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In the midst of all this, Kya glanced at her mother, who Rue had set down. Seeing the closed eyes and the blank expression, she gasped fearfully. "Oh no! She's not....not like Li, is she?" "NO!" Kuilak snapped suddenly, horrified by the notion. His voice lowered. "No, she's just passed out." He turned slightly. "Like Kanna," He added, gesturing to his middle daughter collapsed on the ground.

Ooc:// I got writers' block...

Despite the fact that he was a "lion", Jaci cowered nervously near the rocky edge. For hours, he had been trying to escape, to get back to Setsuko, be the rocks would not heed to his will. Now, he had nothing left to do but tremble nervously in the Caverns, a sickened, half-dead spirit to steer clear of.

Ayumu was sprawled out on the floor, gasping for breath. Eventually, the inhales slowed and steadied, though the exhales remained somewhat strangled, and he managed to pull himself up. Jaci whimpered slightly, something he did not often do. Ayumu turned towards him.

"Left behind, are we?" He cooed through throaty moans. "Oh, I am sorry. But what can I do now? I am not an Earth spirit, Jaci of Blue Lions. I cannot change the rock fall." Ayumu thought a moment. "Your best hope is to wait for Setsuko to come back, as I'm sure she will."

Of course, Ayumu and Jaci had no idea the recent goings-on of the people a few miles away.

"Does anyone have smelling salts, or something?" Rue asked. Kanna and Setsuko both needed to be awakened.

"Uh, I think I saw some flowers that smelled bad and strong close by," Tess said slowly, her face scrunching up in concentration.

"Good," Rue praised. "Go get them, okay sweetie?"

Tess nodded, and was back a little later with a handful of orange flowers. Rue pulled herself away from Tariq, and took them from her daughter, kneeling in front of Setsuko. She waved them under her friend's nose, hoping they would work.

Wanting to get away from the chaos, Misaki promptly spoke: "I...I'm gonna go with Tess!" And with that, she scampered out into the woods.

Ooc:// I basically skipped passed where Tess was searching, moving on to when she came back. I didn't think that part was necessary. Rue already has the flowers, and is trying to revive Setsuko.

"We've got the flowers," Misaki mumbled unhappily, not excited about being back in the scene which reeked of death and sadness. She handed the flowers to Rue, adding: "And we might want to use some on Kanna, too." She glanced at her sister, who still lay on the ground, out from shock of what happened to her little brother.

Yuumi had tears running down his face, just now absorbing the full fact that his brother was dead and the rest of the awful reality of the tragic, frantic situation still trying to cram its way into his young mind. He ran up to Kuilak, embracing his father with shaking arms for comfort.

__________

Over time, Jaci gradually calmed down. Ayumu was still is awful condition, but his horrid spasm was over. Jaci assumed that, for now, they were both safe.

"You know what?" Ayumu said after a while, "Follow me. I've got something you may want to see, Jaci of Blue Lions..." And with that, he began to walk towards the back of the Caverns. Jaci was a bit reluctant to follow, but Ayumu insisted with a "Come on!", and Jaci obeyed.

Rue crushed the petals in her hand, and waved it under Setsuko's nose. Even from a distance, she could smell the unpleasant odor strongly. She gagged a little before regaining her composure, using her free hand to cover her nose and mouth in an attempt to block the scent.

Tess' nose wrinkled in disgust, and she pinched in together with her thumb and index finger. "Eww," she mumbled, taking a step back.

Gale coughed a little, as did Maddy.

Setsuko, unfortunately, made no reaction. She continued to lay unconscious, her brain constantly trying to make sense of the havoc that currently inhabited it. It would be a while before her mind was sane enough to allow the thought process to begin again. All her external senses were down, shutting off contact with the outside world, so even the strong, foul stench of Rue's flowers did not make it through.

Kya moved over slightly. "May I borrow some of those flowers?" She questioned softly.

Why weren't they working? Unable to come up with a logical answer, Rue handed the flowers to Kya. "Sure," she sighed, staring at Setsuko's still face. Standing up, she brushed some loose dirt off her jeans, wishing she could do more.

"Why didn't she wake up?" Tess asked, cocking her head slightly.

Rue shrugged, suddenly feeling tired. A deep chasm of sadness yawned within her, and she just wanted to sleep the day away, and wake up with this all having been a bad dream. Their fight, Li's death...it was all so exhausting, so stressful. It was bad enough she was stuck in this place, but her kids had been dragged along, and now one of Setsuko's had died.

