Maya didn’t know this strange girl, and had no clue who this Lily person was, that she kept prattling on about; but Maya wasn’t really concerned about that. All she wanted to do was get home, one way or another. Assuming the girl had no knowledge of how to get out of the woods, as she seemed to be just as lost as they were, Maya proceeded to the next best thing.

“Excuse me,” she interrupted, hoping the group wouldn’t find her too ill-mannered. “I don’t suppose you have a phone or something do you?”

The possibility that Maya might be able to speak with her parents filled her heart with new hope for their dire situation.

When Kiya sat, Oliver returned gratefully to his seat on the ground by the mouth of the cave. He lowered himself slowly, taking a moment to think about how to answer her challenge. It was true that splitting up wasn't a brilliant idea, but he didn't think that their part of the group was the part that had made the more foolish decision. They were just going home; to Oliver, it was Jake and the others that had done the leaving.

Just as he opened his mouth to answer, Maya stepped in. A ping of irritation went through Oliver, but a phone (if it even worked) would be nice to have, and he couldn't blame Maya for wanting to find out how to get back. It would certainly help simplify their plan-making, if they knew they had a guaranteed way of contacting the human world again.

Besides, it got him off the hook from having to explain why their group had split. So he waited -- they still didn't even know her name.

DiDi glanced back at Seth, her expression softening. The little one vanished as she sighed. "Pouting, Seth? Come on. At least help a bit, really. I can't do this all by myself." She smirked, admitting that, though it wasn't exactly the truth. He seemed to be sulking, and that just wouldn't do. "Chin up - you're on dry land." Her eyes glinted as she teased him, but realizing what she had done - apparently- she turned away again. Voices reached her ears and she turned, glancing upward to see Saku and the human. Ah.

"That simplifies it." She muttered, raising a hand to the two. Sure, she could've flown up there, but there was something on the girl's face that made her change her mind. Had someone gotten to her and told her the secrets? DiDi kept a carefully blank, yet relieved face for them.

Jake frowned as Lily pulled away and went to stand with Regan. He tucked his hands into his pockets, wishing for a moment that he had Dani's company. He listened thoughtfully to the prince. He certainly had an interesting power. He looked to the portraits, amazed as the prince changed before his eyes. So this whole power thing wasn't them just pulling his leg? He wondered what the queens power was, he wanted to know what Seth's power was, what would Dani's be? He hadn't even thought about what his would be until the prince asked. He bit his lip.

Lily declared that she thought she already knew, which put Jake under a little more pressure to come up with a power. He shook his head and decided to ignore the question. He simply waited for Lily to explain herself.

---

Seth said nothing as DiDi talked to him, asking about his pouting. He was looking as well. Just in a worse mood. He looked up when she pointed out Dani with the boy from earlier. He frowned as he saw that Dani wasn't looking too impressed. He too waved, glad that this bit was over. "Come on kiddie" He called to her. His mood lifting a little. He looked to DiDi "So Di, fancy going for a drink once we've dropped the child at the castle?" he smiled, it was worth a try.

"Ah there they are." Saku smiled a bit, though a little sad. He didn't really want to say goodbye to Dani just yet. It was fun being with her. Oh well. He'd come back early the next day to visit her and the new arrivals. Or maybe later at night. Good thing he was a master at sneaking around.
He tilted the angle of his arms and the giant owl followed, taking them to the small search party ahead. It was Seth and DiDi. Yeah, there was no keeping Dani with him any longer. Those guys were strict!
Saku glanced over his shoulder to look at the girl behind him, who was actually surprisingly quiet. He forced on a slightly bigger smile. "Well I guess I better drop you off now."

And by "dropping off" he meant it freaking LITERALLY. Just as they came only a couple meters above Seth and DiDi, Saku twisted his arms and lunged all his weight to the side. Immediately, with a loud screech, the giant bird did a complete 360 loop and spun around in the air like a missile. The wind whipped at his hair as they were turned upside down many times and Momo clung tightly onto his sleeve. He had his own way of holding on and avoid falling but humans didn't. And that meant Dani.

He watched her fall, and he smiled. "Land nicely!" he called. He turned the owl around and, with a last glance behind him, flew off into the night.

