[Atoli01]

The rain must have stopped just recently; small droplets of water were dripping from the canopy of trees above us. Surely, they must have been making plopping noises as they feel onto our heads. Those 'plopping' noises were surely inaudible as they were, but if you turned nature's speakers up, you could most definitely hear them. I mean, you could always hear them in cartoons, right? The soft chirping of birds accompanied the splashing of the mud beneath our feet and the soft jingling of a bell coming from behind me.

And by our... I meant the me and the pink haired girl right beside me - Rima Arazaki - with a flow of never ending comments. Useless things like, 'Look at that bird over there!' or 'Did you see that awesome shaped cloud?!'... Although that cloud she was talking about... it was either imaginary or I was really missing something. I sighed. The stupid girl. There aren't any clouds to be seen from below the endless number of trees that were above us.

Before long, the opening of a cave had finally revealed itself. It was Craiss Caverns, where me and Rima agreed to come, but with only one purpose - to try to find an Akail. If we found other people and made friends in the process, then so be it, but the Akail was our main priority here. I smiled as I ran a bit ahead of Rima, running my finger along the side of the cave. I forgot the last time I had been outside of our home.

"Hey, Hana-chan?" I turned around to face the girl, tilting my head a bit, waiting for her to continue. "Why are you so dead set on finding an Akail?"

I looked at her a moment before pulling out my notebook and pen, starting to write.'Because I wanna see one. Wouldn't it be awesome?' Holding it up for a few seconds to show her, I flipped another page of my notebook and wrote the rest of what I wanted to say. 'Plus, ya know how many people wanna see one, just once?'

Rima shrugged and reached into her bag. A few moments later, she pulled out a  small box containing strawberries and smiled, saying, "You want one, Hana-chan?" She smiled as she happily slipped a strawberry into her mouth and throwing the stem onto the ground.

I shook my head and sighed. She just never got it, did she? Not everyone liked strawberries as much as her. There were some people who even despise strawberries, although she always refuses to believe that. I heard another bird chirp and looked around out of curiosity. Where were those birds coming from? A disappointed look came across her face for just a moment before she took another one and closed the box, slipping it back into her bag. I went back to tracing my finger along the wall of the cave, fascinated by the dirt covering it.

(Yes, Hana has the most amazing handwriting and writes with an amazing purple pen. >:O)

{{Hana: 8, Rima: 1}}

[Hannah Kerela]

Sherlock looked positively gleeful as he headed into the caverns, decked out in his full "exploration" attire. He'd been sent to investigate this strange "Akail" creature, and investigate he would do - his first, since the regrettable loss of his Boswell, his Dr. Watson. He smiled grimly, fixing his scarf and looking about.

He hadn't been here before; his brother had thought that an investigation in a new place would help him more - a change of scenery for the un-faint of heart, he'd chosen a dark, dreary place: Sherlock's niche. He turned to his companion. "I trust you're doing alright?"


Adelle smiled grimly at him. She was his closest friend now, and had agreed to come along to be his second pair of eyes. She pushed her hair back, stepping closer to him. "I'm sure," she said, looking around. "Do you really think we'll find anything in this silly place?" she asked.

He nodded; they had to. He ventured deeper in. "Hello?" he called, cautiously, his muscles tensed.

((It's not quite as long as yours, but I figure it'll do okay?))

[Atoli01]

I stood there for another few minutes, drawing random shapes with the dirt that I swept away - hearts, flowers, smiley faces... I could hear the impatient taps of Rima-chan's foot against the moist soil. She was probably deciding not to be too rude and just keep her mouth shut. I sighed and wiped my hands on the side of my shirt, getting all the dirt off. But to my dismay, there were streaks of brown dirt that was left behind.

I jumped in shock as I heard something in the distance, a voice it had sounded like. I whipped my body around to face the way we came from - Rim-chan did too. Even though it was pretty dark out from the various shadows, I could make out two unfamiliar shapes, presumably of humans. I heard a 'hello' come from the distance as Rima-chan stepped in front of me.

"Someone is there, right?"

