[hider=Quoted][color=gray][i][h3]Simon: The Arsonist, The Spirit-Speaker[/h3]That was when he looked under his foot and discovered that there was a black necklace that was barely visible if the voice had not mentioned it to him, especially since Simon hadn't noticed it when he first entered the gully. Simon picked it up carefully and not wanting to harm it he placed it gently around his neck. 

. . . he emptied the rocks that he had taken for protection out of his pocket and stuffed as many flowers that would fit in his pants. 

. . . As he started to walk he could feel that something had been observing him intensely but as he slowly turned around in a complete circle he hasn't spotted anything besides trees and flames.

[h3]Robin: The Lantern-Bearer, The Nimble[/h3]Robin slowly moved backwards, keeping a steady eye on the rest of the people; she lifted the lantern, and it’s light grew in intensity, mirroring that of the green lantern. The strangers would have to move to their side of the river to escape the fire, but Robin was hesitant to turn back and head into the forest. It was a tricky one that would most likely lead them to disarray. The green lantern that so closely mirrored her own must have some purpose--She stood close to MC and the flower girl, grounded by the determination to discover the truth and readying herself to react at the first sign of malice.

[h3]Eveline: The Silent, The Ethereal[/h3]She nimbly made her way across the branch where the owl eyed her with a mix of annoyance and distrust. . . . A sharp clank of his beak was meet by a hard stare that boaded for little argument as she slowly shifted the owl onto her lap ignoring his disapproving glare as she gently spread the wing out enough to properly examine the poor creature.

'Best not tell him you thought him hapless.'

She chuckled once at the thought before neatly tearing off a strip from her dresses hem, giving the owl an apologetic look as . . . she applied a make-shift field dressing to the wound. The exasperated look on his face making it seem like her efforts were unneeded but as she finished he released her flowers back into her care begrudgingly. A small attempt to pay back the services rendered. A quick shake of her head as the flowers settled nicely back into their place . . . Giggling she carefully allowed the owl to perch on her shoulder purposefully moving slowly as she left the tree favoring the lit path below. . . . Reaching out she tugged slightly on the boy's hand wanting to draw him and the other woman away from this place. 

[h3]Mia-Canta: The Beast-Listener, The Protector[/h3]She could not help but feel that sudden, yet strange comfort Eveline had felt earlier about their little group here. Suddenly she looked up and pointed to the green light. “Light verde need MC, Robin y... 'Senorita Florita Feliz.' Sooooooo... we take!”

. . . “Hello, Senorita Florita Feliz. You take away? No see no more?” she tapped the garland and the shoulders of Eveline's dress. She would take the items if given.

. . . She let out a slow calming breath as she lowered herself into a runners pose.

“Rapido, amigas, no?” MC said, muscles wound up like a spring under massive tension, “mas rapido que El Diablo.”

“Vamos!!” MC sprung away, hell bent towards the bridge.

[h3]Talan: The Wolf, The Solitary[/h3]Rhea was still coughing as she leaned against the bridge railing before Talan helped her to her feet. "Are you alright?"

. . . He felt around for Rhea's hand and trapped her once he found it. With his eyes on the flames Talan's attention to his surroundings was limited which caused him to run into the handle and pull it down with him as he tripped slightly. He didnt pay much attention to it and simply continued on leading Rhea to the green light.

[h3]Kituo: The Lantern-Bearer, The Survivor[/h3]One minute she was there motivating him to continue. The next she was lying with a dart in her neck. Kituo cringed as he watched the girl fall but he did not dwindle on it for too long. Instead, he kept pushing towards the light in search of salvation from the hell that was torturing him.

. . . He continued until he came to a bridge which hung above turbulent rapids. Kituo gulped at the thought of falling in and exhaled before taking another step forward. Towards the heart of the bridge he saw two people - one of them looking familiar.

. . . The purple light still demanded Kituo's attention and he smiled as it beckoned him. . . . Therefore, he decided to approach, his knees wobbling as he tackled the bridge. Hopefully he wasn't making another mistake. Odds were he probably was.[/i][/color][/hider]
[h3]The Perspective of the Green Lantern[/h3]
Fire thundered hot and wild behind Kituo. Its hellish reflection glowed in the roaring rapids. Silhouettes of animals ran crashing through the brush, flung themselves to escape from the fire, were swept away by swirling devouring water. They thrashed underneath the bridge and were gone in the spray.

The bridge was covered in runes that sparkled with each step Kituo took. The green lantern brightened softly. To each side, strings of little round light bulbs sputtered and flickered their meager light as he drew close; they reacted to the lantern's proximity, and faded again as Kituo passed.

Ahead, the dark figure of the monkeybat-slayer stood with another cloaked figure, shuffling and groping for balance on the damp bridge.

Far on the opposite shore, a violet lantern was raised up, illuminating the boyish figure that held it, a disembodied dress, an owl with a cloth-wrapped wing, and a fierce woman in a poncho that flung in the air while she gestured urgently.

The woman in the poncho suddenly sprang onto the bridge and sprinted barefoot toward Talan and the woman.

Talan stumbled over a protrusion in the bridge and then rushed toward Kituo, towing behind him a young woman in a deep cloak and high boots. She screeched something unintelligible over the deafening thunder of wind and fire.

