Who: Emily and Malcolm
When: mid-afternoon
Where: the Fix-It Shop
What: Emily stops by for a visit and talking about costumes.

Once Malcolm had his shop set up, Emily finally gathered enough courage to head over there to visit him. She disliked the idea of disturbing him at work unless it was very important. This was an exception; All Hallow's Eve was fast approaching and she wanted to know if he would be interested in wearing themed costumes together. It had been a while since they'd seen each other and now Emily was unsure if he would be as happy to see her as he had in the past. No, she felt nervous in general as she left her forest cottage and approached the shop after a while of walking.

She was right in front of the door and paused with her fingertips on the handle. Her desire to see him soon overwhelmed her nerves, so she entered the building and looked for Malcolm. "Hi," she said when she met his gaze and smiled shyly. So far, so good, right? She waited near the doorway with her arms moving to cross her stomach, just as something to do with them. "I'm sorry for disturbing you here, but..." She needed to see him, she had to say. "I wanted to visit you." Maybe now she had to throw caution away.

So she did. Emily stepped towards him so that there was little space between them and rested a gentle hand on his chest. Anyone could walk in and disturb them or look through the window, but that was what made it thrilling. She gave him a kiss then, figuring talk about costumes was to happen later, because now she had urges to fulfill. She had been spending too much time thinking and it made her antsy.

Who: Lucinda and Emily
When: Late Afternoon
Where: Market Place
What: Lucinda is looking for Sascha. Can we say T-R-O-U-B-L-E?

Lucinda's feet led her through the market place and the crowds of people still in town at this hour. There wasn't a mark of worry on her face like some people might have seen on other mothers. Instead, there was a fierce determination that set her jaw in place. Never one to draw negative attention to herself, Lucinda stopped by various people and politely asked if any of them knew where she could find Sascha Connolly. She wore a smile on her face as she asked each person, but her nerves began to wear thin after thirty minutes had passed her and she wasn't any closer to finding anyone who knew him or who knew his place of residence.

Pausing outside one of the shops, Lucinda brought her hand to her chest and took a deep breath. She was not going to let this go so easily. She was going to find Sascha Connolly if it was the last thing she did, and she was going to have a very stern talk with the man. Lucinda was not a woman to be trifled with by anyone. Though she was capable of great kindness and sincerity, she was capable of worse against those who tried to mess with her family.

It took a long discussion to get Kelsey to tell her everything, but Lucinda heard all she needed to know about Sascha to have made up her mind about him. Kelsey shouldn't have let the first thing slip if he didn't want Lucinda knowing the whole truth about Sascha. Her husband tried to assuage her, told her to leave it alone and that he had taken care of it, but no, he hadn't taken care of it. Lucinda knew how to properly take care of things like this. Her husband only knew how to keep secrets.

As another person stepped out of the shop she stood next to, Lucinda quickly awoke to the present from her thoughts and approached the man with an open smile on her face. "Hello, sir," she said. "Excuse me, but I'm looking for Sascha Connolly. Do you know where I can find him?" Sadly, the man shook his head and said he never heard of the man. As he walked off, Lucinda let out another deep sigh and spoke loudly to the diminishing crowd around her.

"Does anyone know Sascha Connolly?" she called out over their heads, hoping for at least one of them to answer her.

Who: Warren, Emily and Echo
Where: Marketplace
When: Afternoon
What: Warren gives himself a day off..and meets some new people


Warren was somewhat surprised that though he worked in the market, he never took the time to fully explore the other shops. He would usually just go to the sweets shop, the bakery and the fresh food Pavilion. He was certainly not a fan of being anywhere near the Butcher's. Something about being remotely near the area grossed him out. In the case of the other stores he really just never paid attention to them. The healer guessed it was rather odd since some were probably smack dab between his eyes when he stepped out of the Tailors.

On this day, he took a day off from even glancing at the Tailors, figuring it was a 'good riddance' thing for his coworker. It was a good day to weave both inside and outside of shops. The weather was quite warm for a day of autumn, somewhat like an Indian Summer. He sure wasn't complaining.