At Lily's words, Regan's brow rose slightly.
"I've heard of some things from your human world... but this Spiderman isn't one of those things." He said, laughing sheepishly. "Perhaps you could explain?" It would've been interesting to know what Lily was talking about, even if he'd probably forget what she was saying. He glanced at Jake, to hear his reply, though the blonde boy shook his head. Maybe he was still thinking, after all, there were many pictures to chose from.

After another staircase and rounding a few more corners, Regan came to a stop at the end of the hall. He looked to Lily and Jake with a pleasent smile,
"You can stay in any of these rooms, they're not all the same - so you might find one to your taste."

He looked to both of them expectantly, waiting for them to wander along the corridor, opening up the doors till they found something they liked. When their friends joined them, they too would get the chance to do this. In the meantime, he went back to the talk of powers,

"What do you think your power is then, Lily?" He asked, interested in hearing what she thought. Not usually did the human's powers develope quick enough to be known on their first night in Ilvescape.

Jason woke with a start... his shirt was wet with sweet and his palms were cold and clammy. His chest rose and fell quickly as he looked about him, trying to remember where he was and what he was doing. Why was in a shed? Then he remembered… he was still in this world. Jason let out a yawn and stretched out his arms and legs, attempting to wake his body up. Apparently he had a nightmare of sorts but what about, he couldn't remember exactly. He vaguely recalled being with a group of men and they were bending down… worshiping something. Or perhaps they were just preforming some ritual. Next thing he knew, he was running through the woods being chased by a maniacal laugh but seeing no one around him.

Odd… Jason just shook his head, grabbed his belongings, and headed outside. He was greeted with a soft breeze and a beautiful rising sun. The country was truly amazing here. Much better then the burnt wasteland that rested behind him. A loud thud distracted him from admiring his view. Looking down the hill, Jason saw a horrendous sight. A large beast, some twelve feet tall, was thrashing around outside the farmers house. The beast's white fur swayed with the movements of his heavy body, stained in some spots with what looked like dried blood. His forearms were massive and smashed into the ground, easily creating small craters in the ground. It's long tail swished through the air, a bard like object attached at the end. This was a dangerous creature indeed but that didn't stop the farmer from surrounding it with several other men. They poked and jabbed at the beast with whatever they had; spears, pitchforks, hoes. Jason stared uneasily, not sure if joining the fight would be a good thing or bad. Then one of the men was struck by the beast's tail and sent flying backwards. His pain echoed through Jason's head, causing him to look away and cringe. What just happened? Jason picked up his things and trotted around the hill, leaving this area before anything else happened to him. There would have been little he could do against such a creature anyways.

DiDi and Seth both waved, Dani didn’t return the gesture. Part of her hoped that Saku would just continue flying right past the castle. There was so much she wanted to ask him about his power, about Ilvescape. Of course she knew he couldn’t take her away now, not while those two were staring at him. She was about to tell Saku thanks for everything, when he said he was going to “drop her off”. From the sheepish grin on his face, she knew this was going to be bad.

Without further warning the giant bird picked up speed and began spinning, Dani groped desperately for something to hold onto, but the feathers were slick and her reflexes weren’t fast enough. Suddenly she was falling, this time she bit back her scream, she didn’t want to seem easily frightened in front of Seth and DiDi.

Dani heard Saku yell, “Land nicely!” and almost laughed. At least this boy made no attempt to hide his true nature. Saku just wanted to have fun and didn’t care about the consequences. Dani could respect that, she was very much the same way. She landed painfully on her backside, it hadn’t been that much of a drop, but the speed with which she fell made her hit the ground forcefully.

Of course one big difference between her and Saku was that she cared about whether people got hurt in the process of her good time. She watched him soar away, and smiled when he looked back at her. She wished she didn’t care either, after all it was only her concern for Jake that made her return to this place.

She stood up slowly and knew she’d have a nice bruise later, but nothing too terrible. Finally, she turned to her new escorts and braced herself for the awkwardness sure to follow. “I guess everyone noticed I was gone.” The expressions on their faces were unchanging, and Dani wondered if they really had noticed her absence, or been told about it. “Well we better hurry up and get back then.” Without further explanation, she turned and walked towards the castle, even though her legs ached to run in the other direction.

