plank. Now that was what he called otherwordly.

She gave a butter wouldn't melt kind of speech before welcoming them onto the ship. Of course Oliver still had cold feet but Jake was done trying to convince him to come with, besides Hunter's little grumpy speech would probably do that anyway. What was the point of staying here when the door way was gone? Jake would rather trust that little piece of info rather than sticking around and finding out that in fact Hunter wasn't lying. Who knows if the fey would welcome them again? Jake was about to step forward when Dani did. It surprised him, that she moved with such confidence but it broke his hesitation. He stepped up after Hunter had pushed passed her and stood beside Dani on the plank. He turned to look at the others.

"Well we've heard arguments for and against this little trip, I suppose it's decision time." He looked to DiDi "Jake Armstrong. It's a pleasure." He reached around Dani to shake her hand then pulled his hand back, he rested his palm on Dani's back so that they could walk up the plank together.

Seth mentioned a Snuk and Dani did her best not to interrupt him, but she was dying to know what kind of creature a Snuk was. Before his exit he also talked of a Queen, would they get to meet her? If she was anything like DiDi, she would be absolutely lovely. And once again Dani became lost in thought. Would she have wings and a crown made of flowers, or was that a stereotypical idea? Perhaps she would be fearsome and sit on a throne made of human skin with a ferocious pet at her side. Maybe that pet would be a Snuk…

It wasn’t until she felt Jake’s guiding touch that Dani came back to reality. She appreciated his bravery, and wondered if he’d felt the danger too. “Hey Jake glad to see I’m not the only one…” but she couldn’t finish because they had just passed DiDi, and Dani had forgotten how to breath. She had never felt anything quite like it, some sort of foreign power radiated off of DiDi. And at that moment, Dani knew that by stepping on this plank she had made a life changing decision. Good or bad she wasn’t sure yet, but either way it would be an unforgettable adventure.

The more he heard their hosts talk, the more certain Oliver was that he would rather not accompany them. It would be much better to simply head back to his room, spend the next few days ring shopping, and pretend this never happened. With a grateful nod, he turned his back and began a casual stroll back toward the forest.

Maybe Seth was lying. Maybe he wasn't. Either way, the path back home was behind them, and that was all Oliver needed. He could only assume that Sandi would follow, but even if she was swayed by their hosts' speeches, Oliver would go on his own. He buried his hands in his pockets, his pace slowly increasing with each step.

It was several yards before he spun back to watch the others climb the ramp, stepping carefully backwards as he willed the others to be careful. A few more steps passed, and he quietly said, "Good luck," and touched the stone around his neck with a silent prayer for their safety.

Sandi agreed fully with Oliver's choice to leave and she ran after him full heartedly. "Good luck indeed" she whispered. Sandi was a CEO of Walmart, she needed to get back and help run it. Though Sandi was young she climbed her way up the ladder untill she got to today. It may also have helped that her father owned much of Walmart, but either way she is where she is and she needed to get back to her plan of takeing over the Walmart corperation fully.

Lily was still concerned about Jake when she saw his escort Dani up the plank, it made her jelous. Not that she would ever say anything... But it did. The Faerie creature looked so pretty. The girl's features reminded her of her cosin Kiya. Lily looked at the group she was with. Many were eager to go, some refused. Lily looked apon the huge boat. She couldent wait to board it. The sun light made her hair glow gold as she got on the boat stealing a glance at Seth. He looked sick, Lily wanted to tell him about her great grandma's drink to sooth stomach aches, but she decided otherwise. He dident seem too friendly at the moment.

((OOC sorry guys, thought Jason was with us, its been edited))

DiDi nodded, giving a small smile to those who walked on. "It's nice to see some who won't shun a life of adventure - some who are curious and brave enough to follow this path." Of course, it was said in a way so that the boarders wouldn't hear, and those who didn't could. She made a move to step aboard but stopped. "Oh, right. The Queen won't be very pleased. But the Snuks and the Aliars will be. Hmm."

The Fairy looked over her shoulder at the retreating pair, biting her lip. "Seth," she called. DiDi didn't want to say any more for fear of the others overhearing - and he should get the message. Should she go after them or not? Leave them to the animals and the slight chance they'd get back, or somehow convince them to stay? Or maybe they could report back to the Queen and send someone else out for them. Hmm. With a light step, she took her place behind the last human to board the ramp, though she didn't walk all the way up it.

"Say...Momo...You want to come down to see the new arrivals with me?"

A small green-haired child looked across the room to his pet cat, who was sprawled across a couch fast asleep. A silence followed.

