A fierce tattoo fills the air. "Dak! Get your lazy bones out of bed! We have band practice!"

A rumpled head of long hair, dyed the blue of the sky, poked out of the downstairs bedroom. "Whuh? C'mon, Indy, it's barely morning!"

The girl, whose hair was dyed a more subtle shade of dark purply-blue, glared at her brother, threateningly brandishing her bodhran, a round, handheld drum of about twenty inches diameter. "It's been morning for hours. You're just lazy. Besides, the others are waiting for us. We'll never make it big on the mainland if we don't practice!"

"We'll never make it big on the mainland anyways." Dak grumbled, but quietly. Indigo Thoreau hated pessimism, and, being his older sister, had double the ruling power. Or so she claimed. Quarbi, she was only older by a matter of minutes. Dak wished, for a moment, that their mother...nevermind. She's dead.

Losing his thoughts in the daily maintenance chores, he pulled on a loose green tunic and black pants, pulled his hair into a low ponytail, and put on a blue cape. Lastly, he tugged on a black pair of fingerless gloves, and strode confidently from his room, grabbing his violin on the way out.

"Dak? It must be ninety degrees out! What are you doing with that heavy cloak on?"

"It, ah..."

The girl gave him a pitying look. He grinned back sheepishly.

"It makes me feel heroic, okay? Besides, it was dad's..."

She rolled her eyes. "Sometimes I swear I have a five year old for a brother."

He smiled. "Sometimes I swear I have a forty year old for a sister."

They made their way along a sunny beachfront, to the shady palapa where the other two members of Lucid Dreams were waiting. They looked up from tuning their guitars. "Hey, it's the amazing sleepy twins! What kept you?" the heavily tattooed male shouted out.

"Ah, my narcoleptic brother here couldn't tie his shoes without a boot to the rear to wake him up. And I'm sure neither of you missed us." This was accompanied by a sly wink to the pair of guitarists.

"I don't know WHAT you're talking about." the female guitarist said coolly. "Brujo and I spent the whole time crying without you. We've only just stopped."

"Oh, I bet." Dak joined in, then changed his voice to an off-key approximation of the girl's. "Oh, Brujo, I'm so scared without Dak here to protect me!" He brought the pitch up a tone or two. "Oh, Dura, so am I! Keep me safe!" He laughed hysterically as Brujo sprang from his seat and launched a dirt clod at him.

"Ya think you're pretty smart, don't ya Thoreau?" The dirt clod hit Dak squarely in the forehead. With an indignant cry of outrage, Dak gathered a clump of prickly weeds, hands somewhat protected by the gloves, and chased Brujo around the beach. The girls laughed uproariously, as Brujo tripped and fell facefirst into a large patch of the same prickly briars.

Dak shook with laughter. "Aw, I don't even need to get him now."

"Owwwww...let's go swimming!" With this brief monologue, typical of the short attention span of Brujo Pax, he ran into the water.

Cheno breathed the salt spray contentedly. She was free. In the last week, she had gotten quite a feel for boats. It seemed to come naturally. She'd bought a small skiff, the 'Jen Sees Seas', from an old couple on the coast, and was using the warm breeze to full advantage. She spotted some people moving about on the beach. They looked...carefree. The sound of laughter floated to her ears. She cautiously tacked towards them, peering curiously through her half-circle goggles.

Suddenly, a toned, tattooed arm reached up from the water and grabbed the side of the boat. She leapt up, eyes reddening. Then a tousled head of auburn hair, and a grinning tattooed face popped up. "Hi!"

She gradually settled down, glow fading. "Um...hello."

"You're dressed kinda funny, considering it's so hot out."

"Well, these are my traveling clothes. You want a ride back to shore?"

"DO I!?" He grinned, showing white teeth. He pulled himself into the boat, rivulets of water running down his lanky frame. "I predict...we'll have the same initials. What's your name?"

"Cheno Bellissimo."

He shrugged. "Well, predictions aren't really my magic anyways. Brujo Pax." He extended a hand in greeting, and she shook it. "Oooh, soft hands. I bet you've never played an instrument in your life!"

"Well, no, but I sing."

"Awesome."

They swept into shore. Brujo immediately leaped out and helped pull the boat onto the beach. "Hey guys! I found us a lead singer for the band!"

"WHAT??" The question was echoed almost simultaneously by the four people who weren't Brujo.

"Well, why not? We don't have a lead singer, and she says she can sing."

Dura broke in tactfully. "Well, I think we sing alright, and...we don't know anything about her!"

"Her name is Cheno Bellissimo, she likes to sing, she dresses in black to travel, she has cool goggles, she has a boat...what else do we need to know?"

"Nothing, I guess. So what brings you to Raegwilde?" Indigo asked with genuine interest.

"Well, I...could you direct me to the nearest Capriscaen temple?"

The four friends looked at each other with confusion. "Uhh...no?"

She smiled and pulled back her cloak. "Good."