The healer walked towards the café and lightly brushed shoulders with a stranger causing him to turn back in their direction before he fully passed them. "Forgive me. I was somewhat daydreaming"

Who: Emily and Sascha
When: Irei and Sascha's water bungalow
When: early morning
What: Emily finds herself in an embarrassing situation, discovers Sascha.... yeah.

( One ticket to Embarrassment City, please. )

Who: Emily, Irei and Sascha
Where: Irei and Sascha's water bungalow
When: early evening
What: martial arts lessons. (You know you wanted more of them!)

Emily finished braiding her hair and told Echo that she was off to Irei and Sascha's place and that dinner was ready, but just needed to be warmed up on the stove. She trusted her daughter to prepare dinner for herself and the twins and she knew that the teenagers would rather have the cottage to themselves, if her experience taught her anything. Echo wished her lots of fun and then Emily left the cottage in the direction of the water bungalows. Ever since her talk with Irei, she looked forward to learning self-defense to protect herself just in case anything were to happen.

Who knew what would happen? It was an awful thought and she tried to push it into the back of her mind. She needed to focus on what she was going to do, and seeing Irei... and Sascha... Emily brushed strands of hair that the wind blew across her face and hooked it behind her ear, ignoring the pounding of her heart. The dancing lessons had gone smoothly and if Irei was as good a teacher as Sascha, she was sure to pick up things quite easily. This was encouraging and within long, she found herself in front of the two's water bungalow.

She knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer. Like with previous dancing lessons, Emily wore a sports bra and sweatpants with a light sweater on top to keep herself warm, even smearing some lipgloss on her lips because - well, she didn't know. Appearances were important and she still wanted to look decent as she was going to be in the company of her male friends. She hoped that the two were just as eager to start the lessons as she was, because it was an activity to keep them occupied, after all.

Who: Emily and Sydni (special guest appearance of Idehr and Maddy)
Where: the library
When: afternoon
What: Lesson planning.

Emily smiled and waved her goodbye as the young children started to leave the library with their parents, satisfied with how the lessons had progressed today. As each day passed, she found them to be bright and absolutely adorable. Most people would probably find teaching young children to be stressful and difficult, but not Emily. She tried her best to make each day as pleasant as possible and that included her behaviour. Maddy, the seven-year-old entrusted to Malcolm and Idehr's care, was very quiet as she found her coat and the sickly expression on her face immediately got Emily's attention. She crouched besides the girl and placed a gentle hand on her arm. "What's wrong, Maddy?" asked Emily in a soft voice.

"My stomach hurts. And my head. A lot." The girl sat on the floor and hugged her knees to her chest in an attempt to ignore the pain and Emily knelt next to her, reassuring Maddy that Idehr was just running a bit late. Maddy made a small sound of recognition, in too much pain to say anything else. The door to the library opened a couple of minutes and the girl raised her head to see Idehr walking towards them. Wordlessly, she lifted her arms to him as a plea to be picked up and the orc complied.

Idehr cuddled Maddy close to him and his worried eyes turned to Emily. "Her head and stomach are hurting, she says. I think she might be coming down with something," she said. Idehr thanked her and she placed a hand on Maddy's shoulder to wish her to feel better before the two left the library. After that, she gathered her books and papers into a pile, slipping strands of hair that fell loose behind her ears. She hoped that Maddy had nothing serious that would worry Idehr and Malcolm, and her tidying the area of the library was not as cheerful as it normally was. Maybe her liking of Maddy was biased because she was with Malcolm, but she was somewhat protective of the little girl.

Who: Chris and Emily
When: Evening
Where: The Plancks' cottage
What: Chris needs to be cuddled by a motherly figure

She couldn't believe he was gone. Two days had passed since his death, and only a day since the wake and funeral, and yet it all felt surreal to Chris. Like it really hadn't happened and this was all some sort of dream, except that it wasn't. Pryce had died, and time (and life) moved on like normal. Chris had taken the death harder than Charlie. She had initially wanted to see Hayate, but she didn't even feel like leaving the cottage. Chris didn't even feel like changing out of her pajamas, and she didn't feel like eating. Her body felt numb despite the dull ache in her heart.

