"... Yeah, there's no-where else that I can see," Arufi said. Her eyes had come to rest on the bubble-crystals. Just what was inside of them? Every time they came near, it huddled up, as if it was frightened... there was something disconcerting about it, but it was hard to say what. After a few moments, the Nem girl made up her mind.

"Before we go up, there's something I want to check on," she said, simply, before walking over to one of the crystals. Leaning closer to it, she peered at the surface, watching the movement inside. So just what was in there? She hoped to find out by doing this. Disconcerting or not, investigating anything that looked strange around here was something she felt was absolutely necessary. What if it turned out to be some kind of clue to where the kids were?