Set Them Free

shadou quickly turns facing the area where the sound of bells were coming from. He had already, involuntarily snatched out another shiriken and stood in defensive stance. He blinked acouple times, he was have trouble focusing from turning so fast. It was the only thing he had problems with, whenever he focused on something and then quickly turned he would lose his sight for a few moments, which effected everything.

Enaid fragrance would assault his nostrils filling them with the scent of fresh flowers....her bare feet coming to a stop as she watches how oddly the man seems to react to her...it was as if he was blind...yet the stance he took was one of defence did he really think she was here to hurt him...eyes dropping as they linger upon the metal objects in his hands....the light catching and reflecting from them....her voice dropping to sound like autumn leaves drifting from the trees....." Are you alright.....do you need help?"

[Alucinor ] Fluttering on the breeze, for those who would care to notice, is a small dragonfly. It zips here and there, stopping to check on everything it sees as if insatiably curious. A zip up and about, and around a branch ... and then seems to flutter over to Enaid's side and just hover there in the space around her buzzing silently.

shadou shut his eyes tightly, he was unable to regain his focus for the moment. He kept his position like a bolder on the side of a path. " Alright? Depends on your definition of the word. Help? Also depending on whos eyes you're looking at it. I most likely need help, for what? I'm am still unsure, but its not so much if I need the help, it is, if I will accept it."

Enaid blinks as the small creature seems to buzz by....glancing at it take its place beside her...a feeling of familarity about the creature though she knows she has not seen it before...eyes turning back to the male she had been watching....only for a second did her gaze drop to the weapons he holds...before stepping closer her steps light...." If the tree frightened you I am sorry it was my fault I asked it to see if you was injured or.....needed help....is there a reason you would not accept help if it is offered"

[Alucinor ] The dragonfly is indeed familiar to her in some way. It slowly flutters down to alight on her shoulder, its weight barely noticed by her slight frame. Indeed, it seems to know her as well ... for now, it sits rather still and watches as the situation unfolds.

shadou doesn't move or attempt to open his eyes. He slides the weapons into a little holster for them in the sleeves of his coat. His stance chances to one of a relaxed position, as he faces the direction of the voice. " No, no, its alright, I should be getting over this." He slowly opens but everything is still blurry, " Ok, well...maybe not now, but soon."

Enaid steps up to him now being but inches from him her eyes lifting from his actions of replacing his weapons away..before lifting to look at his tightly closed eyes...head tilting a little as she begins to see a slight slit as eyes begin to open....." What happened to your eyes?" cheek turning to where the dragonfly had settled....maybe making sure it was still perched there even as she had moved so close to the male....her voice having droped now to a light tune...

[Alucinor ] The dragonfly hasn't budged an inch. It's wings flutter a moment, as if stretching, but it keeps its perch on her shoulder, preening itself.

shadou slightly laughs, " Its rather strange, but when I'm concentrating on something and quickly move, the whole feeling of being threatened I lose my ability to focus. Its rather inconvient, its also rather new, sort of started happening after I had my head slammed against a tombstone, which happens to be a long story with great detail." He reaches up and rubs his head remembering the impact of the blows from the battle.

Enaid crushed grape lips curve upwards into a smile......her voice as gentle as droplets of rain....a small hand reaching out .." who would do such a thing.....perhaps you should seek help for your sight and thus letting it be so you can focus...." head turning to the dragonfly before speaking once more.." Do you think we can help this man?" glancing back..." Are you going to leave soon for if not even the longest story can be told"

Alucinor just sits there, not seeming to respond to Enaid in the slightest and laying still. Unless, of course, you speak dragonfly.

shadou forces his eyes open and everything slowly begins to peice together like a jigsaw puzzle. After being able to see again he looks at whoever it was that was talking to him. He wasn't too sure of what to make of the entity, if he should be scared, shuld feel safe, or just confused. "Well, maybe I should, but then, whats the fun in life if it was fixed?"

Enaid hand lifts and reaches out to Shadou her slender fingers slipping to cup the side of his head where his eyes are....gazing into his own for but seconds before withdrawing her hand...." You like being as you are....why?"

Alucinor buzzes his wings in surprise at Shadou's words, apparently agreeing with Enaid.

shadou nods a bit, " Well I am how I am, and nothing more, or nothing less. I could get into the whole interweaving of the ideas of fate, destiny, and free will, but that is one discussion that will have no end. If I wasn't supposed to lose focus, then when my head made contact with that peice of stonework I would not have lost the ability to quickly keep focuse. One day, maybe, it'll work its way out, but for the time being, I think I'm stuck like this."

[Alucinor ] The dragonfly's wings slump slightly. Seems he kinda would have liked a discussion about such abstract concepts as fate and free will.