The young girl trotted around the house in her PJs and slippers, shuffling from one room to another like a zombie. Pryce's death had reminded Chris about her own parents. She and Charlie had no idea where their parents were, or if they were even alive. The twins always hoped that they were, and they kept that hope alive in their hearts, but did they actually know? No, they didn't. Chris didn't like to think about the fates' of her parents all that often; it was something that she couldn't answer, and she didn't like that. She would at least have been able to live with the fact that they were alive, and just living in another haven somewhere. Chris could have dealt with that.

But to not know at all? That was the worst.

Pryce's death had gotten Chris to think about those things even though she tried her hardest to not think on them at all. She preferred to live in her fantasy land where everyone was happy, and alive. Sure, the world might have been destroyed, but at least she and her brother were safe. And mom and dad were, too, they just weren't with them. That was happiness to Chris - the reality of death, or potential death, was not.

And so the young girl dealt with it by moping about the cottage. Wanting to see Hayate - wishing that he would feel that she needed him, and that he would come and see her - since she had no desire to get dressed or even leave the house. But he was a vampire, not a telepath, and the chances of him coming to see her were near impossible. She sighed out loud, and huddled into the blanket that she had wrapped around her body. Chris sat near one of the windows, and looked beyond the glass with dull, blue eyes. Her small dog, Wolverine, came up to her and pawed at her leg. Chris looked down at the puppy, and scooped him up into her arms. She was sad, and what she needed most at the moment was a hug.

Who: Emily and Irei
Where: Irei and Sascha's water bungalow
When: mid-afternoon
What: Tea and cookies make get-togethers fun!

Emily closed the door of her forest cottage with one hand and after she had done so, adjusted the plate of cookies in her other. Seeing some of her friends recently, especially so much of Sascha, had her wondering how Irei was doing. It just didn't feel right, not having seen him in such a long time and she had met him first, anyway. There was nothing like eating cookies and relaxing, so that was what she planned to do. Irei seemed like the type who enjoyed calm activities and while he may not eat her cookies, the gesture was still there.

She left Echo washing the floor - one of the lingering chores she had to do for drinking so much. Maybe Emily was too harsh on her for one night of drunkenness, but Emily was so afraid of Echo doing something she'd regret that she couldn't help herself. She didn't want Echo to follow in her footsteps and become a teenage mother, nor was Echo probably the type for that...No worrying about that, Emily told herself as she headed down the path towards the water bungalows. She hoped that Irei was at home because she had no idea what his schedule was.

Irei and Sascha's home appeared on the horizon and her pace quickened. A smile appeared on her face without much thought at all. Emily knocked on the door and waited for anyone to answer. Who could resist an adorable woman with cookies? No one in their right minds, that was certain. Was the flavor right? She hoped so. When the door did open, she held the plate of cookies out for her to see and her grin widened. "Hello! It's been way too long since we last spoke, so I thought some tea was in order," Emily said. "I hope you're doing well." With that, she leaned forward to quickly press a gentle kiss onto his cheek.

Who: Giles and Emily
Where: near the Plancks' forest cottage
When: early afternoon
What: Meeting again and having a serious discussion.

Emily pulled one of the chairs from the dining room outside to the front porch and covered it with a couple of blankets in order to make it more comfortable, adding two pillows. She sat down and covered her legs with another blanket, uncapping her pen and alighting it on her notepad as she prepared to think of more lesson plans for her young class. Every one of her students was absolutely adorable and she took special interest in Maddy because the girl was her direct connection with Malcolm. Unfortunately, concentrating seemed to be impossible at the moment - she'd have to work on lesson plans later when she was in a more focused mood.

