[indent][color=gray][i]Hello, Mister Owl,[/i] long, dark lashed lids snapped close over hazel eyes, red-brown eyebrows furrowed together as she spread the wings of her thoughts towards the others back on shore, [i]We will find you. Please be safe. Green and Violet lighted lanterns will hopefully be with us. We will find you and Lil' Miss Happy Flower...[/i]

the flower girl gave one last glance towards the blue specters before leaping from her tree to another, running a hand along the trunk for balance as she followed the fireflies and owl. As she moved the roar of the river and fire seemed to dull, all that she could focus on was the soft sound of her breathing and the soft crunch of bark under her feet. The constant thrum of her heart seem to egg her on after them.[/color][/indent]

The titan panthers plummeted, thundered and surged into the woods. Water foamed and roared and swirled between the trunks of the trees, while Eveline made her nimble way among the branches above. The cool air filled with sprays of water, and though the stars above were shadowed by smoke, a rainbow glimmered in the light of the inferno.

On the opposite shore, the wild watery panthers leaped and darted among the roaring flames. Steam hissed and rose in white clouds with the smoke; charred broken trees emerged, crackling, as the fire gave way. As the panthers conquered the flames, the light dimmed behind Eveline, leaving her with only the pulsing glow of the fireflies and the peeking glimmer of stars to guide her.

The water that had been thrashing the trees below her slowly calmed, and then receded; the tide pulled back, away from the trees and into the ravine where it belonged, leaving behind a carnage of broken bramble, mud, and deep shining puddles on the ravaged ground under Eveline's high path. There was no more sign of the bridge or those that had been swept along with it, whether they were alive or dead.

The forest had been silenced by fear of the flames; the only sounds were the rush of water in the ravine, the creak of boughs under Eveline's gentle weight, and the quiver of the owl's feathers as he led the way through the dark.

And then, he stretched out his talons and lighted, flapping, on a low branch. "Hoo-ho-hoo," he muttered, and he shifted and blinked and tilted his head at something shining in a puddle below. It was a dark stone on a dark metal chain -- and attached to it was a boy.

The unconscious boy was fair-skinned with dark hair, and he wore charred and tattered clothes and no shoes on his feet. The dark chain with the dark stone was around his neck. A crumpled white flower peeked out from the hem of his trousers. A white wooden mask in the likeness of a fox was pinned under his shirt in the mud.

[indent][color=gray]Holding tightly to MC, Robin gripped the hand of the boy, letting the lanterns clink against each other in a moment of what she felt was euphoric satisfaction. She closed her eyes and exhaled slowly, letting the combined, increasing light of the lanterns blind her, as the sound of rushing water and crackling fire roared back to life.[/color][/indent]

While the water sprayed and roared all around, the glass of both lanterns shattered; both lights brightened and blinded like little hot suns.

The thunderous noise of the water became muffled; the bridge no longer thrashed against the rocks, although it still raced among the churning rapids and showers of foam and spray drenched them all.

They careened between the high black rocks of the ravine for hours, or perhaps only a few moments -- time moved at an uncertain pace when the world rushed by as wet dark silhouettes in a flash of green and purple light.

And then, quite suddenly, they were falling.

The bridge flung over the edge of a minor waterfall, snapped the limbs off of a few trees, crashed with a lurch into a tall stoic rock and with a mighty heave dumped its passengers into shallow waters.

The green lantern was thrown from Kituo's steel grip. The violet lantern wrenched out of Robin's grasp. Both splashed and clanged into the shallow water, to rest glowing among the stones.

The wolf mask floated among the river stones, along with a few crumpled white flowers. A pair of spectacles lay submerged in the water.

The trees were scarce enough here among the rocks and brittle brush that the stars shone bright above them.

The lanterns -- full of jagged glass -- had quieted. They glowed in slight pulses, as if breathing, as if enjoying the feel of fresh air. Now that the glass had been destroyed, it was clear to the sight and the touch that these were, indeed, eggs: their shells were slightly rough to the touch, and should they be touched they would glow just a glimmer brighter for it, like a cat might purr at being petted.

But there was something else to distract their attentions.

There was a light not far away: the small, familiar, golden glow of a lit hanging lamp. The warm lamplight illuminated a wooden door, a house, and the faded sign of an inn -- though there were no paths here, and no signs of sound or human life.

To Robin, this place was home. So very far from home.