[Enaid ] " Then you accept it as something not to be changed .....yet in the same instance would accept a healing as also being as fate so adained....is that not so...?"

shadou raises an eyebrow, " Fate, such an event, how is it that we believe that we have control of ourselves? That what we do we do because we have a freedom upon ourselves but end up finding out that it was bound to happen? Are we all just puppets on strings paraded around for the amusment of some satrical god or gods to make us feel better? "

[Alucinor ] The dragonfly is now sitting extremely still after Shadou finishes his speech, and its wings droop even further.

Enaid head turns to look upon the dragon fly......" Would you like to answer this....?" glancing back to Sadou smiling softly violet lips curving.....eyes lifting to gaze into his own......" I know only of mother nature and how bounties it is in her gifts to those that sure this land......we are born free and only chains that humans put on themselves weigh them down with such heavy weights...."

[Enaid ] share not sure.....damn it

shadou nods his head in agreement, " But how is one born free? At the moment of conception isn't there a feel of joy, yet at the same time burden? Is that not then the first feelings one will come to know? Or that the first feel in the new world of a new born is fear, the strongest most natural feeling? For there to be a bit of good there must be that bit of bad, and vise versa, so in all techinicality, we can never win."

[Alucinor ] The dragonfly looks to Enaid, tilting its tiny head up at her. And then suddenly there emits from the creature a great puff of blue smoke tinged with silver, a tiny cloud upon Enaid's shoulder obscuring the creature from sight ... and when the smoke and haze clears, a miniature human is in its place, not even a foot tall, seated upon Enaid's shoulder with legs dangling over the front. His outfit and description is otherwise like that stated in the profile, of a handsome and muscular woodsman in greens and leathers. He seems slightly sad, yet speaks now that his voice is found. "Indeed ... the chains of slavery, of fate and a pre-determined existence, are but illusions that we would place upon ourselves. If we allow the words of others to hold sway over our actions, then we are indeed truly chained. If we believe we are free, then we are."

shadou likes the idea of believeing that one is free that we all are. " We say we are free and that is all that matters. I like how you have worded it, I could never find a way to put it. " He sits on the ground and draws in the dirt, he has no reason for it. Just random symbols and signs he remebers from neighboring towns and cities, onces he is hopeing one day to put in a book if he ever survives the Vampire Hunting Trade.

Enaid sighs softly not really wanting to upset Aluc and yet it seemed in her question she had.....her brow arches a little as she wonders if Aluc had taken the question for an order...thus now thinking over the words she had used...no she believed it was poisd as question..." You say that in the first moment of conception there is joy....yet at the same time burden.....to some if something is of joy it cancels out the burden making the task one done by love ....yet what one sees as a burden another will not...each is left to decide....is that not a form of freedom".

Alucinor just shrugs unpleasantly, having long since accepted his fate. "I know all about free will. It is a dream that none of my kind has ever achieved. We are all slaves to perfect jurisdiction, chained to the supreme will of the council." He looks to Enaid as she speaks, simply admiring her thoughts and taking them in, contemplating.

shadou nods in an almost rythemic pattern as he continues writing in symbols in the ground. He had no idea what he was writing but the symbols kept coming to his head and was compled to write them down. An almost minor possesion of some sort, maybe it was just creativity, or maybe it was obsessive complusive disorder.

Alucinor leans forward, suddenly curious now as to what the dark and mysterious man is doing ... he narrows his eyes, poring over the symbols to see if he can determine any meaning they may have, be they magical, arcane, archaic, ancient, or even just the scrawlings of a dreamer.

Enaid peers down at the symbols Shadou seems to busy with......crouching down to see better...the graceful action cousing a flurrie of bellowing from the chiffon....the sudden assault of fragrance rising and spreading and the soft harmony of the blue bells ringing...."What is this you are drawing ?" her hand reaching out as fingers lightly tap one of their outlines

shadou raises the branch he was using to draw with and looks up at the two. He smiles and sticks his tongue out to the side, he had drawn stick figures hitting each other in the head. " Ha! Censor marks!" The symboling around them was in reality just a way of showing profanity in a universal, yet none offensive way.

Alucinor puts a tiny hand to Enaid's neck to brace himself as she moves, his cry heard deeply yet quietly. "Whoaoahhh ...!" And then by the drawings, it all becomes clear as Al emits a sort of chuckle. "Ha! How crude."

Enaid blinks.....not understanding not having concept for crudeness...head turning slightly.....was she moving too fast...her small hand coming up to cup the slight male....curving as her fingers cup to take Aluc into her palm....." What is this crude you speak of?"

Alucinor inhales a deep breath, wishing to avoid the subject. "Ohhhh, nothing ..." He pushes off of her shoulder with his hands, hopping into her hand and crouching slightly to lessen the impact that she feels from his tiny, yet broad form. He quickly has a seat, legs crossing as he nestles into her palm quite happily.

