Another Sleepless Night

[The Cedar Witch]

It was dusk, the sun barely making its lazy way onto the other side of the earth. Sunsets on nights like this were never spectacular to Storm; all it meant was that night was approaching, and with night, various other unpleasentries that accompanied it. Sunrises seemed far more glorious to her, ushering on a new day, lacking dreams and certainly lacking nightmares as well.

The Akari girl sighed deeply, taking in ever detail of the vibrant reds and oranges. Her eyes held a sad gray color, tinged with the slightest bit of brown, for her mind was on anything but rest. She hadn\'t slept for a few days now; a great accomplishment if you were to ask her. This had caused her quite a problem however, leaving her in a weak unprotected state. She was confident that she could survive out here in the wilderness. After all, what had she seen for the past few days save a small group of deer, rabbits here and there and the occasional flock of geese?

I can\'t sleep...not tonight... She thought quietly, as though encouraging herself to stay awake. She sat with her back against an old, gnarled oak; hoping the texture of the bark would keep her eyes open until sunrise. The wind came in a strong, angry burst, causing her jet black hair to fly, untamed, into the air. Storm pulled her cloak tighter around her body as the wind died down for the time being, hood hiding her face.

The sun was gone, along with any hope and comfort that she could withstand another sleepless night. She knew deep down that it was impossible for her to stay awake for more than a week, especially surviving on what little food she had managed to find out here. In the back of her mind she wondered if she could find a town nearby, venture out from the seclusion of the forest and maybe find something to eat. Her eyes deepened in the grey shade, traces of brown being overcome by the sorrowful color.

What was she running from in the first place?

[Fell]

Night night night! the cheerful nightmare chanted to himself, his hooves falling in time with each repetition. Journey had decided that he needed to get close to Mother Earth again, and because that was kind of hard to do in the city he\'d come out here. It wasn\'t too long before he\'d just reverted to his truer horse form. After all, horses got along better with other animals than people did. He\'d even had a small songbird sit on his horn yesterday! That had been very exciting.

Wheee! Journey thought when the gust of wind came by, rearing up into it. The sound manifested itself vocally in a delighted whinny that sounded decidedly equine and decidedly ethereal - which was accurate. Journey laughed, a very strange, silvery noise to be coming from a horse, then came back down from his rear and gave a playful buck.

It was then that he noticed someone nearby. Journey\'s ears pricked and he trotted over, smiling internally. He had very warm, expressive, intelligent eyes for a horse - though one might be far more tempted to call him a unicorn, given his horn. Journey stopped not far from the girl, then stuck his nose out to sniff at her. All the while, despite the lack of a breeze, his mane tossed and flowed as though there was one. All in all... he looked like a dream.

[The Cedar Witch]

Storm leapt up awkwardly, jumping back from the new presence. Her eyes flashed randomly, shock and fear plainly written on her face. She scolded herself inwardly for not being able to sense the aura of the creature approaching, and again for being so startled.

A unicorn? She wondered, eyes settling on a curious brown color, bits of red flowing in to show her uneasiness. She inhaled deeply, trying to relax herself. She resisted the childish urge to reach out and pet the unicorn on the head.

No...I must be tired. Very, very tired. She shook her head, as though trying to rid her mind of the strange and random hallucination. Storm turned from the creature, cradling her forehead in the palm of her hand. Maybe walking around would clear her head.

[Fell]

Journey moved his head back slowly nickering sadly. She\'d turned away from him.... did she hate him? The thought made Journey sad, which caused his ears and tail to droop. Still, he couldn\'t give up hope! Not yet! Journey thought a moment, trying to think of a good way to make friends. A sudden idea brought his ears and tail up again, and the next moment found the nightmare trotting to stand in front of her again. This time, though, he knelt. I can give you a ride! I know it! Journey thought happily, tossing his head playfully. He sure hoped she listened.

