[Kitsumi]

While Lae was certain that Kirye had heard Nephele's question, the other kuhna didn't turn. He felt a bit sad that he was unable to repay her for her help, but he figured that there was no stopping her. "Well, I guess she's not coming back," he said, mostly to himself.

Finally out in the fresh air, he took in deep lungfuls of it. Without the stifling stench of the sewers, he was finally able to breathe again, and it felt spectacular. He turned to smile at Nephele. "Feels good, to be back out here, doesn't it?" He commented. "I mean, we weren't in there very long, but still...it feels like I haven't been in fresh air for ages!" Suddenly pausing, he asked, "So, where do you live? I could walk you home, if you wanted."

{5-1}

[jobiehanna]

"Yeah, I wish she would have let us repay her, somehow," Nephele said with a sad note in her voice and a shrug of her shoulders. She took deep breaths of the forest air and smiled at its freshness. "Yeah, I know what you mean," she told Lae. "It feels like we were in their forever." She looked around her at the forest that surrounded them. The trees towered above them and the sky was still a clear blue.

"Walk me home?" The question puzzled Nephele only because she didn't really have a place to call home, a place where she lived, but it wasn't home. She would never have a home again, thanks to that stupid fire. She blinked, then blushed slightly at her blunder. "Oh, yes, I live in a complex tunnel system underneath the coast of Lambastia," she said hastily, "If that makes sense," she added with an embarrassed smile.

[Kitsumi]

"Well, people have an odd way of turning up when you least expect it. We may have a chance to pay her back someday, who knows?" Lae smiled and then, on an impulse, reached over and hugged Nephele. "That was close, you know...who knows what that guy would have done to us, had Kirye not helped?" He looked in the direction that Kirye had disappeared, silently thanking her again for her help.

It seemed as if Nephele was a bit confused by the question for a moment, although Lae wasn't exactly sure why. She seemed in thought, and then blushed, which confused Lae even more. At her words, though, Lae was the most confused he had been all day. "Under...Lambastia?" He looked at her, wondering if she were joking. "How can you live underneath Lambastia? I don't understand..."

{5-2}

[jobiehanna]

"Yeah, I know," Nephele said, hugging him back. "I just wish I hadn't gotten us into so much trouble," she added with a small frown. It troubled her that the man had come after her, because it could happen again. What if they hadn't just given up? Would she have to stay under cover for the rest of her life?

But she pushed the thoughts away when Lae asked about her dwelling place. "Well, yes," she said matter of factly. "There is a house on the top, and beneath it, in the sand, are many tunnels and rooms where I and other residents stay," she told him. "I don't know how it works, but it's where I stay, because I have no place else to go, after everything that's happened to me."

[Kitsumi]

"Hey, you didn't get us in trouble." Lae rubbed her back comfortingly. "It's not your fault. There are just evil people in this world. They're the ones to blame."

For a moment, Lae was surprised. She didn't have anywhere else to go? "Well, that sounds...I mean it's nice and all. But don't you miss a real place to live? A place to call home?"

{5-3}

((Sorry it's so short...I'm like braindead right now))

[jobiehanna]

((It's alright. ))

"Well, I do miss it," Nephele said with a sad note in her voice. "It's just, I've been a wanderer ever since, well, it's kind of a long story," she continued. "I don't want to bore you with it. And, it's painful for me to tell." She glanced at Lae, hoping he wouldn't question further. "Ever since an accident a few years ago, I haven't been able to settle down. It just doesn't fell right to me," she told Lae.

Then she glanced up at the sky above them. It was blue and the sun was shining, which was quite the opposite of what she was feeling at the moment.

[Kitsumi]

"Oh..." As much as Lae wanted to ask her further questions, he could tell that she wasn't exactly in the mood to answer them. Despite his curiosity, he let the subject drop. When he looked back at Nephele, he was saddened to see that she looked rather upset. He knew that it was his fault, and he felt horrible about it. "I'm sorry," he said in a quiet voice. "I didn't mean to make you upset."

He watched her glance up at the sky, and followed her gaze. Clear blue sky, puffy, wispy white clouds, and a beautiful golden sun whose rays penetrated him to his core and warmed him. "It's beautiful," he said. "Almost as beautiful as you." He turned towards Nephele and grinned, hoping to cheer her up a bit.

{5-4}

[jobiehanna]

"No need to apologize," Nephele said softly. "You didn't know." As she looked up at the sky, she wondered if he could see her from up there, even though she wasn't sure she believed in such things. Her father figure was always there, in the back of her mind. But he was gone now. She knew she should enlighten Lae to why she was sad, but she didn't quite feel comfortable discussing the old meji with him.

At his next comment, Nephele turned to look at the other kuhna. She could tell he was trying to cheer her up. She just wished she could be cheered so easily once she got into one of her moods. "Thank you," she said, her voice still soft.