(Dun worry about it~ My posts are normally longer than other people's posts~ :3)

{{Hana: 9, Rima: 2}}

[Hannah Kerela]

Sherlock ventured a little further into the cavern, holding out an arm to keep Adelle slightly behind him. "Yes," he called. His muscles were still tensed with preparation as he moved to try and make sense of the figures he saw. "Who are you?"

He was being ridiculously cautious, he knew that - but after what had happened to his Boswell, he wanted to protect Adelle. And everyone else, for that matter. He felt Adelle grip his arm, not sure if she meant to reassure or be reassured. He reached back, pulling her close to him all the same. He watched the two girls in front of him warily.

Adelle, on the other hand, seemed to have no issues after a moment. "Hi there," she said, letting go of Sherlock and coming closer. "My name's Adelle, and this..." She motioned to Sherlock, smiling. "This is Sherlock. Forgive him; he's not the most trusting fellow."

[Atoli01]

Once I heard the voice again, I went on my tiptoes to peek over Rima-chan's shoulder. They weren't attacking us at first sight, or trying to kidnap them or something, so they couldn't me that bad, right? I tried to nudge Rima-chan out of the way, but she refused to move. I sighed and gave up for the time being, pulling out my notebook again, ready to start writing.

Rima-chan also obviously detected them as not being any kind of threat, fore she stepped aside, allowing me to be seen. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Rima Arazaki. And this girl here is-"

I hit her over the head with my book and held the page open so they could see it.'I'm Hanakazari Yamagishi.' I flipped another page and held it up again before she could recover enough to say anything else. 'You can just call me Hana for short. <3'

Rima-chan still stood there, rubbing the spot where I hit her with her hand. Did I really hit her that hard? I sighed and slid my pen in my pocket, closing my notebook. I took a few steps forward and held my hand out to Adelle, showing one of my extremely rare smiles. I could tell Rima-chan had come back to her senses by now though, since I noticed her blue shoes from the corner of my eye and the soft jingling of the bell around her neck.

"We're looking for an Akail. What are you here for?"  She smiled as she placed her hand on my shoulder.

{{Hana: 10, Rima: 3}}

[Hannah Kerela]

Adelle shook Hana's hand, smiling. "It's a pleasure," she said, smiling at Hana and Rima.

Holmes nodded to show his agreement, stepping forward. "Quite the coincidence, actually. We're here to study them," he said. He pushed a hair out of his face. He studied the girls briefly - they didn't seem dangerous, though in the dim light it was harder to make out defining details such as profession, hobby, or personality. He glanced at Adelle's too-wide grin; he had to suppress a good-natured groan: he knew what she was thinking now.

"You know, things go so much more smoothly with more people," Adelle said. "Why don't we search together?"

Naturally. Holmes smiled a bit at the familiarity of it - she always was a social creature, Adelle, and so she could be counted on to encourage large social gatherings. Even in a place as dark and dreary as Craiss Caverns, it would seem, he thought. He moved closer, though: "Adelle does have a point," he added. "It would certainly be more interesting, if nothing else."

[Atoli01]

Once Adelle shook my hand, I nodded and stepped back, allowing Rima a bit of time to speak to them. I heard my stomach make a growling noise as I sighed and took Rima's bag off her shoulder. She looked at me in a confused manner, but turned back to face Sherlock and Adelle soon after. After Adelle's suggestion, I looked up for a few seconds and glanced at Rima - was she going to say yes?

"Of course! The more the merrier, right?!" she nudged me with a gigantic grin across her face. I nodded and started shuffling through Rima's bag, looking for something to eat.

I had told her to pack a few fish and a bag of flowers, but the bag didn't feel heavy enough to be containing all those things. Sure enough, all that was in her bag was a box filled with strawberries and a notebook with notes written in it - not anything we would need though, more like just drawing and random sayings. I took advantage of the dim setting and quickly stepped on Rima's toe right after I put the bag back on her shoulder.

I quickly wrote in my notebook and slowly walked over to Sherlock, placing a hand on his shoulder and holding up the page of my notebook. 'I hate to ask, but do you have any fish or flowers?'