[The Cedar Witch]

Storm stared, perplexed, at the creature.
"You must be real then...considering I know I\'m not sleeping and I rarely hallucinate..." she spoke aloud, softly, tenderly and maybe even hesitantly. Her eyes were an uneasy red as the studied the unicorn.

What do you want? she thought absently. She never had any sort of creature approach her with such boldness, let alone something that was as rumored to be a prideful, vain, untamable unicorn. Her fingers ached to stroke its majestic mane, but she withheld herself. In the back of her mind she wondered if it could talk, she smirked.

[Fell]

Journey lifted his head, then literally *hopped* in place. Oooh! I don\'t think she knows horse! Journey thought, badly wanting to play with this woman. Only she didn\'t seem to like his horse form very much. Okay then! the little nightmare thought, changing back into his human form.

There was more to it than that, though. Journey didn\'t just *poof* from horse to man. The ground under him seemed to send a glow upwards, and it seemed as though reality bent around him. For a moment, every dream that anyone had ever had was in the air, with them right there. Then his horse form shattered into specks of iridescence, coming back together in what most people knew of as "Journey".

Granted, a very naked Journey. A naked, but widely smiling Journey. "Hi! I\'m Journey!" the rainbow-haired youth said, giving the girl before him a cheerful wave. He looked completely joyous, not that there seemed to be a reason for it. A soft wind blew, causing the boy to wrap his arms around himself. "Wow! It sure is cold out here, huh?" Journey went on, still smiling widely. I hope we make friends! the nightmare thought happily...

[The Cedar Witch]

Storm jumped at the sudden transformation, eyes flashing randomly once again to mirror her fear and confusion. Her mind was screaming caution, but the strange behavior of the boy standing before caused her to relax. He was childish; his personality seemed at least five years behind his age. The fact that he was completely unclothed did not hit her until he began to speak.

“Journey…?” She breathed, flushing crimson, eyes to match her embarrassment.

“Um…you want my cloak…?” she hesitantly began to take off her pitch black cloak, as though exhuming extreme caution with it, as though it meant the world to her. She held it out gingerly, hoping the strange boy would take it and cover himself.

Her mind was whirling. What was this rainbow-haired guy? One minute ago he was a playful unicorn and the next… she couldn’t believe that she was actually awake, but of course her dreams were never anything this…cheery.

And cheery he was indeed, Storm could feel it. His emotions leaked onto her like an overflowing cup. She couldn\'t help but smirk, eyes giving way to a little happy blue.

[Fell]

Journey looked at the cloak, his eyes bright and happy, then grinned widely. The subtlety of her actions and the gingerness with which she held the garment was lost on him. "Thanks!" Journey exclaimed, taking the cloak gratefully. He smiled at it, too, then greeted it with a cheery "Hello, cloak!" before putting it around his shoulders.

The rainbow-haired boy examined the cloak gleefully. "Look! Now I\'m like Captain Planet!" Journey concluded, striking a heroic pose before bursting into giggles. Wide, innocent eyes met Storm\'s own colour-changing ones. "Let\'s be friends!" the nightmare said, offering a hug.

Nothing in his demeanor seemed faked, or suspicious. One had to wonder whether this guy had any sort of emotional subtlety, or whether he was even capable of manipulation. The boy just seemed so... trusting, and open. Like a small child. Like the world had yet to leave its mark on him. In a way, it was refreshng to meet such a creature - it was like there was still joy alive and, apparently, thriving.

[The Cedar Witch]

"...Friends?"  Storm echoed, confused almost, brown eyes reflecting this. She stared at his outstretched arms, not prepared to hug anyone that naked. Not that she was prepared to hug anyone at all at his point. She was very taken aback at the innocence of this boy, if not drawn to him. It was such a stark contrast with what she was accustomed too; hatred, darkness. She shuddered involuntarily.

I don\'t even know what he is... she thought to herself, unsure of how to behave. Why would anyone want to be friends with her? Let alone, someone she had barely just met. She was worthless.