Lily looked down at her feet trying to think of a way to explain. She decided she would start with Spiderman. “You don’t know about Spiderman?” Lily exclaimed. “He’s like a comic book super hero. You know, they have powers?”. Didn’t everyone in the world know who Spiderman is? “Anyway though, Im not sure yet how to put my power into words. I don’t know the rules of it yet or anything… I guess Its that I can hear the thoughts of animals and they can hear mine. They do what I want them too…” Lily said looking at the two, hoping they understood.


Kiya looked a bit shocked at the two. “Of course I got my cell” She said happily taking out her two-hundred dolor phone. She dialed Eva’s number when she realized she had zero bars. “No bars… Oh by the way I’m Kiya. Its nice to meet you” Kiya said putting her phone away.

Sandi was suspicious of this “Kiya”, what if she was another monster is disguise? Sandi eyed Kiya, appraising her. She didn’t like the air about her.

Maya sighed dejectedly. The phone had been her last hope, and now the possibility of contacting her family had been crushed.

“Okay, thanks anyway,” she mumbled. “Nice to meet you too,” she added, as an afterthought.

She felt horrible; her chances of finding a way to get back home were slowly dwindling away. Maya knew that the new girl would want to keep asking about her missing sister, but Maya had no clue who Lily was, and at this point, she was beginning not to care anymore. Maya knew she was thinking selfishly, but she was exhausted, and depressed. She wondered if anyone would notice if she simply went into the cave without them. She wanted to fall asleep, and forget everything that had happened. Maybe she’d be lucky enough to wake and discover that this had all been some bizarre dream.

Finally, she decided to go for it. She stood and began walking in the direction of the cave entrance. Not wanting to leave the group on bad terms however, she turned back before entering its dark depths.

“Sorry about your sister,” she said to Kiya, and then looked from Sandi to Oliver. “Why don’t we plan our next move in the morning huh? I’m too tired to deal with any more of this now.”

Without waiting for an answer, she entered the cave and settled herself against the wall. Maya admired Oliver’s optimistic outlook to this entire situation. He was in the same mess as her, and yet here she was, moping inside a dark cave, while he still managed to keep a smile on his face.

She sighed once more and rested her head on her arm. It was difficult to get comfortable on the hard ground, but she closed her eyes anyway, willing herself to drift into sleep. She just wanted this night to be over.

"That's probably a good idea, Maya." Oliver nodded as the girl disappeared inside the cave. He could understand perfectly well how she was feeling; he was hoping to wake up from this awful nightmare, too. He looked over to Sandi, then gestured toward the cave with a tilt of his head. "You should get some rest, too. I'll take the first watch."

Without standing, Oliver scooted around so that he was seated in the mouth of the cave, his back resting against its inner wall. He crossed his arms and stretched out his legs as much as he could, but it still left his knees slightly bent. Sandi would have to step over him, but this seemed like the best place from which to guard the girls. And if Kiya wanted to stay up and talk, he would.

"Kiya, you're welcome to join them, if you want. Like I said, we'll get an early start tomorrow, and I'll stay here and keep an eye out." Even as he said it, Oliver was unable to hold back a yawn. He dipped his head down into his shoulder, then shook it vigorously and straightened up against the wall. "Lily is with Jake and Dani and the others, and I'm pretty sure that she's in better shape than we are right now. She'll be fine 'til we can find her in the morning." He turned his body to stretch his legs outside the cave, unblocking the way even further and inviting her into their tiny fortress, if she chose to accept.

Jake wandered down the hall as Lily explained her power to Regan. He listened to her distantly, his attention focused on the doors. He opened each one that he came to, peering in to find a different room behind each one. Here was one with dark blue walls covered in silver patterns, a four poster draped in silk standing in the middle. A little further down he came across a vision in pink. He pulled a face at that one as he stepped back. The next was a much nicer, decorated in brown and cream with a thick fur rug and a four poster covered in pillows. He loved pillows. He entered the room, wondering distantly what kind of room Dani would like.

He threw himself on the bed, stretching out in a star shape as he stared up at the drapes that hung over it. Now this was his kind of bedroom. He spotted a two doors opposite the end of the bed. Curiosity aroused Jake headed to the door to the left and pulled it open, en suite. Nice. The door beside that was a little more impressive. He pulled it open. His jaw dropped. Walk in wardrobe. It was stocked with an assortment of clothes in different sizes. Jake headed straight for a pair of grey tracksuit bottoms. Apparently this place knew what humans loved. Quickly he slipped out of his jeans and pulled on the bottoms then slipped out of the wardrobe and peeked into the hallway.