Enaid crushed grape lips curve into a smile as she lifts her hand up to look at Aluc....." Did I upset you this day ...if so I am sorry I meant not offense by asking if you would like to answer the question"

Alucinor gazes back to Enaid's giant face, smiling. At her prompting, he shrugs, shaking his head. "I took no offense, lady Enaid. It is simply a fact that I have grown used to over the centuries, if not still particularly comfortable with." He coughs, his hands resting in his lap as he changes the subject. "SOoooo ... didn't you wish to see my ... 'home', as it were? Yes, I think that's what you wanted." His tiny form gives a tiny nod, looking back to her.

Enaid tilts her head studying him a little...." Yes I did ask to see where you dwelt whilst away.....but Aluc please remember you are not at my beck and call....you are a free spirit and as such can choose....please" her eyes look at him almost pleadingly....those lips closing as she waits

Alucinor is overcome with laughter, falling backward against her palm and rolling about as he holds his sides with deep rumbles of merry laughter. "Oh! Ohh ... no no no ... ahhh-ha ..." Slowly he begins to settle down, able to speak once more. "That's not it at all. I'm sorry ... there's quite the difference between me wanting to do something for you and me following orders. Though you must understand that sometimes the two will overlap." The last of his giggles subsides as he rights himself once more in her palm.

Enaid blinks completely taken by surprise by this reaction her lips parting slightly as she indeed just watches....feeling the slight pressure his body made upon her hand....waiting for this merriment to subside so she could at least try to grasp this misunderstanding......." What.......what have I said?"

Alucinor takes a deep breath before trying to explain. "You told me I had the right to choose, Enaid. Yet not once have I ever heard you give me a direct order of any kind in the time I have known you. At least not one that I can recall." Al looks into Enaid's face with a beaming smile of gratitude, his voice dropping to a more intimate volume. "It's a refreshing chance, really it is."

Enaid lips form the soft "O".....before smiling the full meaning of his words finelly sinking in....she had not done anything wrong as she had thought....it seemed she had in fact only treated him as an equal...." Have none let you choose before...?"

Alucinor shrugs reminiscently. "Each master I have had in the past has been different than that last. Some are stricter than others, some more forceful or giving. A lot of times masters that I have had started out kind and respectful ... but as time passed, and they realized the power they held over me, that faded, and I was swiftly treated as just another servant." Al closes his eyes, sighing at such bitter memories.

Enaid frowns as brows knit....a hand rised as a slender finger reaches down to stroke his cheek lightly....." I am sorry Aluc it seems you have not been happy.....is there something else I could do to help you?"

Alucinor closes his eyes and rumbles pleasantly, half leaning into and shying away from her touch. "Nothing I could ask that you aren't already doing," he tells her happily, seeming very pleased and grateful, his past long since out of mind at the comforts he feels at present.

Enaid grape lips form into a soft smile.....seeing how he reacted to her touch " Why do you pull back....yet I sense you wish to press forwards"

Alucinor brings a hand up to hold the tip of Enaid's finger gently to his face, smiling back at her. "Please, you must forgive me," he tells her softly. "As I may have mentioned, I am ... not accustomed to receiving gifts of any sort. It is ... awkward for me." His eyes close once more, and he seems to nestle against her finger, head leaning into her touch. "Awkward, yet ... very appreciated."

Enaid agains smiles.....watching him rub against her finger...moving it as little to stroke him......" You are......shy?" she found this....strange for one so outward as Aluc in most things yet in this one area be reserved...." You need not fear me ...just be who you are.....your true self..remove those chains e talked of earlier.." smiling " Stand tall and proud".

Alucinor seems to contemplate Enaid's words, considering. And yet, he does not have an answer for her. "I ..." His gaze falls to the floor of her palm, tracing thoughtful patterns along her skin in silence.

Enaid watches him trace one of the rich dark brown viens over her plam........." Yes Aluc.....what is it......please.....surely you can not be afraid of being who you truely are....who will punish you ?"

Alucinor seems to struggle with his own thoughts. "I wish I had an answer for you," he tells her at last, stumbling over the words. "Knowing who I am would require having time for myself. That's not something I usually have been given."

Enaid nods slowly " Yes......I can see how that would stop.....perhaps then.....though it saddens me much...perhaps you should spend time to do as you want.....be on your own" a delicate brow knits....yet she knew how much Aluc needs to find himself....

Alucinor considers the very notion of what she is proposing. "R ... really?" He looks to her face, and then away to one side, then the other ... "On ... on my own?" He seems excited, yet at the same time not entirely certain what to do ... like a young bird ready to fly for the first time ... peering over the edge of the nest and frightened at the ground below.

Enaid nods slowly " Yes Aluc....on your own as you already said.....to be yourself you need to have time for yourself which you havent had......"