Her thoughts wandered as she gazed into the lovely forest. It had been days and still she was in disbelief that she'd actually danced in front of everyone. Needless to say, she wanted to dance again... maybe a slow dance with Malcolm. No one had to be good to slow dance and they needed to do romantic things together more frequently. A familar figure appeared in the distance and Emily saw it to be Giles. It'd been a while since they had their interesting conversation and it never hurt to say hello at least. She rose from her chair, placing the pen and pad on it before heading towards the man. There was something hanging over him that she took a moment to decipher as she didn't know him that well.

"Hello, Giles," Emily said with a smile. "Remember me, Emily? I hope you've been well." If not, she took it upon herself to help as much as possible. There was also the possibility that they would just have a pleasant conversation, which was fine by her. "Keeping busy with fun things, I should imagine?" It seemed to her that he was the type to include a healthy balance of fun and work in his daily routine. Goodness, where was her manners? "And if you'd like some tea or something else to drink, I would be more than happy to make you some." She offered a small but affectionate smile to him.

Who: Marit and Emily
Where: The Plancks' cottage
When: afternoon
What: tea and talking.

Emily hummed to herself as she took the small trunk out of the storage closet and carried it into the living room in preparation for Marit's visit. She looked forward for their afternoon tea and she hoped that they might have a more pleasant conversation instead of talking about someone who was killed. Then there was the whole situation with Echo and Charlie getting drunk at the festival, which she still didn't really know how to handle. Teenagers - she remembered what it was like to be one, but she had to set some boundaries. Chris was running off to meet some friend, Echo and Charlie drank too much and who knows what else would they do? To make matters worse, she rarely saw Malcolm and he seemed worried or --- she didn't know what.

These thoughts were a lot to process on such an afternoon, so Emily went over to the stove to put water in the kettle to boil. She reached into the cabinet to pull out a covered plate of scones she made for the occasion. Part of her was guilty for wasting so many supplies on snacks, but baking calmed her down. She needed a guide, anyone who was able to help her get through these next few years raising teenagers because otherwise she might implode with nerves. No, she couldn't worry; she had a guest arriving at any moment and there were exciting sewing plans to be had!

Emily sat cross-legged on the sofa, thumbing through a book she had little intention of reading. She tossed it to the side and dug through her trunk to choose a couple pieces of fabric she found particularly meaningful. One was from the dress Echo wore as a one-year-old and the other was apparently from her mother's favorite blouse. She wanted to put those into a quilt and with the colors, she hoped that Marit had some pieces of fabric to contribute to it. No doubt if that were possible, they'd create something wonderful.

Who: Open to All
Where: Halfway along the eastern edge of the saltwater lake, directly west of the Abandoned Elven Palace
When: Morning
What: Startling discoveries

ooc: This post is open for ALL people who wish to be a part of this. React in the way your character normally would. There is no right or wrong way to do this scene, just go with it and have fun!

The sounds of the Autumnal Festival echoed until the early morning hours of the next day. There were still some revelers about, drinking wine and playing in the leaves. Some of them were naked – having too much wine did that sometimes – and dancing around without a care in the world. Others were content to just pass out wherever they might have fallen until the effects of the alcohol left their system. All in all, the festival was a success.

Morning dew clung to leaves like small, crystalline jewels and the world smell like an odd mixture of wine and fresh, morning air. The festival grounds were littered with debris, but the fauns and their volunteers weren’t worried about cleaning up the mess just yet. They had to recover from their celebration first – cleaning could be done at any time. Despite the left over party goers, and the sounds of animals awakening in the forest there was a slightly eerie feeling that lingered everywhere.

Perhaps it was due in part to the fog that hovered near the ground this morning. It lingered around the bottoms of trees, and completely covered low lying bushes and shrubs. Some things would have gone completely unnoticed because of it! Thankfully, as the sun rose in the sky so too did the fog.

( And then the fog lifted... )

Who: Everyone!
Where: Just outside of Helicharis at the Festival Grounds
When: 6 PM till ??
What: Autumnal Equinox Festival - It's the first day of Autumn!

ooc: To join in on the festivities, simply comment to the main post. Your entry can be a narrative or open to others. If you are replying to someone else reply to their comment and not to the main post. All activities are open for participation, it is up to your discretion what your character will do.