The bridge vibrated under Kituo's feet. Should he look back, he would find that a portion of the bridge -- from just behind his heels to the edge of the shore -- had vanished. Where he had just been walking was now only rushing water. The vibrations stopped as quickly as they had come; the bridge remained solid and steady over the rapids, though it hung in midair above the rapids, disconnected from the shores.

Anise's unconscious body, left behind in the weeds, was dragged into the tall grasses by something unseen. Her feet disappeared into the brush. The nightstick was all that remained of the courageous princess.

Simon appeared out of the fire itself, or so it seemed. He was coated in ash, two masks hung at his hip, and something glowed softly blue at his chest.

The water that rushed under the bridge was shifting. Foamy sprays crashed up over the bridge and clawed at the shores.

[h3]The Perspective of the Center of the Bridge[/h3]
Fire thundered hot and wild behind the green lantern on the shore. The inferno's hellish reflection glowed in the roaring rapids. Silhouettes of animals ran crashing through the brush, flung themselves to escape from the fire, were swept away by swirling devouring water. They thrashed underneath the bridge and were gone in the spray.

Kituo stepped onto the bridge toward Talan. As he walked, strings of little round light bulbs sputtered and flickered their meager light; they reacted to the lantern's proximity, and faded again as Kituo passed.

On the opposite shore, a violet lantern was raised up, illuminating the boyish figure that held it, a disembodied dress, an owl with a cloth-wrapped wing, and a fierce woman in a poncho that flung in the air while she gestured urgently.

The woman in the poncho suddenly sprang onto the bridge and sprinted barefoot toward Talan and Rhea. But Talan was already on his way toward Kituo, and had tripped over the crank in the bridge. The bridge under their feet began to vibrate and clink and clatter.

"Wait!" Rhea hollered, stumbling helplessly after him, weak and dizzy, slipping in the spray of water. "Are you [i]insane?[/i] Who is that?!"

The last few feet of the bridge behind Kituo had drawn under and away from the shore, disconnecting the bridge from dry land. But the bridge remained steady and strong, despite the fact that it seemed to hang in midair above the rapids.

Talan might make out a figure stepping out of the inferno behind Kituo, but at this distance it was near impossible to make out Simon's face. It was clear that something blue was glowing at the younger man's chest. As Simon drew closer to the edge of the water, the rapids changed and swirled and tossed spray high in the air.

[h3]The Perspective of the Violet Lantern[/h3]
Eveline had completely vanished. The owl sat puffed on her shoulder, delicately leaning its bandaged wing against her head. But when Mia-Canta asked for the garland and the dress, the owl understood and flopped and fluttered to the branch of a nearby fallen tree. He sat there like a puff of feathers with glaring eyes.

Images from the owl's consciousness told Mia-Canta that he thought her flopping gestures were as helpful as a three-legged goat, that whatever she planned was insane, and that he would not help her if she got herself swept away by the current or skewered by the pirates in the middle of the bridge. These images were sarcastically vivid. But she might also pick up the owl's very strong desire to protect Eveline. He shifted a little closer to the invisible flower girl, and had no trouble knowing where she was even if she agreed to strip naked at Mia-Canta's request.

Mia-Canta rushed off over the bridge. Two pirates, silhouetted against the brightness of the fire, turned and ran away from her. They ran toward the green light, which was now clearly a lantern held up by a dark-haired boy, who moved steadily toward them. Little strings of lights hanging above the bridge flickered to life as the green lantern passed, and were dark again when left behind.

One of the pirates tripped over a crank but soon picked himself up and dragged the smaller cloaked one along. A female voice screeched something unintelligible over the roar of the rapids and the thunder of the inferno.

The bridge vibrated. From where Robin and Eveline stood, they could see the end of the bridge detach from the shore; the last four feet of the bridge detached from the shore with a click and a clatter of spinning gears; the detached length of metal dipped down and folded underneath the bridge. The bridge now appeared to be hovering in midair over the roaring rapids, with four feet of empty water between the shore and the bridge.

[h3]The Perspective of Simon[/h3]
Fire roared hot and smoky around him; trees crashed behind him, heat scalded his clothes. The gully was long devoured by the flames. But Simon would feet a cool tug of guidance through the brush, toward clearer air to breathe, toward the sound of rushing water. The fire would not destroy him, a soothing reassurance echoed in his head. [i]Trust me.[/i]

Eventually he came to the edge of rushing rapids, and a curious sight. A strong and steady metal bridge hovered in midair over the rapids. Each end was separated from the shore by four feet of emptiness. If Simon wished to get onto the bridge, he would have to jump for it.

There were people on the bridge: Kituo, with the green lantern, walked toward the center of the bridge -- strings of little lights flickered to light above Kituo's head, and went dark as he passed -- while Talan and another cloaked woman ran toward Kituo. Behind them, a tall woman in a poncho ran after Talan.

On the opposite shore glowed a violet lantern, held by a boyish figure. Next to the figure was a very familiar owl, sitting puffed with a wing bandaged.

Anise and Tyaelaem were nowhere in sight.

The rushing water swirled and splashed high, and Simon would have the distinct feeling that the water reacted to the pendant around his neck.

[i]"Hold up the stone, my dear,"[/i] the voice whispered in Simon's ear. She was eager and breathy, longing for the water. [i]"Call them for me, for I have not the strength. Show them what shape to take. Call the spirits of the water, and imagine a beast of strength and speed."[/i]