Alucinor very rarely finds himself doing anything on his own ... even if it's what he wants. And he does want this, to be able to go out on his own and find himself, as he has never had the chance to do. To live as an individual ... wanting it so much, he rationalizes it in the only way he can, treading upon words tenderly as if they were slippery rocks. "If ... if such is your desire ... m'lady ... then so I shall." Slowly a smile comes over his face, tinged by the trappings of a growing fear of the unknown that awaits him.

Enaid smiles letting her finger stroke him lightly...." It is not what I desire but that which you desire.....to enable you to know yourself....found out who you are then I will be here Aluc if you desire to return ...here or in some forest garden.....a place where a tree grows"

Alucinor rises to stand tall ... well, relatively speaking ... upon Enaid's palm, using her finger to support him as he looks back to her proudly and timidly. "Enaid, you have given me so much," he tells her softly, his darkened curls floating about his head like whispers. "At least allow me to show you something before I go ..." All at once, a ring of bluish silver mists begins to rise and swirl about Enaid's feet. "You wished to see my home," he tells her plainly. "It is a place easily visited. You can return there anytime you wish. All you have to do is ask. But be warned ... it is ... an unusual place."

Enaid nods......though she is unsure who to ask...." Who do I ask Aluc........did you not think my world was weird....yet with your eyes open you see it I hope differently....not weird at all but wonderous"

Alucinor 's grin broadens as the haze begins to rise, screening the pair off from the rest of the world. "Ask me, and I shall take you there in but an instant, as any genie has the power to do. It is an ability we genies are given in order to protect our masters from harm ... yet I am happy just to have you visit." The bluish-silver mists now form a cloud all about the pair, too thick to see in or out of. "Prepare yourself for the wonders of infinity," are the last words from Al before the pair vanishes with a whoosh. The cloud dissipates, leaving only open air in its wake.

[Alucinor ] With a sudden pop, another world suddenly becomes clear to Enaid's senses ... she now sees the pair, Enaid and Alucinor floating in an endless expanse with hands linked, amidst a backdrop of colors ever-swirling and shifting in myriad ways. The view is breathtaking, and seems to go beyond any depth of perception, the motions of rainbow colors almost hypnotic. "Welcome," comes Al's gently booming voice as he looks to her proudly. And indeed his appearance has changed to reflect more like what he was when Enaid first saw her ... smooth, flowing light blue pants that drape down his muscular legs to feet clad in cloth shoes, an upturned point at the toes. A silver sash is tied about his middle, and his broad and hairless torso is covered in little else besides a dark blue vest, revealing his powerful arms and chiselled physique. His head is bald and smooth once more, all except for that braid upon his chin that he is never seen without. And, of course, the same copper bracers remain clasped around wrists.

Enaid turns her head slowly looking about......eyes wide with wonder.....the vastness of the expanse......her fingers reaching to curl around of of the rainbow lights....their lights reflected in those of her eyes merrily dancing a tango with her own gracefully turning att he first strong baritone voice of Aluc a smile upon the crushed velvet grape lips as her eyes dance over his physica...a little surprised at his change of clothes yet is that so ununusal he looked so majestic standing there....a strong oak growing spreading sinking its roots deep upon the ground....yet capable of achieving anything and everything.....a arm stretching out as her fingers upen to recieve and clasp his

Alucinor smiles to see Enaid taking in the wonder of this place. "Welcome to the other side of the rainbow," he tells her, giving her hands a gentle squeeze of merriment. "To the place where anything is possible, and dreams are as real as you or I." One hand is released, to sweep over all that lays behind around around them, showcasing its splendor. "What you now see," he begins, sounding much like an announcer, "is pure unlimited potential. Energy in raw and untapped form. In this space lies the power to create ... to bring anything that you can imagine into reality." A light chuckle breaks from his deep and profound speech. "A dream realm, if you will."

Enaid laughs softly the sound sounding like the rustling of leaves......once more her gaze looked about...swept over the vastness of the darkness.....the lights like rainbows....or jewels given up to man in their raw state......her fingers tightening upon his own as she listens to that deep rich woody tune....she wondered about getting lost in such a vast place at least in the forest she knew a tree ....a plant and she would be home but here......it felt sooo full....yet sooo very empty at the same time....stepping closer to where he is...." Anything Alucinor....?" eyes shifting....as she moves to stand before him...lifting to gaze into his own eyes..lingering there on.....that gentle squueze upon fingers once more......." Any dream to be true?"

Alucinor closes his eyes blissfully at her laugh ... his delight stemming in part from his relief, not knowing how she would have reacted to such a place after their visit to the Sky Palace. Yet are not all beings comfortable in their dreams? He gazes back into Enaid's eyes, seeing the rainbow lights reflected therein even as she can see the magic hiding behind his own blue eyes, those twin oceans of energy. "Anything," he tells her. As if to demonstrate, he glances down to a spot just beside them ... and there appears a small and leafy fern, as if it had always been there, with just enough soil surrounding its roots for comfort, happy as can be. He looks back to her now with a little chuckle, waiting for her to notice ... for her to realize the wide field of possibilities now spread out before her.

