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Gale and Maddy spread their wings simultaeneously. Normally, Maddy would've prodded Gale in the side, teasing that he was being a copy-cat, but her face was still pale from their encounter with the incredibly creepy spirit. The only thing she enjoyed about the cave was the embarrassment Sumi had recieved, and that was only slightly.

Gale leapt into the air, the wind tugging at his feathers and pulling him higher. Maddy was moving upwards in small circles like she often did; it was a habit gained from their dad, Tariq.

*****

Rue forced herself not to call out Wait! again. She could easily catch up...she was granted with more speed than an average human possessed, thanks to her bird DNA. She quickly caught up to Setsuko, her wings partially unfolded, flapping in the breeze that she had created by running. "Don't you think we should fly? It would be faster," she added. Setsuko must've had a pretty bad premonition for her not to remember to use her glider...
And now that she focused on that, Rue felt the sickening weight of dread drop into her stomach too.

*****

Tess shook her head, her small shoulders rising temporarily in a shrug. "I dunno," she said. Normally, she wouldn't slur the two words {'don't' and 'know'] together, but Misaki's worry must've been contangious. She picked up a small twig, drawing random swirls into the dirt, hoping her anxiety would abate soon.

Setsuko again didn't listen. She kept running; with each step she was more and more sure the need was dire. When she reached the lake, she could see why. What was left of the water was evaporating in a steamy haze. There was a sudden rumble of the earth, and when the steam and dust cleared out, all that remained was a dry, dry desert.
Setsuko clasped her hand over her mouth in dismay. Ayumu's land really was infected. And without the lake, how many dreams would be lost? The only passageway she could think of that remained was the Breeze of Sleep or whatever Ayumu had called it years ago. Now what?

"Daddy," Yuumi wined in his toddler-accent, clinging to Jaci's mane like his life depended on it, "I'm scarwed". Kuilak gazed at his son, a few tears leaking for his deep blue eyes, "I know. We all are."
They felt the rumble. Kuilak gasped, Yuumi winced, and Li started crying again. When it had ended, Kuilak shook his head in confusion. "What was that?"

"Oh no..." Rue murmured, her mouth suddenly dry, a result from the dust and increased dread. Her brown eyes were drawn away from the scene by a bit of motion overhead. Her keen eyes were able to make out three black forms. While she couldn't make out distinct figures at this distance, she could guess who it was. "Setsuko," she said, nudging her friend and gesturing upward. "Are they- are they coming from the Caverns?" Her heart suddenly leapt to her throat, and her wings flared in an instinctive reaction.

"I don't know," Setsuko replied. "But let's join them. We have to get back..." She unfurled her glider and leaped up to join the flying figures.

Sumi started in disbelief as Setsuko joined them. "Mom? Where did you come from?" He called over the wind. "Not now, Natsumi," his mother replied. "First, we've gotta get back to Kuilak..."

Gale and Maddy were reflecting the same disbelief and surprise as Sumi as their mom soon reached them. One look at her tired, stressed face told him that he probably shouldn't tell her they ran into the spirit.

"And Tariq," Rue added. She begin a wheeling turn as a gesture for the others to follow.

Kuilak searched the sky in hopes of Setsuko's return, or at least Sumi, Gale, and Maddy's. Much to his relief, he saw five distinct figures coming into sight, materializing into the people he knew. He stood up and extended his free arm. Setsuko landed and ran into it, embracing her husband. "We're back," she said, stating the obvious. "And something really bad has happened..."

"Yeah!" Sumi agreed, landing right behind her. "Maddy, Gale, and I found this cave, and in it there's this big, birdy creature..." Setsuko's throat went dry. She let go of Kuilak and turned to her son, her eyes wild with panic. "You went to the Caverns?" She said, her voice low enough for one to think she was speaking to herself. "Y...you met Ayumu?"

"I...I don't know..." Sumi replied, a bit confused.

Rue's question had been confirmed, and she sucked in a breath. "What did A-Ayumu say to you?" she asked, forcing her voice to stay steady. It only stumbled slightly, over the spirit's name.

"It was nothing, Mom. Really," Maddy said.