"What exactly are you? I\'ve never seen someone...well...I\'ve never even seen a unicorn before..." she trailed off, hating the sound of her own voice out loud. It was a stupid question, she was talking to an illusion for all she knew. Gods, she had been tired before but this was ridiculous.

[Fell]

"Friends!" Journey exclaimed in return, waving his arms a little bit. He really liked how her eyes kept changing colour; it was really cool! Journey wondered if he\'d ever get his own eyes to change colour like that... I should start working on it, Journey thought happily.

Journey didn\'t care what she looked like, or how she acted. In the nightmare\'s mind, they were already friends. "What am I? Hmm..." Journey said, putting a hand on his cheek as he thought. This is a hard question! he thought, putting on his "determined" face. I wonder if it\'s a *trick* question! Journey paused a moment after that, looking up thoughtfully. I wonder what a trick question is! Journey thought, by now having lost sight of the original question.

One of the feathers tied into his hair reminded him. Journey\'s face lit up. "Oh! I\'m a flower child!" the rainbow-haired boy exclaimed, the hand that had been on his cheek shoooting up into the air triumphantly. Journey smiled at Storm happily. "That\'s what! And I\'m not a unicorn. I think... Anyway! What are you?" the happy boy continued, unperturbed by the fact that he really wasn\'t quite sure what he was.

[The Cedar Witch]

Storm averted her gaze, eyes becoming a deeper shade of grey.

What am I... she wondered silently to herself, turning away from the boy.
A demon? An akari? She didn\'t know. Her spirit form was...not like others. She hated it, it controled her. She didn\'t want to think about it. She turned back to the boy, glancing over him briefly.

"I am just a girl." she replied simply, smiling sadly. How could she answer such a question when she didn\'t even know the answer herself?

She could feel herself growing weaker as the night drew on.

[Fell]

Journey ducked down a little bit, smiling up at her. "Just a girl? Really? Promise?" he asked before collapsing into a fit of giggles. He pulled himself together fairly quickly, still grinning. "You look sad, though. What makes you sad?" Journey asked. Despite his bubbly nature, he sounded as though he genuinely cared and cared a lot. Truth be told, he *did* care a lot.

It wasn\'t that it was his job or anything so much as the fact that he liked this girl. Journey really did want to be her friend, and learn how she changed her eye colour like that. "I like your eyes! They\'re pretty," he told her, not very bothered by the fact that it was completely off the topic of what they\'d been talking about. "Can you teach me to do that with them?" the silvery-haired youth continued, his acid-trip eyes curious and friendly.

[The Cedar Witch]

She glared at him, suddenly angered for no direct reason. Truth be told, she had no reason to be mad at all, after all, Journey was only trying to be friendly. Something inside of her shrunk back whenever he smiled, something that wanted to hate, something that wanted to run. Happiness confused her, his innocence only fueled her annoyance. She bit her tongue, unsure of how to react to this boy.

Why am I sad..? She boiled inside, how dare he ask such a personal question?

The comment about her eyes made her flinch. If anything this was a curse. Something else for people to single her out for, something else to be hated for. Her eyes settled on an infuriating black. She should have meditated this morning.

"It\'s something...you have to be.....born with." she said through grit teeth. "You can\'t learn how..."

[Fell]

Journey could tell as soon as she got angry. He always could... Negative energies flew through the air just as easily as happy ones did, only the negative ones burned. The silver haired boy flinched back at her glare, looking almost as though she\'d kicked him. She only got more upset, though Journey couldn\'t figure out why. He was only trying to be friendly...

Journey perked up a little when she spoke, but... Even though her words weren\'t mean, they had a lot of anger behind them. It hurt Jouney deeply to hear. The silver-haired boy looked down, his eyes filling with tears. His entire posture was a mixture of confusion, hurt, and hope, and he almost seemed to shrink down. "I\'m sorry..." Journey said softly, scuffing the ground a little with his foot.

