[indent]Thin whip like branches, covered in dry, pointy bristles whipped past Gregory's head. He shot through a small clearing, dotted with beams of sunlight weaving between the tall spruce trees. His feet carried him over packed earth, with a soft spread of fallen pine needles and other brush. A cool forest breeze raced alongside him, gently ruffling between the messy locks of his hair. He ran a hand through his hair, brushing it away from his eyes. [i]”I need a haircut,”[/i] he thought to himself, running the same hand across the rough bristles on his face, [i]”And a shave.”[/i] He thought about heading into town later to do just that.[/indent]

[indent]Normally he would just cut his own hair, shave his own face. But as of the last two months, he had found himself buying the service more often. It probably had something to do with the barber, a cute girl with bouncy blonde locks and stunning blue eyes. He hadn't asked her on a date, he wasn't even quite sure what he was doing, but he did enjoy her company. Her small, gentle hands as she worked her stylistic magic. [i]”Magic..”[/i] he thought, chuckling to himself. Ironic that the word would still hold some kind of mystery, some sort of wonder. He looked around the clearing he had stopped in, a ray of sun warming his face. He raised up his palm, and the earth around him started to hum ever so gently, an untrained ear could easily miss the noise. A handful of small pebbles rose up around him out of the ground, wobbling as they ascended into the air around him. He smiled to himself, letting the rocks drop back down onto the ground.[/indent]

[indent]He started up again, quickly gaining speed as he reached the edge of the clearing. He vaulted over a dense patch of brush, his feet extended behind him as he caught himself into a roll, keeping his momentum. He was exploring a part of the woods he rarely went to, because of how far it was on foot. The ground in front of him began to ascend sharply, becoming harder and rockier. He had come to where the forest wrapped itself around a mountain, its density unchanging except at the upper most peak and some of the area below that. Somewhere he could hear water flowing, he turned towards the sound, executing a near flawless handstand over a fallen tree. A wide smile spread across his face, he could feel the adrenaline surging through his veins. The area before he dropped off steeply, but instead of slowing down he only pushed himself faster. He sped up a small rock outcropping, putting everything he had into launching himself across the rocky gap below. He was too far, he wasn't going to make it across the gap. Below rocky crags jutted upwards, as if straining to pierce through him. His adrenaline spiked as he began to descend downwards, towards a pointy death.[/indent]

[indent]He reached his arms forward, becoming parallel with the ground. The ground shook for a brief, violent moment as the rocky outcropping behind him ripped free of its natural emplacement. It soared underneath him, propelled by force rather than directly controlled. With a great rumble it smashed into the opposite side, embedding itself into the ground. Gregory tucked his arms into his body, rolling his right shoulder forward as he hit the rock and rolled. He stumbled as he got to his feet, his mind lagging behind his body in half excitement, and half disbelief. [i]”Holy shit,”[/i] he thought, looking at the rock underneath him, [i]”I did it.”[/i] He dusted his jeans off and slipped a finger into the collar of his turtle neck, stretching the material out just a bit to release some of his built up heat. He was breathing hard now, perhaps from the long run, or the exertion of his power.[/indent]

[indent]He sat down on the edge of the rock, exhausted, looking at the steep drop off below him. He knew how reckless that had been, but the scariest part was that even if he didn't have his powers, he wasn't sure he would have stopped. He mentally berated himself, [i]”What would Emily say?”[/i]. She was always his more careful half, the safer side of him, his reason and logic. A sad pang shot through his heart. He shook his head to clear it, willing his eyes to stop watering. He would see her some day, she would understand. At least he hoped so. He laid back on the rock, looking at the sky, dotted with a few sparse clouds. He blinked a few times quickly, attempting to shake the tiredness from his eyes. Emily had been haunting him recently resulting in some poor sleep on his side, perhaps he was feeling guilty about the barber girl. The rock began to vibrate and Gregory shot up into a sitting position. He wasn't using his powers, why was the rock vibrating? Suddenly Emily appeared before him and his heart nearly stopped. She smiled, her hair flowing perfectly like a model’s, an invisible wind causing it to dance across her shoulders. She was transparent, and her small, jubilant giggle echoed across his ears, seeming so close, yet so far away. He stood, his gaze fixed on her, his mouth moved but no words would form. He raised a hand up, motioning for him, he could do not but obey her in his stupefied trance. Then he was falling.[/indent]

[indent][i]”What..?”[/i] He thought, or was he speaking? [i]”No! Stop!”[/i] Gregory commanded himself, but the earth would not move. It was refusing him, letting him fall. His fingers worked fiercely, trying to puppeteer the earth to move. It remained motionless as he fell closer to the jagged rocks below.[/indent]
 
[i]Twenty feet...[/i]

[i]Ten feet...[/i]

[i]Five..[/i]

[indent]He closed his eyes, refusing to watch as the rocks impaled his body. Oddly enough, he stayed that way for a handful of seconds before cracking one open. His breathe caught, or rather, could he even breathe here? He was floating in space, or was it space? It was blackness, and filled with thousands of tiny twinkles, like stars. Except they were all rushing past him, heading upwards to something, while he fell down. He turned himself, looking at the bright twinkles rushing past him. His clothes were flapping against some unknown force, which signified he was indeed falling. But where was the question, or why. The why was less important, as Gregory was more focused on the now. Below him the blackness gave way to a twinkle. The pinpoint of light grew larger as Gregory fell, growing faster, was he moving faster? It grew so big he was sure he wasn't going to crash into it, but he never did. The light grew until it spanned the entirety of the blackness, Gregory watched every moment in utter fascination. The blackness, the smaller twinkles were driven away, replaced by the bright light, the blinding light. He tried to shield his eyes, he put his arm up but the light bent around it, he squeezed them shut...[/indent]

[indent]And looked up to a blue sky above him. Utter confusion swept across his mind, before he laughed outwardly at himself. He had experienced some weird dreams before, but nothing every like that. He took a breath, staring at the sky as an uneasy feeling crept over him. He shook it off as post dream-trip jitters, sitting up. He looked around him, [i]”How did I get here?”[/i] He questioned himself, looking at the grassy plains all around him. He could see the forest beyond the edges of the field, was that even his forest anymore? He stood slowly, taking in his surroundings. [i]”I shouldn't have eaten those mushrooms,”[/i] he thought, playing it all off as a bad trip. Perhaps he had blacked out and walked out here, high out of his mind, or poisoned.[/indent]

[indent]That thought was quickly erased as he noticed movement from his peripheral vision. He whipped his head towards it quickly, his heart leaping. He took another calming breath, it was just a person. No, people, and lots of them. He watched as a handful of people stood up, just now noticing the slight drone of collective snores. He shut his mind down for a second, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. There were too many questions, so many thoughts speeding through it. When he opened his eyes again he felt in control once more. He needed to remain calm, panic was not going to help him. It didn't look as if he was going to find many answers out here, most of those awake looked just as confused as he was. No, his survival instincts kicked in. He had nothing on him, his pack was gone, maybe he had dropped it when he was... transported? Teleported? Whatever. He knew how to survive from years living in the woods, he could ask questions later. Questions would always be around, resources may not. Though he was still cautious of this... place, he headed towards the woodland, slowly. He watched around him, making sure nobody made a move against him, though he would be entirely too curious about their motives. There were others like him, that much was sure. Were these people? He chose not to let his guard down, from the others, or whatever lied in wait in the woods. He needed to find a water source, he would figure out what to do next from there.[/indent]