The past week had been nothing but preparations for the coming equinox that would herald the new season. It was a happy time for the forest creatures as they were the ones that spent hours on end setting up the grounds for the joyous celebration. Wooden lamp posts lit with orange flames bordered the area as well as throughout the entire festival grounds. Each attendee was greeted with a flower garland for their head, neck, or wrist if they desired one.

Fairies had decided to attend this festival as well because of the bright colors that had attracted their attention. There were bonfires all throughout the festival as well and they added warmth to the cool night air. The fiery glow that came from each pyre added a comforting feel to the entire atmosphere, and there were many fauns and fae dancing around each one in a happy manner. They were singing songs and laughing joyously as they pulled passers-by into their happy circle.

Musical fauns played their instruments as they marched through the festival. Fae and fairies flew around the traveling group, singing and humming to the music that resonated in the air. A large stage was set up for those who wished to perform in front of a large crowd be it with singing or acting or any other sort of talent they possessed. There were shows held as well, particularly by those who possessed magic and wished to entertain the crowd for an hour or tow.

Food and drink tables were set up nearby to feed the many attendees with whatever they could think to eat. And wine, they couldn't forget about the wine! There were scantily clad fae handing out the intoxicating liquid to everyone with a free hand. The wine this year was extremely potent and anyone with a weak constitution would no doubt get inebriated with just one cup.

The southern part of the festival held the games geared toward the young or simply the young at heart. Barrels were available for those who wished to roll down hills, piles of leaves were created for those who wanted nothing more than to jump and play in them. Colored sparklers were handed out freely and there were even pegasus rides for anyone who wanted to soar through the skies. There were contests here as well, simple ones that had participants bobbing for apples and fruits and curious prizes, searching for toys in piles of hay, and even pinning horns on a wooden faun.

Contests were set up again as they were just a month earlier. Archery contests and wrestling matches, potato sack and three-legged races. There were various game booths set up as well, such as knife throwing and ring tossing. There was even an area set up for pie eating contests and a Dwarven ale contest where participants could try to out-drink a dwarf.

Fireworks exploded periodically throughout the night and the gleeful sounds of the festival echoed all around. Elysium was a joyful place tonight as citizens celebrated the equinox beneath the near-full moon.

Who: Everyone!
When: 6:30 PM
Where: The Beach, by The Tiki Hut
What: Zane and Amada's Wedding Reception!

OOC: Everyone is welcome to join the party! Start a new sub-thread to interact with others, or keep an eye out for open sub-threads for you to join! Or if you don't feel like interacting, type up a narrative for your character.

The sun's rays shining out from below the horizon signaled the start of the wedding reception to celebrate Zane and Amada's happy nuptials. The area around Loki's Tiki Hut was set up with festive tiki torches that illuminated the entire area all the way down to the rim of the lake. Each lamp was entwined in green vines and white flowers, and the sand here was also 'planted' with green grass to add to the tropical theme. The tables were decorated with floating candle and flower centerpieces and around each centerpiece were several glass blown wedding favors in the shape of sail boats. Each table also had small boxes of clamshell shaped chocolate for everyone to enjoy.

Soft music lingered in the air and though the night sky was filled with stars some of the fae-folk had enticed lightning bugs to come out and provide romantic lighting above the tables and dance floor. Dinner for the guests was set up buffet style with a variety of foods provided by the restaurant in town. Drinks — alcoholic and non-alcoholic alike — were provided by Loki and his Tiki Hut served as the bar. The ever enchanting Faye Capricia had agreed to the last minute request of providing live singing entertainment for the reception. The dance floor was nothing but the soft sand beneath their feet and, as much as it may have dismayed the bride, even the lake monsters joined in on the festivities as they sang their song and splashed around in the water.

All in all it was a beautiful reception with a little bit of everything for everyone to enjoy, and it was the perfect way to spend the evening in the company of friends or with a special someone.