---

Seth watched with a wry smile as Saku dropped Dani. He moved forward to help her up but she seemed to have it covered. It wasn't the first time that a human had gone missing, Seth was used to finding them in a subdued state. The look in her eyes told him that she didn't trust him, not one bit. "The Queen was sorry that you couldn't join your friends for questioning." Seth looked to DiDi, a little annoyed that Dani had sped off before he got his answer. He hurried after Dani and held his arm out to her, like a gentleman. He fell into step beside her.

"I don't like having to baby sit you." He told her, "I even managed to get you a ball and this is how I'm repaid." His smile showed that he was joking with her.

Regan's blank expression remained as Lily tried to explain Spiderman, not doing very well as he still didn't understand. Maybe she expected him to already know? He made a mental note to ask Jake later, he seemed like he'd be able to understand what he was asking. He smiled weakly as she tried to explain her powers, nodding a little.
"I understand, you think you might be able to communicate with animals. It could be, but it could also be something else. It'll grow and become more obvious the longer you stay here." He explained, watching as Jake wandered along the hall, looking into the rooms. He glanced back at Lily, still smiling as he gently placed a hand on her shoulder, nudging her towards the doors.

"You still have to choose a room," He said, noting that Jake had disappeared inside one of them. "Looks like Jake has already found his."

It was very late now, darkness engulfed the castle, with the exception of a few windows shining brightly here and there. It made the place look even more ominous. Dani hoped the Queen was asleep, she’d really like to avoid meeting her, especially in the dark. The more they walked, the more her feet ached. Dani hoped she’d be able to sleep soon too.

Seth held out his arm, but Dani pretended not to notice. “Baby sit me? Well if that’s your job you’re pretty bad at it, considering I was almost sold to someone who likes to eat people.” Looking over she saw Seth’s playful smile and continued, “I’m not a big fan of dresses, but if it was really that much work, I’ll promise to be at the castle for it.” She regretted it even as she said it, she wanted to get out of here as soon as she could. But to her dismay, the castle was no longer a figure in the distance, it was right in front of them.

DiDi followed the two in silence, taking careful note of words said. She walked with a carefree air, if one were to call it that, but really, she didn't care how she walked. Her mouth tipped downward into a slight frown. Someone who likes to eat people? What - "Who exactly are you speaking about, Dani? Those types of people are generally frowned upon by this community. If you wish, we can arrange for him to meet the Queen." Meet. More like be 'eliminated' by.

"And it's less of a questioning and more of a greeting, Seth. Really." She arranged her features to the friendly blank mask they usually were as they drew closer and closer to the castle. Extending her hand, a faint rainbow glow came from her palm, illuminating the dark path before them. "We have more dresses around the castle than you would believe. I'm sure you'll find one you'll adore. Not to mention," she continued teasingly, smirking lightly at the two as she passed them, "you get to see Seth all dressed up. What a rarity. You will dress up, right, Seth?" The smile in her voice, though they may not be able to see her face, should allude to her bantering, light words.

Seth frowned when he she didn't take his arm. He didn't like it when people ignored him. He slit his eyes to her as she talked about the ball, sounding unimpressed. Definitely something wrong with her. He folded his arms, then listening turning his attention to DiDi as she teased him. "Are you kidding?" he smiled, "I always look good Di, you know that." he looked back at her, and winked. They came to the castle then, and Seth knew exactly where to go. There was only one corridor that was offered to these human guests for room choices. He proceeded to lead the way to that hall.

Looking to Dani as he headed into the castle and towards the hall. The Queen could meet Dani at dinner. He led her up another set of stairs and finally entered into the hall. Regan was already there, Jake leaning against the wall by an open doorway was wearing track suit bottoms. He saw the flicker in his eyes and grinned, reaching out he put his arm around Dani's shoulders.

---

Jake sighed as he moved out of the room he had chosen to watch Lily choose hers. He wanted to know where everyone was. Feeling comfortable in his bottoms he didn't mind waiting there. He wouldn't go back into his room until Dani showed up. "Will Seth bring Dani here?" He asked Regan. Eyes wide, still worried. He chuckled as Regan remained confused about spiderman, shaking his head a little.