Enaid eyes sparkle as she holds his gaze......she had not particularly liked the sky palace her gaze dropping as she notices the plant......a smile spreading crushed velvet lips unable to stop herself as always when seeing new life she crouches down beside it fingers moving to lightly carress its shape...its form....lips moving upon words unspoken yet said.....head titling as she looks up at Aluc.....eyes closing as she thinks of one dream......and thus her own form changes....lengthens grows.....limbs growing extending as she pushes herself up...her body standing in perfect porportion to Aluc....as she turns now and looks into his eyes instead of up at him....her fingers now able to hold his own as she cradles....cups her fingers upon his...

Alucinor released Enaid, allowing her to commune with the new plant as she would wish. And then he watches her as she closes her eyes and seems to grow to a height and size which rivals his own. He looks her over now, taking in every part of her with a curious eye as a question grows in his mind, eventually to be spoken aloud. "Taller?" he asks her, tilting his head and grinning at her in perplexed amusement even as she clasps her hands in his. "Why?"

Enaid smiles almost shyly now....stepping closer the soft ringing of the blue bells sounding light .....the air filling with the heady fragrance of fresh cut flowers ....turning her head she looked about getting some form of how things looked to him.....how small and insignifent she must be to him....turning back to look at him......." To see the world how you do".

Alucinor seems to be caught within a delightful haze, eyes half lidded and a wondrous smile playing about the corners of his lips. "It's not much different," he argues, caught up in the reverberating sound of bells and the rich floral scent that surrounds him. "Though no bells ring for my every step ... nor do creeping green things follow in my footsteps ... and if I were to smell of any such thing, it would never match the fragrance that surrounds you." As alluring as the backdrop is, all of Alucinor's attention is fixed upon the face he now finds at his level, the once timid and gentle flower having borrowed a bit of his oaken stature.

Enaid soft violet lips...like crushed grapes....curve upwards forming into a smile...." I am sure if you desired silver bells could be attached upon an ankle...those producing the sound....as for the frangrance....flowers worn upon your person could fit the bill besides providing scent but decoration.....things seem very different from here....I must be very small and.....and insignificent to you .." those fairy light eyes reflecting copper...and a multitude of colours gaze back into his eyes...a arm rising as she reaches out...slender long fingers running along braided hair

Alucinor chuckles heartily. "And what flowers would I wear that would be fitting of my size or stature, hmmm?" His eyes wrinkle slightly, amused by such a notion, though that smile quickly fades as she continues, replaced by a heartfelt sentiment as he shakes his head in disagreement. "Hardly small. And certainly not insignificant. I see in your eyes something far greater that lurks beneath the surface of flesh and bone," he says, taking her cheek in his hand, fingertips touching so gently they can scarcely be felt but for a light and pleasant tickling of smooth skin. "It is the same as you have shown me ... the feeling of the dance ... the rhythm of life. There is no higher power in all the world which can hope to contain or control so powerful a pulse." Unbeknownst to him, he can feel himself being drawn closer to her, like a honeybee lured in by the promise of sweet nectar.

Enaid barely moves her cheek to his hand.....her own long slender fingers dropping letting go the tussels of the braid of his hair..listening to his words softly spoken " I have only shown you what you already possess Aluc.....a heart....the capabilites of looking about you seeing what is there...the dance of life always beat within your breast like a dove within a cage..now you know....now the dove has been set free everything you will see now as you should have done as I have always done so....you have joined me in the dance Aluc..and thus it will always be there waiting for you...need you only do is but pick the threads weave them together much as your briad is"

Alucinor smiles to hear that, and suddenly he gets an idea of his own ... slowly his own massive form begins to shift, his body shrinking away slightly, arms and legs shortening, his form compacting until he reaches a height of about the same measure as Enaid, now looking up into her face instead of the other way around. "Hmmm. So this is how you see me, is it?" Even as she speaks of such things, he is beginning to hear that common pulse, like a soft drumbeat echoing in from the distance all around.

Enaid watches as he shrinks.....his hand becoming small.....a worried look dances across her features...as gingerly she lets go of his digits frigthened she would hurt them unintentionly..afterall she was not used to this body...nor the extra strength that would accompany such a size increase....yet once his hand was released her smile broadens to a grin...and then a laugh light and airy...nodding sending cascade of tussels about her shoulders...." Yes.......ooh yes Aluc....how fragile I must seem to you"

Alucinor glances at his hands, which of course to him seem no different. He looks over her as well, her enlarged body now seen in even more elaborate detail to his smaller eyes, seeing every delicate curl of plant and leaf, ever patch of skin and curve of dress ... even the long hair which curls about her cherub face seems that much finer. But his small size does not last for long, as with a final look about the pair he begins to swell back up to his original size to match her own, nodding comfortably once he has reached his full size once again. His eyes look back into hers excitedly. "What else?" he asks her eagerly. "Surely there must be other things you dream of ... I want to see."

