[Center][h2]Almost there[/h2][/center] [hr] The sky slowly turned to a deep purple as the pair swiftly rode the wind. Gusts of billowing air pushed under the umbrella, pulling the two along quietly -- or what would be silence if not for the faint rustle of blowing fabric and Diana's gentle, and uncharacteristic hum that she so often falls into the habit of reciting. The avatar held the umbrella with a single hand, her body clearly ignoring the effects of extreme speed and gravity as she looked as if she were simply standing, waiting for something; however Karamir wasn't as lucky. The mortal clung to her, the deep chill her body emitted long settling in his skin. The wind buffeted his face and teared at his eyes. His hat had long since been lost. Something about Diana's occasional flickering gaze told him that perhaps this was unnecessary -- but then again, nothing is ever comfortable near here, the quickly avoiding birds were testament to that. Karamir grimaced, but he did not complain. Instead, as they flew, he began to think. And then, he got an idea. He looked up at Diana. “Are we there yet?” he asked in an innocent voice. Diana cackled, as if enjoying the question, "Would you like to find out, dear?" Her voice was sweet, if not laced with menace. Her eyes flickered down to the vast blue below. “Why, whatever do you mean?” he asked in the best aristocratic voice he could manage, recalling the teachings from so long ago. “I simply asked a question.” "So did I!" She guffawed, "Isn't that fun?" She hummed for a second, clearly still very excited to be going home, "Oh I can't wait." “But still… are we there yet?” "Hm?" Diana's humming stopped as she was pulled from her latest reverie. She looked down at Karamir and gave him a pitiful look, "Oh dear, where you struck blind or is this really the capacity of your intelligence?" Karamir said nothing and Diana cackled. Her free hand tapped at the side of Karamir's head, and to his surprise a hollow sound rang from it. Her hand flicked away as if she didn't expect the sound, "Well there you have it!" Her smile curled and he could feel the most annoying itch right where her finger tapped him. Karamir blinked. “How about now? Are we there yet?” "Oh no," Diana's brow furrowed, "Karamir dear, don't tell me you've finally broken?" “You are the one who refuses to answer the question. Are we there yet?” "Oh foo, not this game again," Diana huffed, "No we aren't there yet, silly buffoon." Her eyes flickered away from him and she looked back out to the encroaching horizon. “Alright then,” Karamir said before once more falling silent. A minute passed and Diana suddenly took to her hum again. It was familiar, but perhaps it was just because he heard it so much over the years, but wasn't it familiar the day he first heard it? Diana stopped and cleared her throat. She opened her mouth, squinted, then closed it again -- the hum returning. Karamir opened his mouth once again. “So… are we there yet [i]now[/i]?” Diana sighed and craned her neck to look at him, a cheshire smile on her face, the tips of her sharp teeth clear and occluded together, "allow me to put your wonders to rest, hm?" There was a sudden kink in Karamir's arm and his hands began to cramp, his hold slowly slipping. Diana's smile turned to an entertained grin as she watched the mortal slowly slide further down. Karamir’s eyes widened, and he tried to fight through the pain of the cramp to hold on tighter, but it seemed to have no effect. Through grit teeth, he managed to utter three words. “We… there… yet?” "I would say it's about time we found out," Diana cackled as his fingers finally lost their grip altogether. The wind seemed to change directions as he began to plummet. It screamed past his ears and his vision blurred from the speed of his collapse. The dark dot that was Diana seemed to disappear into the sky above as the great blue below grew closer and closer. Calmly, Karamir closed his eyes and braced himself for impact but of course it never came -- it never does. He felt a slight tug on the back of his shirt, and as a knuckle grazed him -- he felt the sudden urge to vomit, his stomach turning. He nearly did, but managed to choke most of it back down. "Take a look," Diana's voice hummed from above. He opened his eyes. A cool shock washed over him as he saw it in the distance. A great black line overtook the once blue horizon, the color shimmering in and out of focus as if it didn't want to be seen. He coughed, remnants of the vomit still clinging to his throat. “What am I looking at?” he asked. "Tendlepog," Diana said with excitement in her voice. He blinked in surprise. “So we are there, then?” "Almost, it'll be awhile longer." She cackled, "Good thing we know-- or well, good thing [i]I[/i] know exactly where we are going. This is not the place to get lost." She paused and a smile broke across her pale face, "Then again…" Karamir was unbothered by the implication. “So what are we waiting for?” Diana seemed to pause for a moment, pursing her lips as they flew forward. She breathed in through her nostrils, "Karamir, dear." She gave him a patronizing smile, "Shall we discuss the process of movement and how it is used to obtain location or must I really answer such a question?" “Oh by all means, answer it, if you wish.” Karamir said. "You should know I don't wish it by now," Diana grinned and began to hum again, only to suddenly stop "But really, at least you have abandoned your primitive 'what' 'what's you were so fond of." She cocked her head in thought, the hum returning. “Would you mind telling me where, exactly, we are going, then?” "My home! The land of dreams. Did I ever tell you that I'm the perfect dream?" She fluttered her eyelashes, a small cloud of dandruff falling onto Karamir's jacket. Karamir glanced upward at the sky, a look of concentration on his face, as if searching deep into his memory. “No,” he lied. “I don’t think I ever heard you say anything like that. Doesn’t sound like you. You’ve been so modest up until now.” Diana gave one sucking 'ha' and shook her head, "Silly silly." She pursed her lips into a hum, as if letting the conversation end at that. Karamir seemed to let it slide as they both fell into relative silence, Tendlepog rapidly taking over the horizon. [hr] [Hider=Summary] Karamir decides to try and annoy Diana while flying over the ocean. Diana takes a second to catch on, her mind seemingly preoccupied. She drops him and then catches him in time to show him the encroaching Tendlepog. She returns to her humming thoughtfulness and Karamir asks her some more questions but decides to leave her alone, not wanting to pry into what exactly was preoccupying her (and incidentally keeping her from being her usual mean self. [/hider]