His question was answered though when Hunter appeared at the end of the hall, looking arrogant and very pleased with himself. Jake fought the urge to race forward and look for Dani before she appeared. His eyes darkened slightly when Hunter had his arm around her.

Dani was glad she didn’t get a chance to explain about Dougal to DiDi, she may be angry with him, but she didn’t want to see him get into trouble. It would hurt Adair too much if something happened to his son. She reached into her pocket for the little yellow flower she’d taken earlier, she felt it’s petals between her fingers and smiled to herself. She hoped to see Adair again before leaving Ilvescape.

It wasn’t hard to sense the implications behind DiDi and Seth’s banter, they were obviously attracted to each other. Or at least, it was clear Seth was attracted to DiDi. It was difficult to read DiDi, and honestly Dani wasn’t that interested in their relationship.

The interior of the castle was beautiful, all polished marble and high ceilings. There wasn’t much time to get a really good view though, Seth was leading Dani down a long corridor. The hall was lit by wall-mounted lanterns, their flames cast flickering shadows across numerous paintings. The paintings were of different people, mostly young men, though something about the way they all carried themselves was very similar.

They came to a section of the hall filled with doors and Dani wondered where they led. Before she could ask where they were going, she recognized two figures standing ahead of them. It was Regan, and Jake! She wanted to run forward and ask if he and Lily were okay, but Seth put his arm around her before she could. It was uncomfortable, to say the least. His attention wasn’t even focused on her, he was looking right at Jake.

She shrugged Seth’s arm off, “I don’t like being touched by strangers, especially when it’s not me they’re interested in.”

Regan's gaze wandered Jake as he appeared outside his room again, apparently having found more comfortable attire as he turned up in tracksuit bottoms. He asked about Dani, and Regan was going to reply, but it seemed his question was already answered. Dani appeared, along with Seth and DiDi. His sapphire eyes lit up at the sight of them, a deep sigh of relief escaping him.
"Thank goodness you're alright..." Regan said to Dani, a small frown on his face as he looked to her. "Some are not as welcoming of newcomers, I couldn't help but be worried when we noticed you were gone..."

He sent Seth a narrow eyed stare as Dani had to shrug out of his little arm wrapping thing, telling him to stop annoying the newcomers. He wasn't helping in welcoming them. Regan knew he didn't like the whole 'babysitting' thing, but they were trusted to help these newcomers find their way in Ilvescape.
Regan then stepped aside, allowing Dani full view of the corridor before you,
"I'm not sure if DiDi and Seth already told you, but you are welcome to stay in this castle for as long as you wish and explore Ilvescape for yourself." He explained to the girl, stretching his arm out to the corridor that Jake and Lily were already halfway down, "Take however long you need to find a room to suit you, all are different." He added.

((OOC: sorry guys, i will be gone untill Wednesday or tuesday. Just keep Lily, Sandi and Kiya with you if you wanna go on, Im sorry. xoxoxo ;-)))

Maya jerked awake. A moment of panic consumed her, as she struggled to locate her surroundings. Slowly, she began to recall the events of the previous day, and she breathed deeply, steadying her racing heart. Her stomach growled loudly. She hoped they would be able to find their way home tomorrow. What she wouldn’t give for a steamy, home cooked meal!

As Maya’s eyes adjusted to the dim light, she noticed that Oliver was still sitting at the entrance of the cave. From her position, it looked as if he’d nodded off. She didn’t blame him. After the day they’d had, they were all exhausted. Trying to move as quietly as possible, Maya slowly made her way to the entrance, careful not to disturb either of the sleeping girls. Upon reaching Oliver, Maya stretched out her hand, intending to inform him that she would resume watch over the cave, so that he could sleep, but a faint glow from outside the cave stopped her.

Maya gasped in wonderment at the spectacle before her. Faint blinking lights flashed through the trees as millions of fireflies silently drifted through the night air. She watched as they slowly created shapes among the branches, filling the forest with their magical luminescence. It was a beautiful sight, and Maya didn’t want to experience it alone. She prodded Oliver in the shoulder, now having two reasons to wake him.

“Oliver, look!” she whispered.