Enaid smiles eyes lifting....settling upon him as he stands full grown once more before her......a finger tentively reaching out to stroke under his chin.....her rich brown cheeks seeming to redden to cherry blossom ....her words soft and drawn out...." You wish to share my dreams Aluc.....can I not see dreams of your own..." her gaze dropping to linger upon a new growing fern...." Or is a single Fern your only dream?"

Alucinor does not recoil from her touch this time, instead craning his chin upward even as he speaks. "There have been times, yes," he tells her. "In the times between one master and another. Endless waiting where I am kept here, in this place, waiting for another to find the lamp and claim their right to my services." He glances to the fern, and then to a distant horizon, letting his mind wander. "I dream of distant lands ... of worlds that I have never seen. Places that I have never been to." And even as he speaks and imagines, the images in his mind come to life and they find themselves standing amidst tall trees as far as the eye can see ... and then a sprawling, dusty desert ... a high mountaintop overlooking a sea of clouds and a river valley below ... of arctic tundra, capped and dusted with white ... of rolling fields of rich gold and amber grass growing up even to Al's waist ...

Enaid looks into his eyes seeingthe start of those dreams...before head turning as she gaze about her visions changing...colours blossoming flourishing before changing from one distant shore line to another...one type of terrain like stepping stones across a pond each touched with their own markings....their own island of wonderous growth vivid rich and filling gaint water lillies seperate yet the root joins them together as one...her only movement betrayed as her head moves as she tries taking in every part of his dreams....his longings....one minute smelling and tasting the salt from the sea...the next the scent of the yellow bobbing cornfields each holding her spellbound

Alucinor at last settles upon a single scene, and the two find themselves nestled at the foot of a large mountian, with a rocky hillside to their left and a wide swath of trees to their right and behind them. High up on a rocky cliff some ways up the mountain, the slightest peek of a stone circle of columns can be glimpsed. "Here," he says mysteriously. "This place ... I dream of this place more so than any other. I don't know why, exactly ..." He looks all around him, his eyes eventually settling upon that ring of balanced stones.

Enaid eyes sweep over the images before her.....a hand reaching out even to touch......feel that which she csn see....smell...before glancing to him......." Was you....created here Alucinor.....are genies created...or born into being....?" she stepped away from him closer to the mountains....to the stones...

Alucinor shrugs, his eyes never leaving that high hilltop spot. "I really don't know," he tells her. "Most genies believe that we have always existed, so close to the threads that hold the universe together are we ..." As she nears him, he takes a few steps forward, winding his way uphill toward that high rocky bluff, and the stones which rest upon it ... drawn there as he always is in his dreams, now recreated for Enaid to see.

Enaid nods slowly as she follows him upwards.....the soft tune of the blue bells ringing in harmony...the air fillimg with her fresh blooms...behind her as she ascented the mountain pathways agaile as a goat a blanket of spreading alpine blossoms seem to shoot....grow...blossom a multitude of colours..and as bare footfalls come to a stop she stands beside him..the wind tugging and puling her autumn hair....the chiffon shifting fluttering resting upon hips before the wind lifts and shimmers it once more...she takes a deep breathe filling her lungs with the good pure air of the mountains...head turning to look at him...." It is beautiful Aluc....a piece of the world hidden from others as yet unshared a blaze in its beauty"

Alucinor comes to a stop just outside the circle of stones, each of which bears a particular runic carving of ancient origin. "I have never understood the symbols," he tells her, gazing to a worn patch of dirt at the center of the circle. He reaches out to touch one of the stony columns with his hand, and no sooner does his hand come into contact with such then the rune upon it seems to glow with a subtle amber light. He pulls his hand back, as he has done so many times in his dreams before, gazing at the column in surprise, then looking to his hand and turning it over in his field of vision. "No magic of mine is ever used ... the pillar just seems to react to my touch."

