Lady Era was in a good mood, the sun was shining brightly in the cloudless blue sky and there was only the slightest bit of a breeze and plenty of thermals over the thick forest far below her. Valen flew along with her, a nearly full sized dragon now. He had grown quickly for some time, but had now slowed down quite a bit. Over his neck and one arm was the wide strap of his bag, in which he carried his clothing and a book he had picked up in the Library at Taras. She herself had visited the place, but it was hard for her to be in there. Some of the rows, well, most of the rows were too narrow. She had stayed near the more open study areas though and the claustrophobia hadn’t bothered her.

There was nothing like the endless sky though, to put her at ease. There was suddenly a flash of light from below her and she looked down to only be temporarily blinded by… the sun? Putting her hand before her face to block out the light she realized it was a reflection off of what appeared to be a lake. She abruptly dove down to just above the treetops from her much more lofty heights. Her dive leveled out about 5 or so yards above the trees and suddenly the trees gave way to crystal clear water. She spread her wings wide to glide over the water. She reached down and let her fingers trail through the cool water and she suddenly had the urge to go swimming. She had never gone swimming before though… Her gaze shifted to the edges of the lake as she rose higher above the waters. All she need was a stretch of land that wasn’t so over grown.

Valen stayed a bit higher, mildly wondering what she was up to now. He circled high above the lake, keeping an eye on her.

It was quiet...a moment of utter silence, Taima sat cross-legged on a huge flat stone jutting out over the water. Closing his eyes and blocking out the world he meditates, trying to sort out his chaotic life. Getting up and letting his lycan nature take control, he jumps off his rock and into the water, swimming lazily. Seeing a great shadow in the water Taima looks up and sees a large creature fly overhead. Quickly shifting back to human he climbs out of the water and watches the creature fly away. Jumping into the trees he tries to figure out what he saw, only to be distracted by another figure in flight, this one much lower. Trying to stay hidden he watches to see if this new creature is friend or foe.

Kowe sits by the lake, idly swishing her tail in the water, enjoying the feel of its coolness upon her hot fur, as it's been a hot day. She is stretched out upon the grass to lounge and think deep thoughts.

Looking up at the feel of a fish nibbling on her tail, she sees a speck high up in the sky, and slowly, warily starts to get to her feet, all the while keeping the speck in her sight, wondering if it will turn out to be friend or foe.

A bit of rock could be seen emerging from the trees and out onto the lake. It was far enough away that she decided to have a bit of fun. She spread her wings wide and rose up a bit more over the cool waters, then she nearly closed them so that she began a slow fall. She let herself turn sideways, then so her back was facing the water and she could see her Steel Dragon friend high in the sky above her. With a grin she spread her wings once more and completed the turn so she was upright again. She had reached the rock by then and flapped hard to rise up above it before she flared her wings to land on the highest point of the outcrop.

Her feet lighted gently on the stone and for a moment she paused. Then her wings dissolved back into the wind, seeming to fall away like autumn leaves as they dissolved into the air itself. Her eyes passed over the forest for but a moment before she turned her back on the dense forest. She had no urge to enter such a place. She had enough trouble with cities.

She turned back to the open expanse of water and crouched down on the rock’s edge so that her feet stayed where they were and her knees were by her chest. Era was not sure what to do next. This body she possessed was not awakening at all, and those strange dreams were still attempting to affect Era’s own mind like they were a disease. She was inclined to abandon the high elf, perhaps with others of her kind. Having this body was not as beneficial as it seemed and she had yet to come to any real danger in her own hybrid elemental form. Was it really worth the risk?

As she waited for a sound or something to show that whatever danger was past, she slowly crept forward, towards where she'd last heard a sound. Coming to the beginning of a clearing where she had last spied a rock, she padded quietly forward, then suddenly jumped back a bit, as she had seen something she'd never thought possible. The stranger's wings had dissolved as though they'd never been there!

Kowe rubbed her eyes furiously for a moment, trying to make sense of what she'd seen. However, she soon gave it up as a hallucination. Slowly walking forward yet again, she saw that the stranger was crouched down, as though in pain.

Quietly speaking, so as not to startle the stranger, she asked "What is your name? I apologize for interrupting, but I thought you might like some company."

Looking down at the figure now sitting on the rock he previously used, he sees another figure walking towards the first. Slowly climbing back down the tree, he walks forward a little bit at a time. Raising a hand in greeting,he speaks "Hello...how are you on this wonderful afternoon? Was passing by and figure I would extend a greeting." Smiling, yet ready for anything to go wrong, he waits for an answer. Looking closer at the figure walking up, he recognizes her and relaxes somewhat. "Kowe? What are you doing here?" Looking back at the figure sitting down, he wonders if something is amiss.

Era stood quickly and turned to view the two who showed up behind her. They seemed to know each other and she suddenly felt she was interrupting something somehow. She looked from one to the other and back for a moment. “I’m Era, and I’m fine, thank you…” she answered their questions and looked at each in turn in more detail. She was about to ask who they were when her foot slipped on the rock she stood on and promptly tumbled backwards right into the water. She didn’t have time to react at first. Instead she heard the splash and felt the water envelop her. Slowly she began to sink, large bubbles and then much smaller ones rose to the surface above her. For a moment she wondered what she should do now. Swimming wasn’t much of a problem, should she need it she supposed she could fly under water. How does one swim anyways…

The Era realized her real problem wasn’t just delving into the mind of this elf she had possessed and finding out how to swim back up to the surface. Lady Mladen Ornell, the high elf she possessed, didn’t know how to swim. She hit the bottom softly, the air only about four or five feet above her. There were more rocks here and the bottom was filled with stringy looking plant life. Time then became an issue as her lungs began to pressure her, needing the air.

Freezing for a second and watching Era hit the water, he expected her to come floating back up or swim in a few seconds. Instead Taima saw her at the bottom staring back up as though nothing was wrong. Thinking it was a joke at first, he noticed that she had no idea how to resurface. Cursing silently, Taima dives into the water, swimming down to Era. Shaking his head he sets foot on the bottom and kicks off carrying her with him. Surfacing he sets Era down on the rock and looks at Kowe for help.

She looks at Era, and then back at Taima...

"I don't really know what to do. Do you?" she asks.

Suddenly she has an idea. She quickly sits next to Era and places her ear upon Era's chest, listening for breath. After a few minutes, she sits up, and nods at Taima that she's still breathing.

"I think it's just shock...and I think we should help her with what she needs. Whatever it may be."