It wasn\'t a response to her answer, but just a general apology, even though he had no idea what he\'d done wrong. Journey was sad to hear that he couldn\'t learn how to make his eyes beautiful too, but it was worse to know that she was mad. And at him. Well, anything really, but especially at him, because that meant that something he\'d done had made her mad! And that wasn\'t spreading the peace and love at all...

[The Cedar Witch]

Storm had to sleep. Every inch of her body screamed with the desire to close her eyes. Her stubborn refusal to give way to her body\'s demands slowly began to unravel. Her eyes flickered from an angry black to an empty green. She shook her head, as though shaking out the desire to sleep.

Storm looked blankly at Journey, unsure of what to say to him or even if she should apologize for her lack of control.
She knew he hadn\'t done anything wrong but her inability to understand his motives for trying to befriend her was frustrating.
 
She couldn\'t remember the last time someone dared to approach her in such a manner. She was, after all, defective, for lack of a better term. A freak. Her parents had always told her...

She could feel her eyes drooping and did nothing to stop them as she lowered herself gently to the forest floor.

[Fell]

She didn\'t answer. She just... sank. Into the ground. Her eyes changed colour again, too - this time to an eerie green. Oh no! Journey thought with distress, Did I kill her?! That would be the Worst. Thing. Ever. Journey darted down to look her in the eye, then got ready to prod her in the side to check for movement. "Are you okay?" he asked frantically, his welling of tears still present from before, and in fact doing nothing but growing for the moment. If she died, that would be - !

And then, Journey got that feeling... The one of someone sleeping. The silver-haired boy looked down and sighed with relief, slumping down next to her. "You must have been tired," Journey told her gently, looking at her as she slept. Man, did she ever look peaceful...

That was when Journey got the idea - he could give her good dreams! Then maybe she would want to be friends! The nightmate lay his head on her chest cheerily, stepping into her dreams as he did....

((Shall we continue in the dreaming? :3 ))

[The Cedar Witch]

((Completely my intentions XD))

Weak. She had failed again. Storm felt herself slip into the familiar realm of the dream world. It was cold, horribly cold and lonely. The lack of life isolated her - a sponge for emotion and feelings. She wrapped her arms around her body and looked around sadly.

This was all too familiar to her: a corpse strewn landscape, a blood red mist creeping over the land. Each body appeared as though they had been dead for quite some time, and yet there were gaping holes freshly torn out of their chests. As though their hearts have been ripped out of their chests.

She was always alone in her dreams, the area void of every living thing. Ever since she had discovered her spirit form, that fact changed.

Storm brought her knees up to her chin and looked out into the distance. No wind stirred her hair; no wind pushed the mist away. She hated this place.
In the distance she saw a figure, draped in a cloak of blood. She knew that figure.

Suddenly the figure in blood turned, eyes piercing right through Storm\'s. A horrible convulsion ripped through her, sending shivers down her spine and causing her to gag at the same time.

"Hello, Storm. It\'s been awhile..." the figure spoke, simultaneously gliding with effortless speed before stopping within inches of where she was sitting. HER voice was eerie, layered. As though it were her own mixed with some demon.

[Fell]

Journey phased in slowly, only to find himself lying on the ground with a lot of other people. The silver-haired boy looked around, noticing that they were all dead. That made him a little bit sad, but it didn\'t effect him nearly as much as Storm\'s earlier unkindness had. That was because this was the Dreaming, and nothing here was really real. Journey knew that, and so he\'d become more okay with seeing horrible things in dreams than he was okay with seeing them in the real world. Then again, both places felt like home to Journey... this one moreso even than the other, but that\'s where he\'d grown up and lived, and he could only get to this place through other people, so he\'d always thought of Earth as home.