Enaid stops only when he himself stops...her gaze following him...before sweeping her eyes over the circle of stone lingering upon one after the other unsure why they stand who put them here...even why they were here..stepping to one...a slnder finger reaches out to trace her rainbow nail over the symbol....she had head of such things but had put little importance on them the world of humans however...to some these would mean much be imptortant as the flowers are to her...head turning as she glances over to where Aluc stands and leaving the stone she had chosen steps to the one he so recently touched...carressed....and although she knew not why she took his hand cradling it in her still huge hand....and...her fingers..slender long...lay upon the top of his more solid thicker fingers....her palm open...pressing down upon his own even as huge as she is her hands were small and looked so upon his more muscular manly hand....as both joined....touch the stone

[Alucinor ] As Enaid touches a separate pillar, it too lights up in a similar fashion, its rune projecting a soft amber glow in reaction to her touch. More so than this, when the combined hands of Alucinor and Enaid press onto the pillar of stone, the rune shines ever brighter, its light spreading forth to light the other adjacent stone columns one by one, until they are all at last glowing softly, accompanied by a subtle shaking of the earth for just a moment, as if something beneath them was waking from eternal slumber ... Alucinor looks to her, amazed. "That's not ... this didn't happen ..." He looks all around, then back to Enaid's gentle hand upon his own ... and then back to her own eyes with a growing curiousity. "I had thought it was just me ..."

[Enaid ] "Sometimes Aluc.....two is better then one....." her voice as soft as buttermilk.....the whisper motion of her words echoing over his face....her head turning as she looks away from him a smile of grape wine as she watches the stones light up....her hand still resting upon his..letting his skin touch the stone and her own dark red wood flesh touching his..." Now we shall see Aluc why you dream of this place....why you are drawn to this place as a butterfly is to the nectar of a flower..." her smile gentle as she speaks her words soft....her eyes looking into his saying much without utterance

Alucinor keeps his look of amazement, looking to Enaid and all around the circle even as a breeze begins to blow all about the circle, stirring a musical chime from each as it passes until they find themselves surrounded by a growing chord, vibrating gently all about them, the wind gathering wisps of the amber glow and carrying them along in a whirlpool of lights and a symphony of cool notes ringing across the landscape. And then, ever so gently ... if the pair listen close enough, it's possible to make out words caught up in another growing rumble of the earth, a whisper heard amongst the tremor. "... come, my children ... awaken, and seek your answers ..." The tremor becomes an uproar, even as the ground begins to break forth from the center of the circle, the whirling lights growing ever brighter until with sudden force the pair are thrown back from the circle in an explosion of dust. Everything fades to bright white, and before they even hit the ground ...

[Alucinor ] ... the dream-world is gone, leaving Alucinor and Enaid standing in the world once more beside Alucinor's lamp ... wherever that may be.

Enaid had lifted her eyes to look about her...the wind tugging at her mass of hair....the chiffon moving shimmering like glaize wings her head turning as she hears the first decibel of the first note..lingering upon one stone following the muiscal notes as each stone to be touched...lighted upon like a sparrow upon the fence legs touching to only spread wings and more to the next dancing upon the coldness of the stone seconds before another rings upon the air ..like some dance of its own makings the light twisting and darting....her head lifting higher as the notes seem to lift..spreading wider like a never ending ripple...a centre..a burst of sunflower petals cascading over the land in waves....head tilting as her eyes turn to look at Aluc could he too hear the sound.....the beckoning....her bare toes gripping...digging into the hard earth surface of the mountain..as she feels the first tremor like a belly rumble of a gaint..shifting moving beneath the surface to move boulders earth above it..

Enaid fingers lightly pressure his own....as if holding them both firmly to the stone....her body shaking as she begins to feel some sort of force head turning to gaze upon his....worry lines etched upon forehead....and before anything can be said she feels her hand ripped from the surface of his own to tumble backwards.....as if being yanked by her very roots

Alucinor too felt Enaid's panic for himself, and even as they fly forth from the blast, his grip tightens, drawing him to her protectively even as they fly back through the air ... but when the light subsides, there is no danger. No blast, no song or wind or shaking of earth ... just Enaid, Alucinor, and the lamp resting nearby. "It's alright, Enaid," Al says, still holding her. "Nothing can truly hurt us while we are in the lamp. We're safe now." He looks around curiously, head turning side to side. "But, ummm ... where is this, exactly? This must be where you hid my lamp?"

Enaid had felt his arms about her the rising of panic coming unbidden letting he pull her close.....her eyes for an instant of tugging closing not wishing to see what would be there waiting...a slight tremor fletters through her as if shaking a loose leaf upon a branch ..opening her eyes at a familair smell....his words...fairy light eyes braving to look upon her surroundings

Enaid seems to settle slim moments still within the warmth of his arms....before smiling those crushed violet petal lips forming growing at the recognition of her home....it was an odd place...easily it can be seen that her dwellling seemed to be part of a tree....within a tree..size here lost in its reality....the walls a dark musty wood...yet as it works upwards seems to become paler.....rings travel around the room seeming to weave around in a hap hazard pattern...tapper roots ...thinly thread around...covering the floor yet as they set upon the ground a root tip seems to lift....brush...touch over them...as she stretches out her hand to brush a finger across it...." Hello my friend.." her voice a soft rustle of leaves....the air was filled with the smell of earth mellowed by the freshness of flowers.....which seem to be in aboundance here...lighting every corner..ever recess with their colours...bud heads turning to them...flowers opening to greet and welcome them home..

