So, I may have an idea of how to carry on the Elites' plotline. They know where Jaaws was first sighted--the Labryinth Lands. Claaws had the idea that FaFA could track the SAPs down. And Jaaws and the others have drained the tunnels and made a base there.

So what if something happens between FaFA/BIG/The Mutant Army/etc, and the Elites? (We run into their base or something, and talk, and that's how FaFA knows to go to the labryinth. Or something.) What do you think?

Okay, I know it hasn't been two weeks, but it's been ten and a bit days and I had an idea. So I'm going to split Lycaella off. Note to self: I talked about this on Claaws' Plot Thread.

Lycaella~

Breakfast passes quietly. Laeta seems closed off, distant. I leave her be. She finishes and leaves, muttering about having to go to the bathroom. When I'm done with the dishes, I decide to look for her. Butterflies flap in my stomach, encouraging me to move. 

She's not in her room. Her things are gone. No note. Just gone.

I am startled, then panicked as I realize the implications. But there is a shield, a magic barrier over the house; Nygrune and I put it up. No one can enter with ill intentions, unless they are powerful enough to break it. I run outside--look around some more--and check the spell foundation. It's intact. I reach out with magic and test it. Unbroken. She left on her own. Or the intruder didn't intend to hurt her. But she can take care of herself, right? I don't have any way to track her. Detection of a specific past presence is higher level, motions of a presence even more so. I sweep the house once more, attic to basement. She's not there.

She'll be fine. Probably. In any case, I can't worry about it. There's nothing I can do. Unless I ask the neighbors? Mrs. Hawthorne is always watching. I don't think her house got hit. Still, I hesitate. She's not very pleasant. But what else is there to do? 

I step into the street, walk down to the house next to the house next to mine. A curtain flutters in the front window. I catch a glimpse of a shadow moving away. 

I grit my teeth and swallow. She's there. It's kind of creepy. I walk up to the door and knock, my hand already fisted.

There is silence for a moment. I think it's faked. Footsteps, rustling, the lock turning. The door opens.

"Ah, Lycaella Reyquin. What are you doing here?"

I wince inwardly at the use of my full name, mispronounced in grating falsetto. "Hi, Mrs. Hawthorne. I was just wondering--I think my friend went off somewhere without telling me. Did you happen to see her?" 

Mrs. Hawthorne purses her wrinkled lips. "Maybe. Come in, come in, where we can talk more comfortably. I've made cookies. Tell me, what does your friend look like?" 

I shake my head. "No, thank you. I just want to know if you saw anyone at my house."

"Sure, but wouldn't you like to come in? It's awfully cold out." It is fifty-six degrees, and I am dressed for it.

"I'm all right. Did you see her?"

Mrs. Hawthorne harrumphs. "How rude." And with that, she shuts the door in my face.

I turn away. The Hardings haven't seen anything. Neither have the Okinavonts. But I run into John Smith on the way back, and he saw her walking down the street just a few minutes ago. I follow his directions, run all the way to the end, but Laeta isn't there. I return home in defeat. 

She left on her own. She'll be okay. I hope.

Hazel, Trixie, do you want to get started on writing what we planned for the Elites?

Alrighty, it's RP time! @Trixie - I think we're in middle Kyngdom--the first map fragment, somewhere in the woods, probably.

The first part of this RP post is the same as my last one, just as a recap. 

Hazel~

Trixie goes into depth about her experience in the labyrinth tunnels, and we all listen intently. She tells us about the journey deeper, and how Jaaws followed them from behind. She explains about the hypnotized explorers and how Jaaws terrorized everyone in the final cave.

Once she pauses, I ask about Little Crow, Icy, and Eliyana Fur Pawprint. "Did they ever get cured?" I wonder.

Trixie shakes her head, at a loss. "They disappeared midway through. I think they were eventually cured...but I didn't ever find out how."

"Disappeared, huh," I mutter. "I wonder where they went. We should try to find out as much about that as we can."

We continue discussing the labryinth, picking the story apart as best we can for clues.

"It sounds like Jaaws was in there before all of you were," Nieke points out.

"But Trixie said the labyrinth door was the only way in," Ben responds, "and it had been closed for a long time before Charlie and Little Crow found it."

"Maybe there was another way in," Norah offers.

Trixie is doubtful of this, making the point that it would have to be big enough for Jaaws to squeeze through. And the expedition team didn't find any dragon-sized off-branching tunnels, though there were plenty of smaller ones.

Nieke's eyes widen. "Aha! You know what this means!" she exclaims.

"What?"

"Around what month was all this?" she asks.

Trixie gives the answer and suddenly I catch on. "Oh. That's from before anyone knew Jaaws existed. No reliable witness account ever goes past then."

"So," Nieke says, sitting back and looking pleased, "that's where Jaaws comes from."

This new lead is intriguing, and I'd love to discuss it in more detail. However, it's getting dark and we need to finish setting up camp.

We collect some more wood for the fire, turn the hunk-o-junk on its side against a tree to provide a small shelter, and start cooking dinner.

Once everyone's been served, we huddle around the fire and are able to resume the conversation.

---

Ben still wants to join the Elites, right, @Trixie? Maybe that could pop up in the following conversation. (Or did you want to wait a little longer for that?)

600th post! Nothing can surpass the sheer amazingness of this almost-2-years-old thread!