Who: Zane, Amada, Theora, James Pryce, Emily Planck, and guests!
Where: The beach
When: 4 PM
What: Their wedding!



It was right on the edge of sunset, the sky over the lake was the perfect shade pinky-red, casting a gentle light over the waiting beach below. The weather was beyond perfect....just cool enough to keep everyone from being uncomfortable, warm enough to give the nuptials that balmy tropic feel they'd been going for. Not far from the water bungalows on the beach a number of white wooden folding chairs were set up on either side of a makeshift aisle, the sand strewn with flower petals, the edges of the walkway marked off with green grasses "planted" into the sand. At the end was an archway, one that was simple and white, the structure wrapped in an elegant ivy-like plant that wove its way around it. Tangled in the vines were several of the flowers Amada and Zane had selected, the bright blooms standing out against the deep green of the foliage paired with them. People were taking in the sights as they arrived, seating themselves as the time for things to begin drew nearer and nearer. Though they weren't truly needed yet, a few tiki torches were lit to illuminate the area where the ceremony would be taking place.

What few members of the wedding party there were waited at the end of the aisle along with Zane, the evening kept as simple as possible. It wouldn't fit the couple to have had some overly involved event, they just weren't the type. They loved one another and that, not some spectacle, was to be the center of the evening. Set a fair distance off from the actual ceremony space was a little white tent, in which the wedding party had put the finishing touches on themselves before heading out. In it now, Amada waited until it was her time to head out, until it was time to make her way to Zane.

The gentle gold/green of the dress she'd wanted had come out perfectly, the color made even more stunning by the rich tan her already dark skin was sporting. Her make-up was kept simple for the night, her hair pinned back and up off of her neck, a pair of gold earrings Zane had given her for an earlier birthday dangling from her ears. Her feet were bare, given the sand, and as she emerged she lifted the hem of her dress in one hand to keep it from dragging. The other held her bouquet, a bunch of gorgeous white lily-like flowers. Even as she made her way across the sand and towards the aisle, her eyes were riveted to Zane....she couldn't look away, she couldn't have looked anywhere else if she'd wanted to. All she saw was him, waiting for her, waiting for them to be married...

( Zane swallowed past the lump in his throat... )

Who: Emily & OPEN
Where: the cafe in Helicharis
When: Midday.
What: The bridal luncheon for Amada!

After the unpleasantness of the morning, Emily fortunately managed to get the stench off herself with a good shower and slipped on her orange-red dress, letting her hair fall over her shoulders in gentle curls. She rarely wore makeup, but she thought a special occasion like this required some eyeliner and lipstick, with orange high heels as the finishing touches to the outfit. She wondered who would come to the cafe for the luncheon. Even if it was just one other person, they, Emily and Amada were sure to have a lovely time. She was determined to make this as an enjoyable day as possible and that was why she needed to arrive at the cafe before everyone else to save enough tables for the group. Leaving the cottage, but making sure Echo knew where she was going first, Emily headed for Helicharis and its local cafe.

It was a relatively warm, beautiful day and Emily couldn't have asked for better weather. Her spirits lifted even more with the sunshine, Emily found a table in the middle of the group outside the cafe and sat on a chair. She smoothened the lap of her dress and peeked inside her bag to check if the present for Amada was still there because she happened to be paranoid at times. The box containing two necklaces and bracelets was in there as she remembered and she wanted to see the look on Amada's face. Either set would go wonderfully with her wedding dress, Emily had made sure of that. She just knew the wedding would be beautiful and running without a hitch.

She waited for the first person to arrive, wondering if it was Amada or someone else. Her early arrivals had been legendary back in Nashville and maybe she'd start to have a reputation for being extremely early here as well. Waiting did not bother her and she settled in her chair with a novel she hadn't been able to finish in months. Now seemed a good a time as any to continue reading and it was as good as she remembered. The romance was particularly lovely and she replaced the lead man with Malcolm and herself as the heroine in her mind as she read.

"Emily, I have to go," said Malcolm, his dark eyes shining with the intensity of his love that he was too afraid to show her. "If I stay here any longer, I'll put you and Ailill in danger. They're looking for me, will be here any minute."

