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"What? No...this is crazy!" Sumi complained. "A sick dream spirit? Living in a magic cave? What?!?"

"But Mother, what about Yuumi and Li? Will they be ok?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" Setsuko yelled in response, letting loose her frustration with those three words. The clearing fell silent as the remark echoed around. "I just don't know," She repeated, softer this time.

Rue placed a hand on Setsuko's shoulder, hoping to offer some comfort and sympathy.

Setsuko took a deep breath and removed Rue's hand from her shoulder. She spoke up again. "Tonight, we'll get a good night's rest," She announced, "And tomorrow, we'll head down to the Caverns."

Rue could tell Tariq was releculant go himself, much less let his children go. But there wasn't anything she could do about it, other than hope he wouldn't argue with her.

There was a long pause in the conversation. At last, Kuilak spoke up. "Well, we should probably find a new shelter now. I don't think the old one's gonna come much in handy." He gestured towards the torn-apart cabin. Setsuko nodded numbly. "Yes. Let's just do that now."

Rue stared at the mangled remains of the cabin, and briefly thought about repairing it. As soon as the thought came, she realized it would be quicker to find someplace else. "We could look around in the forest first," she suggested slowly. "And see if there's something there, or a good place to build something."

Sumi looked around. "Maybe we could find a cave," He suggested. "There looks to be some interesting rock formations over that way." He gestured in the direction of the Caverns. Setsuko shook her head. "No, that's where---" "Maybe there's a cave there other than those Caves of Living or whatever!" Sumi hissed. "Caverns of Life," Setsuko corrected grimly. The frustration and worry was making her irritable. Kuilak came up behind her. "Sumi's right, you know. It's at least worth checking out."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Rue said slowly, looking at Setsuko for back-up. She didn't want to go inside before she had too. Honestly, the sight of Ayumu scared her, him being in the state he was in.

Setsuko was silent for a moment, a bit lost in her own mind. "No," she said at last, "We...should probably at least check." A glance at Rue emphasized the emotion in her eyes, showing that she was growing desperate.

Rue opened her mouth to protest, but the look of desperation in Setsuko's mismatched eyes stopped her. Instead, a small sigh came out. "Alright," she said slowly.

Kuilak took charge from there. "Ok, let's go, then. Sumi, could you scout ahead from the air? Gale, you can go with him." Natsumi nodded grimly and pulled out his glider, opening it quickly.

Gale spread out his dark wings, soon taking off.

"What do I do?" Maddy asked.

Kuilak shrugged. "Well, you could either stay with us and salvage what we can before departing, or I suppose you could fly off with Sumi and Gale." He gestured to the older boys. Sumi locked eyes with his father for just a moment before taking off, soaring high into the sky so as to get a better view.

"I'll scout," Maddy said quickly. SHe took a running start, and was soon flapping hard, rising to meet her brother.

Gale ignored his twin sister. Honestly, he wished she hadn't come. It was too likely they would fight. So he tried to forget she was there, if it was possible, what with her blabbing in his ear.

Kuilak watched them go. Then he turned to everyone else. "Ok, let's get to the cabin remains and see if there's still a blanket or something intact!"

Sumi flew smoothly by Gale. He watched the 11-year-old's wings move swiftly and powerfully. "You know," He called over the wind, "I don't think I've seen any of you actually fly before. Not that I recall, anyways. After thinking about it for a while, to be honest, I was wondering if you even could at all."