[Bug-A-Boo]

It wasn't every day that Aeris ventured this far from home. She was the shy type, and unused to traveling in places that she knew nothing about. Even as she walked, alone, through the tunnels, she tried her hardest to muster up all of the courage she had. Her hands shook slightly, but she tried to ignore it and press on. She had an important mission here...or so Terra had said. But Terra wasn't here yet, and it was starting to worry Aeris. Her friend wasn't the type to not show up when she had said she would.The sound of footsteps could be heard, and Aeris panicked. Quickly, she transformed into wind, blowing around wildly in search of escape.

"Hey! Aeris, is that you? Calm down, it's just me." A green-haired girl with the rich tanned skin of a Native American appeared, holding a lantern in front of her to light the way. "You can turn solid, now, Aeris. It's okay, it's just me."

"Geezes, but you scared me." Aeris felt her molecules slowly morphing as she was once again a girl, made of flesh and blood. "You weren't here, and I started to get worried..." Aeris ducked her head shyly, embarrassed at how easily she had allowed herself to get frightened.

Terra, however, just chuckled. "Don't worry about it." She looked around, swinging the lantern so that she was able to search every dark corner. "Where are the boys? They said they were gonna be here, didn't they? They wouldn't just not show up."

{1-1}

[Bug-A-Boo]

"We're here, don't worry." Ignis suddenly appeared from behind Terra. He grinned at her, and chuckled slightly when he saw Aeris jump and her form waver slightly. "She's a bit jumpy today, isn't she?" He elbowed Terra, wiggling his eyebrows comically.

"Shut up Iggy." Varun appeared as well, sidestepping both Ignis and Aeris in order to stand near Aeris and put a comforting hand on her arm. "You can't blame her for being jumpy. None of us have ever been here before, and who knows whats in these tunnels." Turning his gaze towards Aeris, he asked gently, "Are you okay? You don't have to be here if you don't want to be. You know that I would tell you anything we found out. You can wait outside."



{1-1}

[Bug-A-Boo]

Aeris looked down, but shook her head. "N-no, I'll just stay here. I'm not that afraid, I s-swear." It was obvious that she was lying, but they all knew that she wasn't going to leave them. Varun put an arm around her shoulder and squeezed it gently. She leaned against him, drawing comfort from the warmth of his almost-embrace.

Terra and Ignis looked at each other, with a knowing look on their faces. Neither Varun nor Aeris noticed, and both Terra and Ignis faught to hide their giggles. "Well, are we gonna look for these runes or what?" Terra finally said. "Yeah," said Ignis. "I thought we came here to find out if there's any mention about...you know. People like us."

Varun nodded. "You're right, we should be going." He didn't take his arm from around Aeris' shoulder, though. Instead, he began walking, still holding her close to him.

{1-2}