“Chris? Chris! Open your eyes Christopher!”

It was dark; around them all was just a black expanse of nothingness, with this strange girl’s voice coming out of it. A strange mewling sound could be heard from one of the only two figure in this blackness, a strange lavender coloured cat-like creature sat contently on the ground, blinking up at him. It had large pointed ears and big black eyes and a tail that forked at the end. It didn’t seem overly bothered or disturbed by the blackness, it just sat there looking at him, blinking every now and then. The cat mewled again and stood, looking at him expectantly before it turned and began walking away, but took only a few steps before it stopped and turned to look back at him.

“Hurry! There isn’t much time!”

That voice again, ringing out from all around him but with no visible source. Unless it was the cat. But then why would it be meowing at him instead of just talking?

The cat was certainly not slow, once it realised he was willing to follow it began running at a pace fast enough that he would had to jog to keep up. As it ran though the darkness, which was firm underfoot but still disorientating as it had no visible difference from anything else around them a small speck of light appear off in the distance. The cat stopped as it reached the light and once again waited for him. Once he caught up it looked at him, blinked a few times before turning and walking through the white-door shaped object in the emptiness and vanished. There was nothing on the other side of the door, for that is what it looked like, and nothing could be seen through it.

Slowly, very slowly, Chris cracked open a single eyes to try and take in his darkened surroundings. From where he lay he couldn't make out a thing, this place he now rested in, it was nothing more than a swirling cesspool of darkness. Rising up, the boy's hand was instantly pressed to the side of his head, seeking relief from the budding head-ache that plagued his senses, all that while that ominous voice kept speaking to him. “Chris? Chris! Open your eyes Christopher!” Rising to his feet, the boy's hands feel down against his sides, pausing to again take in his rather disheartening surroundings. The entire experience was a little surreal and when he peered downward a twinge of terror consumed his heart, how was he standing on something like this? Would the darkness hold or would it consume him as soon as he tried to take even a single step further?

“Hurry! There isn’t much time!”

The boy's attention shifted and for the first time he beheld the figure of the black cat, chocolate hues narrowing in suspicion at the prospect of listening to such a creature. What exactly was going on? Where in the world was he? Pain again flashed against the edges of his mind. The answer, it seemed, would not be so easily found. He was left with only one choice then and as the mysterious feline departed the boy gave chase, keeping up as best he could. Then, along the distant horizon he spotted a speck of light, a speck which only seemed to grow larger with each passing second. The shape of a door emerged and as the boy approached he slowed his pace. A long white nothingness awaited beyond the door's entryway, from his perception no better than the darkness which he now inhabited. There was a moment of hesitancy, he was leaving this place which at least now was somewhat familiar with him for the complete unknown. . . at leas this time it would be by active choice. Throwing caution to the wind, Chris gritted his teeth, prepared for the worst as he dashed forward, passing through the doorway to the white abyss which awaited.

A hot, dry wind blew through the air, particles of the red dust the covered the terrain were swept along by the wind. Ruby landed confidently on the ground, though she had been expecting the drop. She quickly moved out of the way as the boy that had been following her fell through the door and into the dirt. There was no time for hesitating, however, as she saw a shadow pass over them. Looking up for a moment she barely had time to react as a large foot came down towards the boy. “Look out!”

Ruby ran forwards and tackled Christopher to the ground, landing on top of him as a large creature walked carelessly over the top of them, unaware of their presence. It was at least three metres tall, easily double her height. The creature had finished passing over them but Ruby still held him to the ground as a massive cart it was pulling quickly followed. As soon as it had passed over them she jumped up, looking around before she grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet. And with a quick burst of speed she pulled him into what appeared to be a small tunnel and she pressed him against the wall.

Before he had too much time to react she quickly pressed a hand to his mouth and moved her finger to her lips, signalling him to be quiet. A few long second of almost silence passed before a loud voice boomed through the crater. “RUBY!” The voice seemed to echo all around them, practically shaking the ground. She turned her head sharply and looked out to where they had just come from. “Stay here.” She whispered softly, her voice perfectly matching that of the one that had called out to him in the darkness and the one that had shouted out to him just before he had been crushed.

The girl slowly pulled away from him, turning and walking back out of the tunnel and into the light. Outside, the landscape was indeed a strange one, with walls rising high around them and wide paths caved into the cliff side leading up to the top. There was a large tunnel entrance to the left, which was obviously used as some kind of mining site.

((OOC: just for the record the cat’s purple, looks like this))

A whole host of new information hit the boy like a brick wall: the suffocating heat, the beating wind. What was this, some kind of strange dream? His landing was not the most graceful, loose dirt knocking him from his feet as he tried to right himself. Before he could react, that strange cat thing had transformed and positioned herself on top of him, the two lying completely still. The reasoning, however, became apparent soon enough as a massive creature just barely missed their position with its foot, a large cart following afterward which surely would have taken off his head, had not the cat-girl been there to save him. With the moment of danger passed, Christopher was barely given time enough to think before being hauled off towards a nearby cave, body pressed firmly against one of the side-walls.

Again their bodies were practically inches apart, but by now the boy had registered the situation as being somewhat serious. Her hand eclipsed his mouth and, at least for the time being, he complied with silence, arching a singular brow at her as she motioned with her finger to stay quiet. What was the point? This whole thing was a dream anyway, why the stealth and subterfuge. “RUBY!” Christopher watched as the mysterious girl, Ruby, heeded the call, disappearing from the cave into the open expanse of the outer pit. Deciding it wouldn't do much harm to take a little peek, Christopher inched his way over to the cave mouth, remaining in the shadows as he tried his best to get a glimpse of the area.

Below, in the pit, multivarious races worked endlessly pulling up stones, minerals, and other materials, laboring as they were drawn to carts or buggies. The heat of the mid-day sun beat down upon them and, even from his position in the cave, Christopher could feel the heat of the sun. How strange that was, to feel things like heat in a dream? Still, he'd had stranger things happen in the past, perhaps that wasn't so weird?

There were other people in the area but all were still as they watched Ruby walk into the middle of the pit. “Where have you been, Ruby?” The voice called, though still seemed to have no visible origin. It was definitely a male voice, quite masculine one at that and he sounded amused now, rather than enraged as it had been only a minute ago.

Ruby, didn’t seem afraid of him, though this was simply a very well put on façade. If anything the calm voice was scarier than the angry one. But she merely shrugged casually before replying. “There was a new denizen arriving. I went to collect him and explain how things are run here.”

The very air seemed to lighten at this comment, it was a strange feeling, she could have likened it to feeling to feeling amused herself, had she not been so impartial at that moment. “Very well, you may go. Maybe I will meet this new denizen later, so do not venture too far. Hmm?”Ruby folded one of her arms under her stomach as she bent at the waist and bowed and swept the arm out extravagantly before she turned and began walking back to Max. At the last few steps she ran just a little and she let out a soft sigh before smirking slightly at him.

“That was just a little too close for my liking.” She said as she moved past him. “I think we better get you out of here.” This particular tunnel was very short with a slight incline. All round them one could see, what appeared to be, a small wood log cabin at the end, even though there had been no trees at in some years. Ruby let herself in and walked to the back of the small room quickly. There was not a lot in there to take note of; a wooden table with some chairs around it, a few makeshift beds, a rug on the floor and that was about it.

Ruby was still standing in front of the back wall, which seemed to have nothing special about it, still obviously expecting him to follow.