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Setsuko turned to again face the cave.
She entered.

Rue followed slowly. The glowing tunnels were not visible at the moment, a fact she was momentarily glad for. But after a moment of walking they would be.

The Cave was much like Setsuko remembered, yet it had a slightly different quality to it. She couldn't quite place it, but the place seemed...more eerie. After standing in the ominous cave for a minute or so, Setsuko called somewhat softly, "Ayumu?" Some rustling and shifting returned her call. She thought she could see the large, owl-like eyes of the spirit glaring at them from further withing the cave. "Setsuko. Rue Ride. Are you back?" came a raspy voice. "Y...yes." "Mmmm. It's been a long time, has it not? And you're all grown up now." "Erm...yeah," Setsuko replied, feeling a bit uncomfortable. Ayumu's voice seemed weaker and rougher than she remembered. At first she thought it was caused be age, but then she remembered that Ayumu was a spirit, so that couldn't be the cause.

Rue too had noticed the difference in the spirit's voice. "Are you all right, Ayumu?" she asked.

"Alright? Oh, yes, I'm alright. My world is crumbling and I am under plague, of course I'm alright!" He screeched. The cavern fell silent after his cries ended their ominous echoes. Realizing that had surprised, even scared, the humans, he shook his head to clear it and moved closer so they could see him. Setsuko suppressed a gasp as the spirit came into view. His feathers were crumpled and his normally wise eyes were dull and bloodshot. He looked beaten and broken, yet he had that wild look that reined in fighters.

Rue let out a soft breat that made a few awry strands of hair flutter and lift away from her face. Ayumu certainly looked as if he were under a plague. His feathers showed signs of neglect, and his eyes, tainted red, had a wild look in them.

"Can we do anything to help?" Rue asked, her voice still shaky from the spirit's screech.

"...yes," Ayumu answered slowly. "Bring your children here tomorrow. We can discuss what you can do then." Setsuko's face paled slightly. "Our children? But, Ayumu, we can't--" "You do have children, correct?" Ayumu interrupted. "Yes, but--" "Then do as I ordered. Now GO!!"
Realizing it was pointless to argue with a plagued spirit, Setsuko left, backing slowly out of the cave.

Rue left more quickly then Setsuko did. When standing underneath the still cloudy sky again, she couldn't help but breath a sigh of relief. "Setsuko," she said, turning to face her friend. "You know we can't bring the children here."

"I know," Setsuko whined. "I didn't want to. I still don't want to. Oh Rue, what are we going to do? It's way too dangerous, especially for the younger ones!"

"We can't ignore Ayumu, though," Rue said, swallowing down any distress or panic she felt. "Even if we do bring them here, we can't let the younger ones come. I agree, it's too dangerous. Maybe we could just bring the older ones?" She still felt horrible about bringing anyone, but what she could she do?

"I don't know," Setsuko replied. "I just don't know!" She took a deep breath. "Well, I suppose the first thing we need to do is get back," She unfurled her gilder. "Coming?"

Rue nodded, unfurling her wings.

Setsuko jumped up and took off. The wind rushed past her face as she whipped through the brisk air.

Kuilak looked up at a figure coming from above. He quickly recognized it. "Setsuko!" He called, running closer. "Setsuko," He repeated as she landed. The look on her face explained a lot, yet still left much missing. "Oh, no. What happened?"

Rue landed only seconds after Setsuko.

Tariq soon stood behind Kuilak, a confused expression on his face. "Everything alright?" he asked.

"No, everything is not alright," Rue snapped, worry and stress making her irritable.

"We...went somewhere," Setsuko explained as carefully as she could. "It's a dangerous place, but somewhere that needs to be visited if we ever want to leave. It's a---well, I'll explain later. After bedtime." Kuilak nodded in understanding...it was something the children didn't need to hear.