Enaid glances up at him before dropping to the shiny object at their side...the lamp itself nestling upon the petals of roses...lost within the first frost of winter yet here they seem as crisp and fresh as if newly dropped.....the place where they are seems to be alive even whilst they lived within it...the room such as it was seemed to glow with the afterlight reflecting from the open petals..her home such as it was...did not just housed her...but lived with her...sheltered her...held her safe carressed her.....welcomed her ....leaning over she let her finger tips trail over the plants that seem to be growing sheltering her.....her lips uttering soft words as she smiles her gaze turning to look upon him

Alucinor looks all about this place of floral patterns and welcoming wood, immediately taking a liking to the cozy and humble feel to it. "Is this ... your home?" he says in a timid, admiring voice. His own fingers reach down to gingerly stroke the same root, if allowed ... taking in the scent of one of the flowers ... and all the while being mindful of where he steps and how he moves. And then his gaze falls upon the lamp, and eyes lock upon the shiny object. An immense sigh of relief is given, his head and shoulders falling forward. "All safe and sound," he mutters quietly.

Enaid nods to his question...." My home....our home.....with nature's consent my friends...myself...and " her eyes drop to the lamp...." your lamp " she smiles as the root tip that had stretched towards them to brush over both.....stroking the back of his hand as if welcoming him home...." Did you think I had lost it Aluc"

Alucinor smiles as he is welcomed, watching the root tip recede back to its resting place before looking back to the lamp. "If you had indeed lost it, I would have known by now," he informs her, looking back to her emerald eyes. "It's just ... good to know where it is. And that it's safe." Though his face bears a smile, his gaze is haunted, and Enaid can see the shared dream they so recently experienced playing over again in his mind.

Enaid delicate brows knit as she feels the edge of his voice laced with concern....her own eyes telling her recent events still played upon him.......she reaches out it seemed with her transgression from lamp to tree she had regained her own usual size......her slender fingers rest lightly upo his own as she pats them ..squeezing gently......" You are not alone Aluc....and now at least part of your dream has been answered"

Alucinor looks now to Enaid in startled wonder. His fingers spread over her own, much like hers did during the dream, when they awoke the sleeper under the earth. "The answer ... is you?" He blinks, looking to Enaid and shaking his head, still clearly bewildered. "But ... I don't know where to find that place. And even if we did, well ... do we really want to bring forth ... whatever sleeps beneath the mountain there?" The tone of Alucinor's voice tells her that he would indeed like to do so and put his dreams to rest, his desires matched with equal concern. He looks to Enaid, wondering if she too feels the same way ... had she too heard the calling of the terran spirit?

Enaid blinks....not expecting those words......" Me....no Aluc the answer laid within you....you needed just a little aid to edge you the final steps.....why would you not wish to awake that which sleeps....are you afraid to ..." another gentle squueze....." if you desire my presence I am here as always....I will not desert you unless of cos that his your desire"

Alucinor lets forth a light chuckle. "You're starting to sound like me," he tells her. But then, in a more serious tone, he gratefully takes her hand in both of his, nodding. "They have always been good dreams, I felt ... I would like to see them come true, if possible. And I would very much like for you to be there when ... if I do," he corrects himself. A smile shows on his face once more as he looks to his new surroundings. "But tell me more about this place, please," he asks her. "It seems you have many friends to introduce me to."

Enaid smiles the softest of smiles....blueberry lips curving upwards.....her hand lost amongest his much larger hand.....eyes lifting to hold upon his own...." Sound like you....yes " a slight nod" perhaps with all the desires I said...but I speak truefully Aluc do not think you are alone for if I am not already there then speak to a tree and they will bring word to me and myself within your presence..." her gaze pulls from his as she glances about love clearly etched upon those pupils for those he refers to...." Yes....many friends welcome me home...specially after such an arrival"

Alucinor gives her hand a gentle squeeze. "I thank you. And should you ever need me, just give my lamp another rub and I'll be by your side in an instant." He looks to Enaid with eyes that show the affection he has for her, even as she loves her leafy companions, to whom he now turns his attention.

Enaid reaches out with her free hand.....rainbow tiped fingers stroking over the roots upon the soft earth cradling them.....the lightest of touch letting him see them shiver and move wishing only to return the carress ....the flowerheads open...blooming filling the air with the scent...heads turning towards them like faithful hounds....

Enaid reaches out with her free hand.....rainbow tiped fingers stroking over the roots upon the soft earth cradling them.....the lightest of touch letting him see them shiver and move wishing only to return the carress ....the flowerheads open...blooming filling the air with the scent...heads turning towards them like faithful hounds....