The hooded boy walked slowly through the dim forest. As he trudged down the little-used path, the brush nearby shifted as unknown creatures scurried about. The tall trees loomed overhead, only letting scant shafts of sunlight through. The boy walked walked through, taking each step with deliberate purpose. He occasionally and took a moment to survey his surroundings, as if to search for something. He continued walking, taking slow, steady steps, going deeper into the dark forest. A faint twitter made the boy stop once again and look to the skies, visible through a clearing in the trees. The twittering became a little louder, and a small red bird soon appeared in the sky. The boy manoeuvred his gloved hand out of the folds of his thick brown travelling cloak. He brought it up to his face and pulled off his hood, the fabric falling back easily to reveal the boy's shiny blond hair and bright blue eyes. The blond boy looked up and held his hand out to the sky. The little red bird flew low and gracefully landed on the boy's hand. [color=yellow]"Welcome back, Robin."[/color] The boy said, smiling. [color=yellow]"How was your search?"[/color] The bird twittered to the boy, as if it was talking to him. The boy listened quietly, as if he understood. The little red bird seemed to finish and the boy smiled brightly. [color=yellow]"Great, we're almost there."[/color] He said. [color=yellow]"Thanks, Robin."[/color] The boy brought his hand up to his shoulder, and with a little flap of its wings, the little red bird hopped off of his hand, settling on the boy's shoulder like it was at home. The boy smiled as the little red bird settled in, once again appreciative for its company. Next, the boy brought his other hand out from under his cloak and cuppped both around his mouth. [color=yellow]"Blade! Robin's back, and I know where we're going now!"[/color] He called out. A nearby shifted and a small, sleek black shape hurtled out of it, landing on the ground covered in leaves. The boy laughed cheerfully and went to retrieve his dark friend. The small black shape got up to its thin feet and shook off the foliage attached to its feathers before letting out a hearty [color=black][i]caw![/i][/color] The boy chuckled, crouching down and offering his left hand to the crow. [color=yellow]"Come on Blade, we're almost there, I promise."[/color] He said, smiling. The crow huffed and hopped onto the boy's open palm before jumping onto his gloved wrist. The boy rose, smiling while the little red bird twittered a greeting and the crow responded with deep warbling. [color=yellow]"Let's go, guys, the exit's just over there."[/color] The boy said. The birds cooed in response as the boy started walking. The boy smiled contentedly, happy to be on a journey with his friends. [hr] As Levi and co travelled through the forest, they made some light conversation. It was perhaps ill-advised to do so in an unknown forest, but the creatures in the forest were mostly solitary, and they knew not to try fighting two magical birds and a human. It was mostly due to genetic fear. The great war of ages past had long since instilled a fear of man and bird in the beasts that remained. This was a great boon for the group, as they were weaker than they appeared. A young boy travelling with his young bird friends. Robin and Blade hadn't the strength of other birds yet, and Levi himself was quite young. It was a blessing that the creatures of the forest avoided his group, solely for their membership to an opposing species. The same could not be said of the creatures that weren't of the forest... As Levi walked, the brightly lit exit soon emerged from behind the countless trees. [color=yellow]"Look, it's right there!"[/color] Levi said, pointing it out with his right hand. Robin twittered cheerily where she stood on his shoulder while Blade warbled contentedly on Levi's left arm. But as Levi began walking to the exit, he suddenly noticed a small shrine just off the path. Curiosity got the best of him, and he went to investigate. Robin twittered nervously and blade warbled his disapproval. [color=yellow]"Don't worry, it won't take long."[/color] Levi assured them. Levi walked softly up to the shrine. It was a ramshackle affair, covered in moss and plants. The design was intriguing, like nothing he'd ever seen. It was quite out of place in the dark green forest, it seemed to be made of light gray stone, the likes of which couldn't be native to the region. It was curious, as there had been no signs of any ancient civilisations that might have put the peculiar shrine there, nor were there signs of any humans having ever lived in the dark forest. However, the most curious thing was the rough stone in the center of the shrine, as if the entire thing was dedicated to the single curious, bumpy stone. Levi reasoned, however, that if any stone had reason to be enshrined, this particular stone might just be the one to be so. It was beautiful. Levi had seen the best gems the country could offer, and every single one paled in comparison to the one before him. Not only was it visibly completely pure despite its roughness, but it also had a seemingly impossible depth to it, bringing a feeling of flying through distant skies, simply while one was studying it. As he looked in it, the colours shifted like the movement of thousands of stars. Levi got the feeling that he was looking at something few people would ever see, and as he tilted his head, he could see even more. It felt like he was looking at something far away, similar to when he looked through a telescope, only so much bigger. It felt like he could look at it forever, studying the dark surface, counting each pinprick of light like the stars in the night sky. [color=black]"CAW!"