"Momo," the child said again. No answer. "MOMO!" Receiving no response, the child stomped his feet in anger. Then, slowly, he lifted a hand and pointed it at the resting cat. He flicked a finger, and as if by magic, the animal's eyes snapped opened.

Momo let out a pained "Reowww..."

"It's great to see you awake too," Saku Hallow said cheerfully, smiling his usual smile. He let his hand rest against the windowsill where he stood. He was in the living room of his house, a small broken down place filled with old furniture and lots of toys. Saku leaned dangerously over the window, which was wide open and shown the view of the floating islands outside. If he leaned forward too far, he would fall. There was no land if you jumped out. But he didn't mind. He liked the wind in his face.

"I saw a ship passing by a few minutes ago," Saku commented, rocking back and forth impatiently on his heels. It was a weird thing. The child had strips of black cloth wrapped around his head and over his eyes, though he knew where everything was--- by the inch, by the millimeter. "And judging by how long it's taking..." he continued. "Looks like a big party!" He turned around to his cat friend, who had hopped off the couch and was padding its way to him. Saku smiled sweetly, and scooped the furry animal up in his arms. "You ready?"

"Reoww..."

With a laugh, the child pushed off the ground and dove through the open window.

"Of course you aren't." he smiled as they reached the deck, Jake looked to where Seth had disappeared down a set of stairs before turning to look back to the cliff. He couldn't wait to get going, although he was feeling pretty bad about letting Oliver and Sandi leave. If there were... Snuks? and stuff in that forest and no door then what would they do? He looked to Dani to make sure that she was settled before going towards the stairs, he needed to make sure that Oliver and Sandi would be okay. He descended the stairs to find a large room lined with tables. A few strange looking people were rushing about but just one sat down with his head on the table. Seth. Just like him to not be helping out. "Hunter."

Seth looked up, evidently surprised to be hearing his name said like that. He really did look like shit, his hair all over the place and his skin sallow. He narrowed his eyes and Jake's dislike for him was renewed. "What you said back there, that true?" The dark haired boy smiled slowly, but it didn't seem like he was going to answer. "Hunter?"

"Calm down, kid." the guy didn't bother to stand, just turned around in his chair. "I was telling the truth, the doorway is gone. They'll have to learn the hard way wont they?"

"So you're just going to leave them out there?" Jake gestured a little wildly in the general direction of the forest.

"Calm down." Seth repeated. "Let them sleep rough tonight, then we'll send a search party out and see if they want to come with us then."

Surprisingly Jake actually agreed with what the boy was saying. It did make sense. He nodded as DiDi called for Seth.

---

Seth got to his feet when Di called, glad to get away from this guy. He was just looking out for his friends but it was a little annoying. He felt his knees go a little weak as he tried to hold himself up. He staggered a little as he passed by Jake. He did have some respect for the boy, it took balls to do what he'd done. So for now he'd just respectfully dislike the kid. That was good enough. He made his way up onto the deck and walked over to where Di was. She was looking at the two who were walking away. Seth shook his head, did he have to explain himself to everyone? "The doors gone, we'll send a search party out in the morning." he, turned his gaze to her, "Trust me Di." he touched her shoulder to reassure her then moved away.

"Come on people, let's see some movement I want to get going. If you aren't on here in two minutes we leave without your sorry arses." He lent on the wooden barrier and took some deep breaths to try and push the sickness down. He was glad he hadn't eaten before coming on this little trip.

Oliver offered Sandi an encouraging smile and a nod, turning his back on the bizarre floating ship one last time as he strode confidently for the edge of the woods. There wasn't really a path, persay -- they had left the path in order to follow Jake's "shortcut", after all -- but he thought he remembered coming from between those two trees and breaking into the open air. The bushes even looked a little beaten up, like several people had pushed by it. They hadn't exactly been trying to be careful, especially after everyone started getting nervous about how thick the underbrush was becoming.

"We should be able to just follow our trail back the way we came, I imagine," Oliver said as he reached out one arm to hold back one of the bush's spiny branches to allow Sandi to pass. "I don't think we were trying to conceal our tracks or anything," he added with a chuckle. Following her into the deep shade of the forest, Oliver paused for just a moment to take stock. He could, indeed, see a fairly clear path of broken branches and footprints extending out before them -- but he certainly couldn't see it very far. It was much darker here, and even only a few steps into the woods had muffled the sounds around them and turned a bright and breezy day into something that felt much more... sinister.

He glanced back over his shoulder, but he could only see a few tiny patches of light breaking through the bush that had served as the gate. If the ship hadn't taken off yet, he was sure it would soon. They were definitely on their own, and the only way to go was forward -- or, in this case, backwards. Summoning up his reserves of calm, Oliver smiled and began the trek deeper into the forest, moving more slowly than they had on their way in, in order to follow the footprints and trampled underbrush. "What the heck do you think a Snuk is, anyway?"

