Welcome to Gaia! ::

Cipher squinted as the morning light hit his eyes. His bright, lively yellow orbs, turning into dangerous, glinting gold. It glowed ever so slightly, and a little more in the light. He hoped it didn't alarm the poor girl.

Where were they? He'd lost all sense of time and direction, the morning turning into midday, then afternoon, then night, and total darkness had crept in and he still didn't know where they were. Then the morning came and the trail disappeared, leading them astray as they trekked through overgrown roots and low-hanging branches, the light seeping through the small spaces between leaves and more leaves.

He couldn't fault Jeanette. Tempted by a rare type of mushroom, she had run off to find it. Cipher, not giving much thought, ran after her. He should've thought better. He should've waited by the trail for her. He should've, he should've, he should've. And now due to his carelessness, here they were, not anywhere near the town, and they were lost. Lost, lost, l o s t.

His condition had worsened. The voices grew louder in his head, and he could feel his body temperature shooting off. He shivered into the night, into the morning, and they kept shouting, screaming at him to just take her. Take her already, eat up her thoughts because you missed the chance to eat her dreams and her aura looks so stunning, so delightful, so delicious do it do it do it . He grunted, flinching as his headache worsened.

He looked around instead, mimicking his companion. This part of the forest, it was greener, much much more than the trail they were on. The ground, the large rocks, the branches, almost everything was covered in moss. He almost slipped twice, the ground wetter than previously. He didn't understand why, not really.

He looked back at his companion, trying hard not to focus his eyes on her aura. She was shivering, and, as if on cue, her stomach grumbled angrily, demanding for sustenance. The mushrooms probably didn't help her out too well. She turned his way, eyes tired and losing hope. She apologized once again, her whole body shaking from the cold night they had spent.

Cipher shook his head, smiling softly. He would be strong for both of them. "I'm sure we'll find a way soon." He said simply. He shrugged off his jacket, placing it on the girl's small shoulders. It enveloped her body well enough, so he hoped it would provide her with some more warmth. He made no mention of what was happening in his head. He didn't want to worry her even more.

'She'll find out soon enough, what are you waiting for? What are you waiting for? What are you waiting for? Knock her out, eat her dreams, maybe, maybe, maybe she'll forgive you if you get her out of this damned forest, she might.'

He'll be strong for the both of them.

He watched as she looked down, seemingly defeated. He wanted to reassure her, to give her hope, but their situation was a difficult one. The trees were too thick and numerous for them to see anything, and there wasn't much sound traveling through the area. He bit his lip, canines grazing over his lip as he racked his brain for something, anything that could help them.

'We both know you won't last long, not at all. Do it, do it do it doitdoitdoitdoitdoit-'

Well, he tried to. Just as he was about to resign to their fate and suggest a break, Jeanette jolted, looking in every direction. It was like she had an epiphany, as she turned back to him, yelling about needing to be taller. Cipher tilted his head in curiosity as she walked over to a tree, its winding branches lower, but not low enough for the girl to reach. He felt iffy bout this idea. What if she fell and injured herself? But then, she looked determined, and it was like he hadn't seen that look in so long. He didn't want to shatter her spirit, no, no, no. So he walked closer to her instead.

"Be careful, alright?" From this close, her aura was twirling, enticing him, or maybe he was hallucinating now too? "Please tell me what to do."

Cipher looked between Jeanette and the branch, still unsure. He worried for her safety, especially knowing how tired she must be from all of this. Giving in, he positioned himself near the branch and faced away from it, facing towards the girl instead. "Okay, hold on to me for a bit." He said as he placed both of her hands on his shoulders. He then secured his own hold on her waist, lifting her up. With his added height, she could now easily grab onto the branch in front of them.

'Wow, so close.' His mind rang out to him, and belatedly he realized their close proximity. Cheeks staining red, he coughed awkwardly. "Uh, you can use my shoulders as a... boost." His voice was quiet, feeling too embarrassed to speak normally. 'I hope this doesn't make her too uncomfortable.'

Cipher blushed when he heard the shaky plea from the girl climbing up to the branch. "I won’t, p-promise." He stuttered out, head hanging and gaze trained on the mossy floor. Soon he felt Jeanette’s weight disappear from his shoulders. Keeping to his promise, he leaned on the trunk and surveyed their surrounding.

He waited for a few moments, trying to tune out his own mind, then called out to her, "Do you see anything?"

Cipher chuckled as Jeanette responded to his inquiry. Glad that she was in high spirits compared to earlier on, he peeked up momentarily to see where the girl was. Thankfully, he couldn't see any underwear, and she was relatively safe on one of the thicker branches. He continued his survey around their immediate surroundings when a snap from above caught his attention. Jolting, he looked up just in time to be smacked by a small, thin branch, the rest of it falling by his feet. "Ow. Just my luck, I guess." He sighed, rubbing his nose bridge and wincing while looking up. Seeing Jeanette hugging the trunk of the tree from that high up made his heart leap out of his chest in fear, but he refrained himself from shouting so as not to further scare the poor girl. He sighed in relief as the girl steadied herself and started climbing again, glad that she wasn't hurt or anything.

"Maybe I should have gone up instead... Then again, I weigh too much. In the first place, I don't even know how to climb a tree though." Cipher muttered to himself, relaxing again as he leaned against the tree trunk. One of the voices sneered at him, 'MAYBE, maybe you should have gathered her energy instead.' Cipher grumbled, pushing those thoughts out of his head. It was a miracle he hadn't succumbed fully yet.

He heard her call to him from up above, having found the direction of the city. Cipher looked up, hope renewed as he watched Jeanette start climbing down. From way up high, he could barely see details of her, but something black caught his eye. "The heck was that? Was she holding something when she climbed the--' His train of thought was quickly shut down as he watched jump off the branch she was standing on and caught another branch. Cipher tensed up, not knowing what to do. "J-Jeanette! What are you doing?!"