"This isn\'t a happy dream at all..." Journey said softly, closing his eyes and just... thinking, a little bit. The bodies all over the dreamscape healed and began to float upwards, suddenly growing beautifully coloured wings when they were about 3 feet off the ground. Their wings grown, most of them burst into flight, laughing. Some hovered just above the ground, spinning in small circles. Journey watched them all do this, laughing as he did. "Wow!" he said, looking as one shot past him. That was when Journey decided that they wouldn\'t get all the fun; twisting his face up and using just a touch of effort, Journey sprouted his own wings - large, and the same kinds of colours as his hair.

Journey cast a glance back at them, then leapt into the sky with a delighted squeal. He shot around for a couple of seconds before he noticed Storm and... some cloaked lady. "I\'ll rescue you!" Journey called down, because he could tell that wouldn\'t be any good. His words probably should have been lost to all the fluttering around them, but Journey was sure Storm heard him - even if only softly. After all, Journey had wanted her to. His intentions thus voiced, he dove down towards the pair and grabbed storm\'s arm, carrying her off into the sky with him and the rest of the winged beings.

Right now, Journey looked a great deal more regal than he did in actuality. More... full, and wise. Less child-like, though still friendly. Perhaps it was the wings, or the way his hair blew back in the wind. Whatever it was, it was a good sight more impressive than Journey looked back in the real world.

[The Cedar Witch]

Storm, expressionless, looked up at Journey. Her eyes filled with black, invading the whites and taking over the entirety of her soul.

How dare he invade me... she could feel her transformation beginning. To her spirit form. Her skin grew to a dark purple, as though a cancerous cell were spreading through her body. She could feel her fangs poking through as she snarled.

The things that were once haunting corpses sickened her. The fact that they were so flawlessly resurrected when it was plainly not meant to be like that. Rage burned within her, rage that was not her own.

The figure in blood had disappeared, leaving an echoing laughter resounding through her mind. She wrenched free of Journey\'s grip, allowing herself to free fall through her dream.

The instant she was about to hit the ground she spread her newly sprouted wings and gained altitude at a gradually increasing speed. She spotted her first target, a joy filled corpse. With mouth open wide, a frightening expression on her face, she flew with great agility towards the body, latching onto its back with her unusually sharp nails.
The two began to spiral down. The Akari flipped it over so that its chest was exposed to the sky. With a bloodcurdling shriek, she buried her fangs into its neck while tearing its heart out at the same time with her clawed hand.

She released the body, letting it drop like a rag doll to the ground with a muffled thud. She took to the sky once again, selecting her next victim.

[Fell]

Journey was right, she was having a bad dream. Or maybe this was just how she dreamed. Oh well! he thought cheerily. Journey had never seen the harm in dreams. He was a little bit sad when she killed the flying person, but as soon as the thought entred his head, the corpse was alive again, and giving Storm a hug. It hadn\'t traveled there, it just *was* there, in the manner of dreams.

Journey looked around at the ground. "Not very nice," he said softly, doing a loop-de-loop. By the time he could see the ground again, it was a plain of rainbow-coloured grass - it looked more like a surrealist painting than anything else, honestly - especially when Journey looked up to put two suns in the sky (one pink!).

Oh yeah. Definitely surrealist. The fact that it suddenly seemed to be raining flower petals didn\'t help things much, but Journey sure liked it. The Nightmare laughed joyously, spiraling upwards too quickly - after all, who needed physics either?

[The Cedar Witch]

It was almost as though Storm was a completely different person in her dreams (and in her spirit form on top of that). Her expressionless eyes searched the sky for the one who was causing all of the disgusting changes to take place in HER head.

The change in the landscape infuriated her. The darkness was her blanket, misery her pillow. How dare he take such comforts away from her? Yet at the same time, a part of her felt grateful for the sudden change of mood. That part was buried deep inside her human form now. She had no control over what she was doing.

Fangs glistening in the light of a sickeningly cheerful sun, she took off after the boy, the one who thought he was her friend. He would loose a heart now, she would tear it out right in the sky. A demonic smirk grew on her face, changing rapidly into a twisted smile that grew in intensity as she gained speed and altitude.

