New Beginning In The Night

Well. Day three is coming to a close and your still sitting in the way area you set up by the shrine. You've meditated. You've prayed. You've almost thrown your familiar through the air at great speed after she scared the gods out of you in a stew pot prank. She looks over her shoulder at you, the normal dismissive cat look replaced by one of extra dismissive posture. Turning back to her task at hand, she uses her magic to clean up the mess she just created. You hope quick enough since you don't want Luna to come visit you in the midst of a mess.

Luna, thank goodness has been back every night to check up on you, and update you on the search for your bodies. So far no luck, but she's told you a few leads they got were promising. She seemed a little upset, it was hard to tell with her. She'd make a great card player. But whatever it was, your gentle questioning wouldn't get it out of her. Nothing to concern yourself with anyway just yet.

"Yet" he muttered to himself. Anytime someone in the temple say 'Yet' it meant they had a good idea of what was going on. And how bad it was going to get. But they weren't sharing it yet. You pause and realize something. You haven't given much thought to anyone back on your world since you got here. It's not like you had a family to worry over you. It was just the temple and the teachers. But you were curious. Time to do a little more digging yourself.

You move closer to the fire and sit down. "Lliandra. Spell". you intone to your cat. With a sigh of happiness she walks to the opposite side of the fire to face you and sits down. You raise your right hand, she raises her right paw. A faint shimmer of white surrounds you two as your souls stretch out of their fleshy confines to meet in the Aether. Well that was the plan anyway.

Your two souls circle around and entwine in and ethereal dance for a few moments before moving down opposite directions down the road at a speed your meat bodies could only dream of. You could do this through a chain of doorway spells, but this would be quicker, and less strain.

The pain of it was everything looked the same. The only difference in the miles and miles your soulself has traveled was the camp you made, so far behind you. Miles of light green fauna below, electric blue above. And the ever brown line of the road. Your about to recall back when you get an image from your bond. A sleeping cat. She's found nothing either. You make a sign with your hand and return to your body.

A strange 'Click' greets you as you return your body. That odd sensation of coming back to the world, reverberating through your bones a little. Your cat looks over at you and stretches before sauntering over to you, sitting in your lap. You rest your hand on her head and give it a little shake. *Irritant* comes through the bond. With affection, and just a hint of apprehension.

"It was worth a try" you say to your feline friend.

She marches a little and lowers her head to take a nap. *Maybe* she returns. *Rabbit tonight?* she asks before nodding off.
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Luna appears to you in much of the same fashion. Although she does seem to walk a little quicker to the fire this time around. You exchange greetings and pleasantries. She sits and you make her some tea. Graciously she bows her head and accepts her cup. Little wisps of magic floating off the bottom as she sets it down in front of her. She looks excited about something.

"I do not bandy words this evening. I come to tell you that we have indeed, found your bodies." You feel a moment of elation. "However" she continues, frowning while holding up a hoof "There is a bit of a complication." She looks down at her cup. "Have you ever heard of beings called Dryads?"

You blink. "Ah. Yes." You clear your throat. "We have them on our world, if the meaning of the word is the same. Lives in a tree? Tends to snag unwary travelers in the forests..." you trail off. "Shit."

"Indeed" she says. "As far as we can tell she found you by her tree and took you two in. There is some strange magics at play here, it's an odd thing, but a strong one. There's a kind of, barrier separating her tree from our world. We can't seem to breech it, and she hasn't come out yet". She looks up at you again, finally. "I am sorry, but there may not be much we can do. This magical shield seems to be on par with mine and my sisters' magics. All we can tell is that you were alive when she took you in."

You scratch your cat on the top of her head to wake her up. She yawns and looks at you sleepily. You update her through your bond as to what has transpired. She gives you a little smile and winks a golden yellow eye at you. *Wake up* she says. You nod and agree. Looking back up to Luna you lay out your plan.

She listens politely. A small frown forms on her face that grows larger near the end of the telling. "Are you sure it will work?" she inquires.

"Not really? But what other choice do we have?" giving a little snort of frustration you continue "Stay here for how long? Forever? If there's a chance out, I think have to take it." Lliandra looks at the Alicorn and gives her a slow nod. Luna blinks slowly looking back over your cat once again.

"When we meet on my world next, tell me all about her?" she asks you.

You snort, barely containing a chuckle. " When we meet on your world, She'll tell you all about herself, herself. She's got the gift of gab". lowering your hand to her rising head she meets your hand for a few ear skritches.

"I have a spell to awaken stubborn or stuck dreamers in certain situations" she tells you. "It might work in this circumstance. I am not sure though. It has not been tried on a situation such as this. I don't know all of the adverse things that could happen. Nothing could happen. Or it could work but only wake you up here? Or you could slam right into the shield and have your entire beings disintegrated...."

You raise your hand, palm out in a gesture of stop, please. "I get the hint" you say dryly. "It may end unwell. Whatever the outcome we appreciate your help" you tell her, smiling. Hoping your pulling off looking confident. Inside your starting to get that 'this campaign is going sideways' kinda feeling.

"I see then. Very well. It's a date." She smiles at you. You never thought an equine could have a radiant smile. But there it is. Almost as bright as the moon on her sides. You compose yourself.

"Thank you for everything, Princess Luna". You tell her while standing up. You give her a courtly bow, and she dips her head to you once, slowly. You gather your things and prepare yourselves while Luna sets up for her spell.

With your preparations complete, cat snug and nervous in your backpack you nod once to Luna. She nods back.

"See you soon, over there." She starts to intone her spell.

The noise of her somatic components are almost deafening. You hear your cat howl in pain. You feel yourself, your being dislodged. You feel the remnants of lunch on your chest in a hot mess. You open your eyes.

You see the inside of an ancient oak tree. A little space made as a home. A being swirls and forms through the wood from the floor behind you. oozing like an liquid being, she forms mere paces from you. Two brilliant glowing emerald eyes greet you as the Dryad appears to you in her full pony form.

*Ah shit*
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