((OOC: I hope you guys don't mind, but since Ashbug said she wasn't going to be able to post for a few days, I went ahead and sped up time a little, and made Kiya join the girls in the cave.))

((I don't mind at all -- I would've moved us forward, if you hadn't. :D Come back soon, Ashbug!))

A touch on his shoulder made Oliver wake with a grunt. His head snapped up in surprise and he straightened from the slouch he had fallen into at the mouth of the cave, his hands and feet scrabbling over the dirt for a brief second as he sat upright and gained his bearings. He hadn't meant to nod off, of course, but he just couldn't bring himself to wake any of the girls to take over. He knew how exhausted Maya and Sandi were, and he still wasn't sure what Kiya was thinking -- she had reluctantly agreed to stay with them for the night, but it was clear that she was going to head on into the forest in the morning to find Lily.

During that half-moment that it took for Oliver to recall where he was and why, he looked up to find Maya staring in wonder out of the cave. She didn't sound alarmed or look frightened, so Oliver simply narrowed his eyes curiously and turned out to face the forest. He was greeted by the gentle glow of innumerable fireflies, each one enraptured in its golden dance and casting a faint light that turned the after-midnight blackness into a softly illuminated palace of nature. He couldn't help but inhale, taking in the magical atmosphere in a long, slow breath. After several long seconds, he turned his head back to smile up at Maya -- he was glad she had woken him, both so they would have a watch and so he could experience this moment.

Oliver he stretched out his arms over his head and twisted slowly, trying to relieve a bit of the ache in his back from sleeping in the mouth of a cave after a day of hiking. As he turned back out to face the fireflies, a small collection of shapes caught his attention. There, stacked neatly by their unlit fire only a few feet from him, were five large and unfamiliar fruit. They were gourd-shaped, about 23 centimeters tall, and a delicious-looking shade of what appeared in the faint light to be a reddish plum color. Four were leaned against one another in a pile, and the fifth was broken open at the middle and each half laid on the ground to expose its interior. It looked a bit like a very juicy plum, but with small clusters of white seeds.

A cold chill and a warm desire raced through Oliver at the same time. They had obviously been left there by someone -- or something -- and the realization that an unknown creature had been so close to them without Oliver's awareness was more than a little frightening. On the other hand, they didn't look particularly dangerous, and he was beginning to feel his hunger and thirst. He leaned a bit further out of the cave and cast a long look around, but even with the dim illumination provided by the fireflies he couldn't see any sign of the mysterious gift giver.

He made a soft noise in the back of his throat to get Maya's attention without disturbing (more than was absolutely necessary) the quiet sanctity of the moment, and when he thought she would be looking he held out one hand and pointed at the small pile of fruit.

DiDi smirked as she saw Dani shrug off Seth's arm- she knew very well that not many would do that. But she had to hide a slightly surprised face when the human had commented on ... who he is interested in? How would she know, having only been around Seth for a short time - and few people otherwise? Maybe it was his manner? Otherwise, that would imply the human saw Seth interested in ... her. She narrowed her eyes at him, having fallen back again as they came across the others within the castle.

"Right. If that's that, I'll take my leave. See you in the morning, and have a nice sleep. Prince." She gave an acknowledging nod to him, and turned around, walking... away. That was certainly interesting. Perceptive. Scintillating. But still, the question of who tickled the back of her mind - who? And what had they told the human? As DiDi walked a corridor, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion at this puzzle. Not good. The fairy debated on telling the Queen this instant, but she abstained for the reasoning that Her Highness was probably asleep. And they had plenty of time.

Thoughts swirling around her head, DiDi's eyes looked but didn't see into the shadows.

Squinting, Maya struggled to make out the strange form in the darkness, which Oliver was gesturing towards. Utilizing the faint glow from the fireflies, she discovered a small pile of fruit, neatly placed on the ground. Her first reaction was that of pleasure, finally they’d be able to eat, and the red, fleshy fruit certainly looked appetizing. A second later however, anger and suspicion filled her mind. The food had been set so precisely, and the top fruit had been cut so cleanly, that it was obvious no animal could have done it. And trees couldn’t just drop fruit in a neat pile (although she wouldn’t be surprised if the trees in this forest had that power, after everything else that had happened). Someone had to have been to their camp, and set the food out for them. That meant someone knew where they were, and were aware that they had no provisions.