"I know." Emily pulled him close for a final embrace. "Promise me we'll see each other again."

Malcolm touched her cheek. "We will." It was so sad! Emily's fantasy broke as she couldn't help her throat swelling a little at the novel. She hoped the ending would be relatively happy, otherwise she didn't know if she could take it.

Who: Emily & Echo Planck, Chris & Charlie Jung, Irei Arakaki, Sascha Connolly, and any visitors!
When: Morning
Where: The Plancks' cottage and Irei & Sascha's bungalow
What: An ominous tune lingers in the air despite the sunny and cheerful morning.

The early morning hours started off as peacefully as any other. Birds were greeting the new day with their song, the lake monster was swimming happily in the water, and Helicharis was beginning to bustle with activity. And yet despite the seemingly happy atmosphere something was amiss. It was hard to pinpoint exactly, possibly because the occurrence was so isolated that no one noticed unless they happened by the places on accident.

How often did citizens travel by the waterfront bungalows or the forest cottages anyway? Would they have noticed or even paid attention to the dolls that were outside one particular bungalow? Would anyone think to look inside the darkened window of a nearby cottage to see the dinner party that was already underway? No… no one would look or pay attention. And yet perhaps they should have.

OOC Note - There will be sub-threads for each location and those involved will need to reply to the appropriate sub-thread. Please note that these ARE open for anyone passing by or just visiting the residents in each location. Remember, have fun with it and do whatever you want with it! There is no specific outcome or reaction that needs to be had ^^

Who: Hayate and Emily
When: Afternoon
Where: The Planck's Cottage
What: Hayate goes to see Chris and runs into Emily instead.

The colorful little piece of paper left back at his home had imprinted itself in the back of his mind as his feet took a dirt path towards the forest cottages. The paper had been scribbled with Chris's swirly handwriting, a testament to her true age. There were stars and pink markings and a picture of a cartoon-like figure. She seemed upset. Her thoughts, if her words were true, lingered on the idea that he was angry with her or mad at her. Had he been either of those, he doubted he would have left her alone so easily with no repercussions.

No, he was not angry. If there was any word to attribute to his feelings, it was confused. Hayate was not confused about any great moral question. It was not guilt creeping up on him from the shadows of his mind, the dark corners swimming with things unknown and undreamt of. Hayate only felt confusion towards one thing: the young girl with a cheery disposition and answers to some of life's most wondered questions that not even a great psychologist could answer so firmly and with so much conviction. He was, simply and without a doubt, fascinated by the young human.

Leaves blocked the sun from his eyes, though shocks of light peered through the treetops above his head as he walked along the path. It did not take long before the cottages of the forest area came into view. The path spread out in an abundant array of small dirt roads. Hayate knew which one to take, his sandals kicking up fresh soil wherever his feet stepped. The right cottage met his vision, a quaint thing with an aura of home and calmness emanating from its warmly colored outside walls.

Hayate approached the door and knocked three times. He expected Chris to be here. If not, he might come back later. It was not a long walk for him.

Who: Yolanda, Greg and Emily
Where: Yolanda and Greg's place
When: late morning, after Emily visits Malcolm.
What: Emily informs Yolanda and Greg of Echo's being lost.

Emily racked her mind to remember where Yolanda's house was. Why hadn't she thought of this before? Yolanda was the last person to see Echo from what Emily remembered her daughter saying and perhaps there was some clue as to where she had been heading. She hoped there was some clue, but if not, at least another person knew that Echo was lost. That was comforting, if nothing else. Leaving the Storage Facility, Emily managed to find the house successfully and knocked on the door three times. It was going to be awkward if she disturbed something important but she couldn't help it, this was important to her. She bit her lip and waited for the door to open.

Though she was somewhat calmed from her talk with Malcolm, anxiety still struck her. It was difficult not to have worries about the well-being of her daughter, and she wrung her hands a little as she waited. Being so helpless was a terrible feeling and she never wanted it to happen again if she could help it.