[/color] Blade screeched. Blade's screech had snapped Levi out of his trance and he glanced quickly around, surprised at Blade's sudden outburst. Robin twittered a warning as figures burst forth from the undergrowth of various shapes and sizes. Levi cursed his inattentiveness and backed up towards the shrine. Blade jumped off his arm into flight as Levi reached to his back for his crossbow. Pulling the ornate gold-plated weapon free of his cloak, he quickly pointed it at the approaching shapes who outnumbered him heavily. The figures stopped, completely surrounding Levi, revealing themselves to be roughly dressed men with crude weapons. [color=yellow][i]Bandits![/i][/color] Levi thought. Blade hovered at Levi's side, waiting for orders. Things didn't look good for them. A large man with an eyepatch and axe walked out from the crowd and turned a gap-toothed grin towards Levi's group. [b]"Lookie here, boys!"[/b] The bandit leader said, grin getting wider as he spoke. [b]"Looks like we got a big catch!"[/b] Levi took aim at the approaching bandits, but he only had one light arrow. Robin twittered nervously while Blade eyed the bandits around them. There was only time for one shot, and if he took care of the leader, maybe the others would leave... [b]"Give up! There's 20 of us and one of you!"[/b] The bandit leader said, reading Levi's expression. [b]"Kill him, boys!"[/b] Levi took aim at the bandit leader, preparing to shoot as the bandits charged. He only had one shot, so he had to make this count. Robin twittered in alarm and Blade prepared to strike, but Levi called to them. [color=yellow]"Robin, Blade! Fusion!"[/color] He yelled. Robin and Blade turned to streaks of red and black, vanishing into Levi's gold plated crossbow before it emmitted a blinding flash of light and stopped the bandits in their tracks. The light faded off to reveal the boy and the crossbow as before, but the crossbow had a large metallic crow mounted there, as well as what appeared to be a red telescope. [color=yellow][i]Got to make this count...[/i][/color] Levi thought. As the bandits backed up in trepidation, Levi took aim at the bandit leader and stepped back to make the shot, just as he was about to fire. As he put his foot down, however, it slipped on a stray rock, forcing Levi off balance. Then everything slowed down. Levi turned as he reached back to grab something to regain his footing. The bandit leader roared in triumph and sent his men to attack. Levi's hand reached something hard as his head turned. When Levi's hand grabbed the hard object, Levi's eyes saw it. It was the stone. [hr] Suddenly, the all too far-away scenes in the stone sped towards him. The forest and the bandits disappeared beneath the stone's dark countenance and the ground flew away from Levi. The lights sped past his eyes, some close, some far. They were gone in seconds, and despite Levi's attempts to see them, he could barely glimpse things as they passed him. As Levi sped through the stone's space, unsure of where he was going. He shut his eyes at the glare of a particularly close star when the air was sucked out of his lungs and the pressure in his ears reached their zenith. All too suddenly, it stopped, and Levi was met with complete silence. Even then, Levi was afraid to open his eyes. It was only until he felt a fresh freezing wind did he realise that he felt the ground beneath his prone body. Levi slowly opened his eyes, finding an unfamiliar area. He quickly rose to a sitting position, hoping his eyes were just playing ticks. What greeted his eyes was a worn mural of a strange creature, in the eye of which was the stone that had started it all. And snow. Snow as far as the eye could see. He glanced around, trying to get his bearings, but found he couldn't. The land was different, the ground was different, even the sky was different. While it was possibly just the weather, Levi felt like it was more than that. The sensations he felt when he touched the stone and the thing she saw... Levi knew that he wasn't home. Levi got on his feet, pulling his arms free of the snow drift piled on him. His right arm came up, still holding the crossbow, but the crossbow was normal. Levi panicked when the crossbow came without his friends and frantically glanced around. [color=yellow]"Robin! Blade!"[/color] Levi yelled desperately. For a few worrying moments, Levi heard nothing but the echoes of his voice before - [color=black]"CAW!"[/color] Levi heard a familiar cry and turned around to the welcome sight of a familiar black shape, with another equally welcome familiar red shape on its back, coming in from the sky. Levi cried out in relief, dropping his crossbow and opening his arms wide. Blade flew into Levi's open arms and Levi wrapped them both in a tight hug. [color=yellow]"I'm so glad you guys are alright!"[/color] Levi said, smiling in relief. Robin twittered a happily within Levi's arms while Blade made a muffled warble. The trio's reunion was cut short, however, as another cold wind made Levi shiver. The birds hopped onto his shoulders as Levi pulled up his cloak. As soon as it was up, Robin dashed into the snug cloak, pressing against Levi's neck. Blade squeezed in the opposite side, turning to poke his head out next to Levi's face. Levi brushed both of them with his hands, their bodies pleasantly warm against his head. Despite the added body heat, the cold wind still chilled Levi himself. His clothes weren't made for the cold temperatures. He certainly wouldn't freeze to death, however, and the clothes were warm enough to serve quite comfortably. If it got much colder, however, it would be another matter. Levi refastened his crossbow to his back and shut his cloak up as tightly as he could. That done, he looked around and realised that there were others around him, a little ways out. They looked strange, and Levi had certainly never seen them, nor anyone like them. He was in an alien world, with no idea how to get home. [color=yellow]"Where in the world are we?"[/color] Levi asked. Robin twittered nervously and Blade said nothing. They didn't have any answers either.