“Do you think someone’s watching us?” she whispered, her frustration growing even more intense at the thought. “How could they come up here, and leave the food, but not try to help us find the way out!”

"I... I don't know." That was Oliver's only reply. He was asking himself the very same questions, and having no more luck answering them for himself than he would have trying to answer them for Maya. He sighed deeply, then pushed himself up from the ground with a soft grunt. Sandi stirred at the noise without waking, and Oliver glanced back in the cave at her sleeping form. He was supposed to protect these people -- not that they had even asked him to, but it was simply a matter of fact to him that it was his responsibility -- and he had no idea how to do it.

His hand fell into his pocket where he casually held the small, folded pocketknife he kept there, turning it over and over as he stared at the pile of fruit. Several possibilities came to mind, and he began quietly listing them. "Maybe they didn't want to frighten us. Maybe they didn't want us to leave. Maybe they don't want us to starve -- maybe because they want us alive for themselves, or maybe just because they're kind and good. Maybe the fruit is poisonous, maybe it's magical, maybe if we eat it we'll be stuck here forever just like Persephone in Hades."

Oliver didn't sound particularly anxious about his list; only sad. He was frowning slightly as he turned to face Maya with a shrug. "I just... wish I knew the rules of this place." He sighed, then furrowed his eyebrows as a change in the lighting caught his attention outside the cave. Behind Maya, off to the left of the cave mouth and almost out of view, the golden glow of fireflies was dimming. As he watched, light after light blinked out -- no, simply stopped shining, as though the light itself was being drawn into a hole -- leaving behind a conspicuous oval of blackness. There was no other movement, and he could see nothing in or around the dark well that broke the glowing wall of the fireflies' illumination. Nonetheless, it felt as though there was an intelligence behind it, more than simply some odd force of nature.

He held out one arm in front of Maya and gently ushered her back a step or two into the relative safety of the cave, withdrawing the knife from his pocket with the opposite hand. Again, he started with his mental maybes: maybe it was nothing at all and he was overreacting, maybe it was some malicious force that was about to attack, or maybe it was their mysterious benefactor trying to establish peaceful contact... but no matter which, Oliver wanted to be ready for it.

Maya sighed as she listened to Oliver list all the possibilities for the appearance of the food. Nothing made sense in this place, and any one of his ideas could be the explanation for what had happened, or maybe it was something entirely different. Nonetheless, she wanted more than ever to leave it all behind, and simply forget that this had happened. It certainly had been amazing to discover that magic was indeed real, but the cost they’d been made to pay wasn’t worth the knowledge.

Suddenly Oliver tensed, and withdrew a small pocketknife, gazing at something beyond the cave. Fear instantly filled her heart. She knew that whatever he had spotted, couldn’t be good news.

“What is it?” she asked, but without answering, Oliver held out an arm, driving her further into the cave. He began to walk towards whatever had caught his attention. When he’d passed from her narrow line of vision, Maya crept toward the opening, ignoring his silent warning to remain within the shelter of the cave.

Out in the open air, she gazed past the boy and was met with a peculiar sight. During anatomy class in high school, Maya had learned about black holes, and this was how she’d always imagined one would look. It was as if a small patch of the forest had disappeared, leaving only this void behind. Not a single light penetrated the inky blackness. Maya’s heart began to race. She felt that a presence was standing beyond the blackness, watching them, unseen to her and Oliver. Her imagination began to create all forms of beings that it could be, and none of them were pleasant. She mentally shook herself, forcing her mind to quit thinking of such things. She was already on edge, and imagining all sorts of horrors wouldn’t help their situation.

Maya stepped behind Oliver, making sure he remained between her and the blackness. He was the one with the knife after all.

“It looks like some sort of portal,” she said. “Maybe whoever brought us the fruit came through this.”

A memory from their first meeting earlier that day suddenly entered her mind.

“Didn’t you say your friends went to another world or something? What if this will lead us wherever they went?” she asked. The idea of entering an unnatural passageway, not knowing where it would lead, certainly seemed like an unwise decision. Then again, what if the portal lead to somewhere safe, a place where they could find help? That seemed more appealing than staying in a dank cave all night, only to wander aimlessly in the forest the next day. She was torn, should they risk the possibility that this passageway led to some hellish place, or stay in the formidable forest?