Rue felt close to an emotional breakdown. She didn't have Setsuko to lean on either. Unconscious, and possibly still angry, her friend wasn't there right now. There was always Tariq, but she had the feeling her husband didn't quite grasp the situation the way she did. Ayumu was plagued and comepletely unhelpful, but without the spirit, they were trapped here. And Jaci was trapped with him.

She spread her wings suddenly. "I'll be back," she murmured. And she would, eventually. But she needed to fly, let the wind soothe her turbulent thoughts and emotions. Before anyone could reply, she was in the air. Flapping powerfully, her wings lifted her into the smooth, clean air. Inhaling deeply, tears begin to leak out of her eyes, a mixture of overwhelming emotion and the brisk wind blowing in her face.

Kya accepted the flowers with a polite, but melancholy "Thank you." She took them over to Kanna and placed them under her fainted sister's nose. Kanna jumped up suddenly.

"Ack! What's that stench?!" was her initial exclaimation, but it didn't take long for her to recall the situation. Her head and shoulders drooped in remembrance.

"Is Mama awake yet?" Kya shook her head.

"Where's Rue?"

"She flew off."

"Oh." Kanna stood and sighed, not really sure what to do now. She trudged over closer to the rest of her family.

Kuilak lifted crying Yuumi, holding his now youngest son close and tight, as if trying to be sure that he couldn't find a way to slip off as well. "Shhh," He comforted hoarsely. "Shhhh." As Kanna came up, he opened his free arm welcomingly and took her in with him. Kya followed her siblings, Misaki scampering close behind. And soon, even Sumi came up to join them. It wasn't long before more tears were added to Yuumi's. And there they stood, one lost, one unconscious, and six more huddled together for comfort and protection from each other and from the situation.

Rue found herself flying towards the caverns where Jaci and Ayumu were trapped. Not sure why, but oddly unwilling to veer from her course, she soon reached the rock-covered entrance. Brown eyes searching hopefully, she scrutinized the rocky surface, hoping for a way in. Nothing. The rough surface pressed painfully into her hands as she tried to dig a way in, hoping for a weak spot in the blockade. Aching both inside and out, Rue collapsed againt the outer cave wall.

Tears continued to trickle down her cheeks, and she wrapped her wings around herself as if they were a shield from the pain of the world.


Tess slipped her hand into her father's, a few tears sliding down her own cheeks. While not related to Li, and barely even knowing the young child, she still felt melancholy pain at his death. Tariq wrapped his arms around his daughter, hugging her gently.

Jaci followed Ayumu slowly down the long, long central tunnel. The glowing paths of dreams halted, leaving nothing but space, lots of space, just moving down into darkness for what felt like forever.

And then...light.

Jaci gawked at the scene. It was gorgeous, very unlike the disaster-torn world that sat just outside the rocks on the far, far side of the Caverns.

"The Realm of Sleep," Ayumu murmured. "Have you ever heard of dreamcatchers, Jaci of Blue Lions? They're interesting little gadgets blessed by I, myself. A wooden circle, often decorated by feathers and beads and other little natural knick-knacks. And tied around these circles are countless interlocking strings, tying around each other to form the most curious of knotted patterns. One puts it over his or her bed when going to sleep. And when they dream...well, those dreamcatchers most certainly make my job easier. All negative dreams get trapped, stored in the nasty knots, but the positive ones, oh, they find a way through. But they do not go to the Caverns, oh, no. Positive dreams sent through a dreamcatcher find their way here." He paused, taking in a great wiff of the soft breeze.

"Those sweet dreams make up this place, and as long as at least one dreamcatcher stands, this place will continue to flourish. It cannot be touched by the plague that has taken me."

Ayumu turned to Jaci, gazing deep into the Blue Lion's amber eyes. "Jaci, my world--the entire thing--is run on the power of existing dreamcatchers," He began.

Ooc:// Never would've thought to bring dreamcatchers into this....nice idea, Natti. ^^

And I'm kinda stuck on what to post....

ooc- -nods- I just thought of it while posting. I thought, "well, wouldn't it be cool if I tied in the legend of dreamcatchers in with Ayumu's world?" So, I did.

I learned the basics about the legends of Dreamcatchers ages ago...I was what, four? Five? I remember it being a story at reading time in the Public Library and then doing a craft to make our own.

From what I recall, dreamcatchers are hung above one's bed and when they dream, good dreams go right through the holes and back into your mind so you can dream them again, whereas bad dreams get caught the knots, hence the name "dreamcatcher". Of course, I made a few changes to apply it to Ayumu's world, but you get the basic idea. :D


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