[Kitsumi]

Lae sighed, softly enough so that Nephele shouldn't have been able to hear it. He felt horrible, especially since his attempt at trying to cheer her up hadn't worked. He didn't really know what else to do, so he tried to change the subject. "So, which way do we go to get to your...place?" He wasn't sure what else to call it at that moment.

Then, on a second thought, he added, "Or we could go somewhere else, if you wanted. I know of some places that would be much less dangerous where we could get some food, or find something fun to do. If, of course, you wanted to."

{Level 6 Reached}

[jobiehanna]

Nephele felt guilty for making Lae feel bad. It wasn't easy to tell that he was a little upset, but she picked up on it. "I'm sorry," she said. "I really don't like to be this way."

At the mention of where her place of residence was, Nephele wasn't exactly sure if she wanted to go back there. "Well, it'd be nice to do something fun," she said with a small smile. Just the mention of going somewhere else with the sulkuhna made her feel a little bit better. For some reason, the prospect of staying in his company cheered her.

[Kitsumi]

"Hey, don't apologize," Lae smiled. "You're a wonderful person, and everyone has their faults. I have my faults as well, and so does everyone else." He nuzzled her chin with his nose softly.

"Alright, something fun it is!" Lae grinned. "The only thing is...I don't exactly know where anything fun is." He sighed, and was about to sit down to think, when he heard unfamiliar music. "Hmm...I wonder what that is." His ears tilted ever so slightly forward, trying to pinpoint the location of the sound. "Do you want to see what's going on over there?"

{6-1}

((I was thinking about them going to a carnival Does that work? And I couldn't remember whether they were still in kuhna form or not, so I just roleplayed him in that form, and they could change to human for the carnival?))

[jobiehanna]

"Thank you," she said softly. "For the vote of confidence." She smiled just a little bit at his kind words.

Nephele chuckled slightly. "I'm sure we'll find something," she said. But then she heard the music as well. "Sure, why not?" Her ears tilted as well as she tried to find the sound too. "I think it's over there," she said, tilting her head in the direction the music was coming from. "Shall we go?" There was happiness in her eyes once more, now that she was distracted from her previous thoughts.


((A carnival sounds like fun! They were in kuhna form, but human would work better for a carnival, I think. :3))

[Kitsumi]

"Hey, don't get all sappy on me now." Lae smirked and nudged her slightly. "But seriously, you don't need to thank me. I mean, come on, what are friends for?"

"Yes, let's." Lae headed in the direction, and was soon standing in awe of the sight before him. Classic rides such as the Ferris Wheel, the Scrambler, and the Swings were set up along with many rides that Lae didn't recognize. Different stands held all types of carnival food, from elephant ears to polish sausages to lemonade. Venders shouted out to passerby's in an attempt to convince them to play their games, and there was the general sound of laughter and music heard everywhere. "Wow...this looks great!" Lae turned, excitedly, towards Nephele. "What do you think, Neph? I have some keystones...should we go?"

{6-2}

((That's what I thought And yeah, I figured human form...I'm fairly sure kuhna's would have a hard time on the rides or with the games or whatever))

[jobiehanna]

As they got closer to the place where the music was coming from, Nephele began to smell french fries and other kinds of carnival foods on the wind. It immediately struck her as odd, but then again, they were now out of the city. But then the giant Ferris Wheel appeared before everything else, and her suspicions were confirmed. It was a carnival!

Nephele grinned widely at the offer, nodding her head. "I haven't been to one of these in forever," she said happily. "But I think it'd be better to go as humans, don't you think?" At this she changed to her human form, which consisted of a young woman with bright green scene styled hair. Her clothes were just as bright as her hair, consisting of bright orange jeans and a loose hanging top. The necklace still human around her neck. It seemed to have adjusted to her change quickly and easily.

Her light green eyes peaked out from her hair as she brushed it out of her eyes and blushed slightly. "I, uh, like bright colors," she said with a shy smile.

((Yay, but what are elephant ears? o_O I've never heard of them. Also, human form]. ))

[Kitsumi]

Lae nodded. "Yes, you're definitely right. Human it is!" He changed, growing up to around 6'2''. His hair was a bright, almost luminescent blonde, and his clothes consisted of faded and ripped skinny jeans and a tight band tee so worn that the name couldn't even be read on it. He looked down at himself and laughed. "Hmm...I think I need new clothes." He chuckled. Motioning to the skinny jeans, which were red, and the tee, which, despite the fading, still had rainbow colored images on it, he said, "Hey, you're not the only one who likes bright colors."

Grabbing Nephele's hand, Lae began running towards the carnival. When they got the the admission's booth, Lae paid for both of them to get in, and to get wristbands that allowed them to ride every single ride. "So...where to first?"

{6-3}

((Never? Really? They're doughy goodness fried and then topped with delicious amounts of cinnamon and sugar! I love 'em =3 And I don't have a human form exactly for Lae yet, but I'm probably basing it off of Kyle Burns haha))