[Fell]

Journey knew she was coming. It was the Dreaming; Journey knew everything. It made him sad that she wanted to hurt him, but that had happened before too. A subtle shift, just there - and Journey was unreachable. Storm could get close to him, try to hurt him, all of that, but never actually touch him. It was an infuriating mechanism, but Journey felt better about doing that than about messing with her moods.

"Why so mad?" Journey asked concernedly, hanging upside-down nearby. Maybe I should give her a plot...? he wondered, tilting his head to the side. The horizon tilted with him. That could be fun! But... Let\'s see... She looks like she belongs in an action movie! Journey wheeled up, then popped out of existence.

Suddenly, Storm wasn\'t where she had been either. No one was, and everything had changed. The landscape looked like a forest of some sort, and somehow Storm knew it was Halloween. "The mask?" It was a voice to her left - that of a strange frog-ish, lizard-ish quadruped with gigantic golden eyes. Storm knew what the mask was, too - something in the forest. In the forest, and very important.

Journey himself watched from a tree. Maybe she\'ll like this better, he thought, smiling from his perch. He sure hoped so! Journey really couldn\'t figure out why she hadn\'t liked the first place... Journey loved those plains.

((Sorry for the slight god-moding... But you know how it is in a dream, where you just suddenly *know* things? Yeah... Hope you don\'t mind! <: / ))

[The Cedar Witch]

The forest scene gave Storm little comfort. This more so added to her confusion. All of this, however, dissolved as soon as a new voice spoke.

Storm gazed at the lizard like creature with uncertainty.
Mask...? She thought to herself quietly. Something told her that this was a matter of utmost importance, but the details in her mind were vague.

She could feel her body reverting back to its human form, as though the blood-lust demon had grown tired of trying to kill people that would refuse to stay dead. She was thankful for this change, she enjoyed being in control.

"...where is it?" she inquired tentatively, the feeling in her stomach implying that she had to acquire this mask as soon as possible. Yet she hadn\'t the slightest clue where to look.


(( -_-;; at first I was a bit peeved at the power play, I\'m not going to lie. But I guess I\'ll deal since you cut down on the happiness. ))

[Fell]

((Yeah... Sorry about that, but from the way Nightmare power was described, they have complete control over people\'s dreams. And with Journey...? : / ))

Journey began to play "Itsy-Bitsy Spider" with himself, listening to the conversation with half an ear. Maybe he\'d go play in a different part of the forest... One with unicorns and stuff! The thought delighted Journey; they could run up rainbows together!

The giant frog-lizard, for its part, licked its thick lips, then shot its tongue out to catch a fly. "It\'s in the forest," he said, his voice slow and thick as molasses, "Don\'t you remember?" With that, the frog-lizard began to turn, blending into the forest as he did.

A man next to Storm, one that may or may not have been there before, brought a hand to his chin in thought. "Well... There\'s a lot of forest.... Where to, Sir?" he asked, turning to look at Storm with scintillating eyes.

[The Cedar Witch]

(( XD yeah, I knew that Nightmares have that power, but the lack of influence I had was frustrating since I didn\'t know how to react. This is fun though ^^ and journey\'s hippie dream was making me giggle...))


"W...wait!" Storm reached out for the lizard creature as he blended into the trees. The stared into the forest, discouraged at this lack of explanation. She sighed heavily, racking her brain for any sort of memory of where this mask would be. In the back of her mind she wondered where the strange unicorn/boy had gone.


"Well... There\'s a lot of forest.... Where to, Sir?" The sudden relevance of the presence of this new stranger caused Storm to jump, eyes flashing momentarily with shock before settling on a more subtle, uncomfortable red. He did not seem as though he was a threat. The face that he called her "sir" caused her to flinch. It was as though the two should be acquainted, given how informal the man had spoken.