(I just had to have Hana-chan do that. xD It was just too cute to resist. <3 Oh by the way, what timezone are you in?)

{{Hana: 11, Rima: 4}}

[Hannah Kerela]

Holmes smiled. "Flowers, unfortunately no. Fish, I do have," he said, swinging his pack around to rummage through it, offering the girl a wrapped fish after a few moments. He always carried around spare supplies - fish just happened to be easy to eat when one had little appetite. He looked at her. "I take it you can't talk, Miss Hana?" he asked, gently, with a genuine curiosity about him.

Adelle smiled at Rima's answer. "Wonderful," she said, happily. She seemed a little too thrilled at the idea, a wide grin on her face.

(I'm in the Central time-zone. And, yes, that was way too cute.)

[Atoli01]

Well, even though he didn't have flowers, I still loved fish. Stupid Rima didn't bring anything but strawberries, but maybe Sherlock or Adelle liked them? I took my hand off of his shoulder and slipped my pen back into my pocket while he was searching. Once he pulled the fish out, I happily took it, showing an extremely small smile.

My emotions just weren't what they used to be after I lost my voice. Everything had become dull and lifeless, so I never really needed to use my emotions. It was safe to say that I almost completely forgot how to use the altogether. But somehow, these people were different. I didn't know why, but I could smile around them, even though I barely knew either of them. I was sure this trip would change that though - I would know more about them, and maybe, just maybe, I could smile normally again.

When he asked the question, I pulled my pen back out and started writing. It wasn't a topic I would normally even give a response about to people, but I was in a good mood today. 'Nope. It was a couple years ago that I lost my voice... It was my own fault though, so I don't blame anyone for it.'

I put away my pen again and closed my notebook. As soon as I could, I unwrapped the fish and started eating it. I wasn't quite sure what kind it was, but it tasted incredibly good, and that was all that mattered. Well really, all that mattered was that I got some kind of food in my stomach, but still. I preferred food that tasted good over any kind of bad tasting food, like most others.

"We should get started on looking for an Akail, right?! So come on, let's go!" I looked over at Rima-chan and saw her start walking into the cave a bit more, "Hey, you lovebirds, too! Let's get going!"

I knew that my cheeks were burning bright pink after that, and I wasn't happy about it. Once I got my hands on that girl, she wouldn't have a drop of blood left in her. I quickly turned around and ran over to Rima-chan. Once I saw her face, I especially wasn't pleased - laughing and smiling about it all. What would she think if I did that while she was talking to some guy? Wait... she wouldn't do anything, probably; she doesn't get embarrassed very easily.

(Haha, Rima-chan is so much like a lot of my friends. xD)

{{Hana: 12, Rima: 5}}

[Hannah Kerela]

Holmes smiled. "Well, best of luck to you getting it back, all the same," he said. At Rima's comment, he flushed. "Th-that...!" he said, unsure of how to protest.

Adelle hurried after Rima, laughing - much to Holmes' chagrin - and smiling. "Quite," she called back to Holmes. "What would your brother say if he saw you flirting on the job?"

"Adelle!" Holmes said, clearly scandalized and jogging to try and catch up with her to strangle her. She danced out of his way, laughing.

(Crappy post, I know, I know. xD Sorry.)

[Atoli01]

Once I got over to Rima-chan, I grabbed her collar, forcing her to stop running. With a deathly glare, I brought my notebook to her face, still holding her collar. 'That was really unnecessary and rude! All I did was ask him for fish and talk to him for a bit and you jump to conclusions! It would be the same thing as if Adelle was a guy!'

I let go of her collar (with what would have been a 'humph!' if I could speak) and walked back a bit to wait for Sherlock to catch up. I angrily slammed my notebook shut, a crash echoing through the halls. I wasn't going to yell at Adelle just yet, since I barely knew the girl, but... Once Sherlock caught up with me, I gestured for him to follow as I ran to catch back up with Rima-chan and Adelle. As I was running, I took another much needed bite of my piece of fish.

(S'okay~ I needa go to sleep now, so my post was short too...)