Maya lay on the forest floor, gazing up through the branches, enjoying the early afternoon sunshine filtered through the leafy canopy. This was a common occurrence for her. She’d spent most of her summer afternoons either curled up in the windowsill in the library room of her house, or out in the cool shade of the forest, her mind wandering freely. This was the time of year when most 18 year old girls would be strolling through the mall, giggling with their friends, and flirting with every attractive guy they met. Maya had no wish to join them in their hormonal frolicking.

She’d always had a hard time making friends, even as a child. It wasn’t like she hadn’t tried, but any friendships she did make seemed to just fade away within a few months. For a long time she’d wondered if she was the problem in these situations. Perhaps people found it difficult to deal with her tendencies to lose her grip on reality, and simply slip away into another world altogether. A world where magic and wonder was a normal everyday occurrence, like in her stories. Or maybe it was her trust issues that always got in the way. Regardless of the reason, Maya had found all the friends she needed among the animals she encountered. She enjoyed being around her numerous pets, and unlike many people she’d met, her animals were uncomplicated. They didn’t need drama to survive; only food, water and love, and she was willing to give all three. She understood animals, and could interpret their mannerisms much more easily than those of her peers.

Rising from her bed of leaves, Maya stretched, and continued her way along the forest path. Her mind wandered from one thought to another as she kicked small stones in the path. She soon found herself discovering new shapes in the sunlit leaves. She grinned back at the Cheshire Cat she’d just found smiling down from above when something ahead caught her eye.

There was a new path branching off the one she now occupied, heading deeper into the woods. Maya found this unbelievably strange, as she had traveled this pathway many times in her life, and never before had she seen this new trail. She wondered if perhaps she’d gotten turned around, and was in fact in a different part of the woods than she’d originally thought, but this idea was soon disproved when she saw a landmark, a large gray rock with a white swirled pattern near the bottom, which confirmed her location.

She stepped off the familiar path, onto the new one, trying to see how far into the wood it led, but the trees grew thicker, and closer together in this direction, making it difficult to see farther than about 20 feet ahead. Deciding that she could always turn around and follow this strange path back to the main trail if it went too far into the forest, she began her new journey.

After about 20 minutes of walking the path she was following suddenly stopped. Maya didn’t understand how this was possible. Paths were created by the erosion of the ground caused by objects traveling along the ground over a period of time. There was no plausible reason for the trail to end in this particular section of the wood, so why had it stopped? Maya had just turned around to retrace her steps when something brought her to a halt. It was almost as if an unheard voice were calling to her, leading her deeper into the wood. She listened, but could hear no such voice, and yet something was definitely telling her to continue her way deeper into the wood.

Doubt flooded her conscience. Maybe she was imagining the unseen force, and what could possibly be so important for her to see, that she needed to risk getting lost in the woods? Then again, maybe this was the chance she’d been waiting for all along. Maybe it was time to pull her nose out of her books, and begin a journey of her own. After a few minutes of indecision, curiosity outweighed her anxiety, and she stepped off the path, into the great unknown.

It didn’t take long for Maya to discover that she’d made a terrible mistake in continuing without a path to follow. She still felt drawn into the woods by some invisible force, but she now had no idea where she was, and had no clue how to get back to the trail. As her fear increased, her mind began to play tricks on her. She saw dark shapes racing through the shadows of the trees, and the whisper of the leaves overhead no longer sounded relaxing, but rather like disembodied voices coming from all sides. She tried to keep these thoughts at bay, she knew civilization had to be nearby, but she couldn’t help imagining herself wandering around in circles until she died of starvation or exhaustion. She also couldn’t shake off the unnerving sensation that she was being watched.

She brushed a hand worriedly through her short hair, struggling to keep her grip on reality. She increased her pace, hoping to find something familiar, when she faintly heard the sound of voices ahead. She stopped, and listened again, making sure it wasn’t her imagination. When the unmistakable sound of two voices reached her once more she nearly cried out with joy. Finally she’d found someone who could possibly help her get back to the path. She increased her pace, following the sound until she found it’s source.

There, not more than 20 feet away walked a boy and a girl about her age. As she made her way towards them, she thought she heard the boy say something about a Snuk. Maya had no idea what that might be, and decided that she must have misheard him.

“Hey, wait up!” she called out to the pair. She knew that her unexpected arrival must have startled them, so she immediately explained why she had suddenly appeared. “Sorry, but I seem to have gotten a bit turned around. I don’t suppose you two know the way out of these woods do you?”