"Um..." she glanced up at him, red eyes locking on his as though trying to place a name.
"Do you have any suggestions, Mr...um..." she trailed off.

[Fell]

Journey looked down at Storm\'s interaction with the man, then covered his mouth guiltily. He\'d forgotten to make sure she knew him! Phooey! the Nightmare thought, scolding himself. The silver-haired boy closed his eyes momentarily, opening them a moment later.

Right. This man was called Mountebank, but he was her subordinate, so it was usually just Admiral. And she was... a leader. Of something. Something important, like the mask. Journey hadn\'t really known what to make her the leader of, but it was important and... powerful! But secret too! Journey floated off of his tree branch, lying down in the air above it. Hmm... he thought, Maybe I need to stick around here... That was too bad, but at least Storm would be happy! Maybe she would be his friend then!

Admiral seemed as though he hadn\'t heard her slip-up. He shouldered a large gun (it actually shot gumdrops, but Journey had made sure it didn\'t look like it) and cocked his head. "We can try that path, Sir," he suggested, pointing to their right. The path led into the thicker, deeper woods, where everything looked slightly translucent - almost as though it were made of pure cut emerald or something like it, though the way things moved belied the thought that they were stone. Here and there down the path were flowers - flowers that looked to be made of cellophane. It was a pun on Journey\'s part, and he hoped Storm would get it!

[The Cedar Witch]

Storm blinked as new information seemed to flood into her head. She was actually important? She supressed a giggle, this dream was so ludicris.

She led the way into the strange forest, still unsure of what the purpose of the mask was but she did know that it was dreadfully important to find it. She pulled her cloak close to her body, eyes a wary brown.

It was mid day, the sun high in the sky, barely touching through the green canopy. Birds chirped absently in the distance, the area lacking of wind entirely. The woods had a strange but cheery feel to it. Oddly, however, this was in a way comfortable.

"...so. Tell me...What is it exactly that we are looking for, Admiral." she stated monotonously, keeping a straight path. She had to get something out of this guy, he seemed like such a stiff.

[Fell]

The Admiral pulled his cigarette out of his mouth, throwing it to the ground and stomping on it. Had he had a cigarette before this? Apparently... "The Mask, Sir. You know the one," he said, looking off into the jungle. "\'Ey!" he cried suddenly, pulling up his large gun and firing at something that moved quickly through the trees. The thing hooted, then darted onwards through the foliage. Admiral must not have hit it.

He was cross, though. He spat to the side, then snorted. "Missed... Damn masks," he muttered, shouldering his rifle again. Journey giggled silently in the treetops above. He had taken the shape of a forest spirit from a movie he\'d seen once - he looked kind of like two potatoes put on top of one another, and the lower one had sprouted small arms and legs while the upper had sprouted eyes and a mouth. I hope he shoots at me next! Journey thought, though he knew it was a silly thing to think. After all, he could just make him shoot at him. But that would be boring! T-t-t-t-tick! the nightmare thought, cocking his head slowly to the side only to have it spring back with a funny noise.

[The Cedar Witch]

Storm blinked, quite perplexed, as the Admiral fired at a mask that she had failed to actually see. Or even feel for that matter. She eyed him narrowly.

"Okay, so we\'re looking for a mask, but you just shot at one?" Her eyes were brown with confusion. "I don\'t understand..." she felt very stupid. His gun was peculiar, though. It reminded her of a board game from her childhood at the orphanage. Candy Land or something like that... She loved that game...

She shook her head out of the memories, turning her attention instead to this quest that had been set suddenly before her in a quite arbitrary manor. She glanced around, the trees seemed to hold their secrets as they tempted the journeyer to come and discover.

Storm couldn\'t help but feel very out of place. She couldn\'t understand how she came to this high rank of being the leader of this...er...group. For the moment, all of this was real, not a dream. She felt as though this was reality, yet she had no recollection, as though she had suffered amnesia in this life.