{{Hana: 13, Rima: 6}}

[Hannah Kerela]

(Brief foreword: my "i" key is acting up. Any typos due to missing "i"s are sincerely apologized for. I'm trying to catch them, though.)

Sherlock smiled at Hana. "Nevertheless, things are off to a magnificently intriguing start, are they not?" He seemed to have taken on a new life just since entering the cave, looking eager and exhilarated - he really did live for the game, so to speak.

Adelle, meanwhile, grinned at Rima. "I think you and I will get along," she commented. "I think I like anyone who can get Sherlock to blush like a schoolgirl." At Sherlock's scowl in her direction, she merely grinned wider, laughing.

Sherlock chuckled. "So, Miss Hana, am I correct in assuming you eat flowers as well as fish?" he asked. He seemed, again, genuinely curious - he merely wanted to know more about her.

Adelle glanced back, cocking an eyebrow in Sherlock's direction - what on earth was he thinking, asking a question like that? Sherlock ignored her, naturally, focused on Hana.

He never was one to multitask when he was unpacking someone new.

[Atoli01]

Walking next to Sherlock, I nodded at his first comment, still snacking on my fish. I was taking small bites out of it, so hopefully it would last for a bit. Sure, it wouldn't change how much fish there was, but it would surely make it seem like there was more! But what he had said was true - I hadn't expected to be like this right now. Having a relatively good time, eating delicious fish, meeting new people. I hadn't wanted to come here actually, since I was going to be going alone with Rima-chan, but I convinced myself to go, in hopes of finding an Akail.

I heard Rima-chan and Adelle's conversation up ahead and sighed. She seemed so much like Rima-chan that it was scary. Bouncing off the walls hyper, friendly, slightly annoying, loud... oh, did I mention hyper? Rima-chan raised her hand up, presumably to give Adelle a high-five, but it didn't seem like she said anything. If she did, I knew I would've heard it - you can hear her a mile away, for goodness sake.

Once Sherlock started talking again, I looked up at him. It hadn't really noticed until then that he must have at least been a good six inches taller than me.

'Yup. I think roses taste the best. (:'

I had brought my hand up to the side of my head, but there was nothing there - besides my hair, of course. Normally I would have a hair clip of an artificial flower on (I couldn't be trusted not to eat a real one), but I had forgotten it today. I brought my hand back down to my side, slipping my pen back into my pocket again and fiddling with the hem of my shirt.

{{Hana: 14, Rima: 7}}

[Hannah Kerela]

Adelle high-fived Rima, grinning.

Sherlock smiled. "Well, there are certainly worse things to eat," he pointed out. "I'm not much one for flowers, myself, though plants do make up a... considerable amount of my diet."

"Smoking for a couple hours does not constitute a diet, Sherlock!" Adelle called back. She looked at Rima. "I don't know what to do with this man. He goes for three days without eating, smokes, and then claims that's enough to go for three more days on!"

The man rolled his eyes, reaching over and brushing Hana's hair back after a moment. "And the diet seems to do wonders for your looks, anyways." Was it a sincere compliment? Absolutely. Sherlock didn't believe in hiding the truth from people - it was his profession to uncover it, after all. And he did think Hana had beautiful hair.

[Atoli01]

I sighed again when Adelle had returned Rima's high-five. They must be planning something again. I could basically picture that mishievous grin that was spread across Rima-chan's face, like always. And planning something with someone as hyper as her? This wasn't going to turn out good. I got curious with what Sherlock had said next thugh. Did he eat flowers too?

And with Adelle's next comment, my question was answered. Well, it might not have been the same type of plants I eat, but it was still plants, right? I silently laughed to myslef at that. I knew, I would have to ask him! I had to prove Rima wrong! When Sherlock had burshed my hair back, I knew that I blushed a little, but I smiled. I nodded and mouthed the words 'thank you' as I went and held my notebook up again.

'Hey, hey, Sherlock? Flowers are edible, right?'

(Haha, short post, but I'm at school right now, so yeah. xD Time for 2nd period~ :3 But stupid people look over my shoulder and they're all like, 'wtf?' X3)

{{Hana: 15, Rima: 8}}