Gale decided to jump into the conversation. "All he did was ask us who we were, and told us to bring our parents and siblings with us when we go..." He swallowed. The look on his Mom's and Setsuko's face made his mouth go dry.

Setsuko sat down and put her hand on her forehead as though she had a headache, trying to figure this out. "Oh, gee..." she murmured. "Oh, goodness...oh, no...oh, oh, oh..." "Setsuko, what's going on?" Kuilak inquired, his voice soft and steady. She looked up at him, then at Rue. "Well...see, when we...er, Rue and I...first came here, there was this spirit...the dream spirit...his name is Ayumu. He lives in a cave where dreams are stored, but it's very dangerous...so very dangerous..." She paused for a shaky breath. "A few nights ago, Rue and I went to go see him...there's something wrong with him. With his whole world! It's falling apart. He looks terrible, Kuilak...and he asked us to bring our children." She stood and grabbed Kuilak's arm. "Ans we just couldn't, Kuilak! I just couldn't imagine taking them to such a place..." A few tears brimmed her eyes again and she began a few heaving sobs. "I just can't."

Rue decided to let Kuilak comfort Setsuko this time. Rue needed her own comfort now, and pressed herself into Tariq, glad that he was here.She felt his arms slip around her, and a small hand slip into her's. She opened her brown eyes to see little Tess standing there, daughetr comforting mother, instead of the other way around. Either way, Rue was glad of it, and squeezed Tess's hand back.

Seeing Setsuko cry again, and hearing their dilemma out in the open made a few tears trail down her own freckled cheek, something both Tariq and Setsuko had only seen a couple of times. "The only problem is," Rue added, her voice husky, "We can't leave without doing whatever Ayumu asks." A few more tears followed the first, until Rue was barely holding back her own sobs.

Kuilak stood in silence, letting Setsuko cry, until Li interrupted, squirming in his father's arms. Setsuko stood, taking her son, that faint smile appearing on her face, not matching the red-brimmed, wet eyes. Li pulled her hair and giggled, happy to be back with his mother. Setsuko giggled back, something that she hadn't done since Ayumu's request. It lifted her heart.

That seemed to lighten the mood in the family. Kuilak mimicked Setsuko's faint smile. Wider ones appeared one-by-one on Yuumi's, Misaki's, and Kanna's faces. Kya's eyes lightened. Sumi's expression softened, which was good enough for him.

Rue wiped her eyes; if everyone else was cheering up, she refused to be mopey. She sucked in a bretah to steel herself, and gently detached herself from Tariq. He kept hold of her hand though, a fact she remained glad of. It gave her something solid to cling to, which she needed, though not quite so desperately as before. "Thanks," she murmured. He would understand she was referring to his embrace.

Tariq only nodded, a frown lurking on his face. He knew it took alot for Rue to cry, and it meant it should be enough for him to feel a big amount of dread right now.

Tess slipped her hand from her mother's, walking over to Misaki. She had grown to like Misaki; she was a great friend. So it wasn't unexpected when Tess reached out for her friend's hand instead.

Misaki took Tess's hand as well, smiling encouragingly at her newfound friend.

"Rue's right, though," Setsuko added gravely. "We can't leave until we complete Ayumu's task. And at the rate this place is going downhill, we certainly can't stay forever." She looked away. "Then what are we going to do?" Kuilak asked softly. "Well..." Setsuko took a minute to breath. "I suppose...we're going to have to do it. Take the children to the caverns." She winced inwardly as she spoke, but hoped desperately that in the long run, it would be better.

"I've only seen Ayumu once...and that was by accident," Gale added hastily. "But it doesn't seem like he woudl deliberately place us in danger, not without a good reason, and a high chance we wouldn't be harmed." When silence met his words, he added, "But I could be totally wrong."

Setsuko and Kuilak exchanged glances. Setsuko took a deep breath. "Ok, then." She said a bit quietly. "Tomorrow, then. Tomorrow we'll take you."

Rue inhaled sharply again. While it probably was a good idea to get it over with, she barely had any time to prepare herself -mentally and emotionally- for whatever would come out of this. If so much as one hair was harmed on their heads....


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Sorry for the shorter/crappy posts...I'm getting a bit tired.