Author's Note:

Pardon the slight delay. I'll honestly admit to 2 essays due in a week. I'll be back.

Yani cussed. She had no idea where she was, but her clothes were smoking, and the tree was way beyond "uncomfortable" to sit in. She had no idea what happened. Navi had pointed at her. Then she went up in smoke. Next thing she knew, she was hanging from her elbows and knees, in the branches of a very different tree.

She sighed. Didn't matter what she said right now. She was probably miles away, judging by the view and the general tendency these days. Strange how she was getting used to all this magic mumbo jumbo, but after Dominique turned canine and Navi zapped her away, the natural disaster explanations didn't really work anymore. Sure, she could imagine a sudden sinkhole. Why not? And a cave leading to a river wasn't really that rare. But a girl transforming into a dog? Random lightning flashes and teleportation? Yani missed home. She missed her mom.

~~*~~

"...and I say you can shut it!"

"Did you mean... it? Hyuk! I'm blushing!"

"Get off of me, you big poof!"

"So, you do think I'm big."

"Argh~"

Yani woke to voices. To be specific, she was dragged out of her reverie of her very precarious position, high up in a tree, by bickering, and the things they were bickering about... the "big poof" wasn't the only one blushing. Yani felt like her face had caught on fire. She almost didn't open her eyes from fear of being caught, but then she remembered she was still caught in a tree. They would never even notice she peeked.

She opened her eyes slowly, trying not to move. Sunlight was shining into her eyes, though, and as she turned her head to avoid the sharp gleam hitting her straight in the blacks, her neck cracked, sending shocks all the way down her spine. Every sensory nerve re-activated, and started telling her how long she'd been in the same position, and her arms and legs slipped, suddenly numb. For a long moment, she was falling, crashing into, and breaking, several thin branches, unable to move, too surprised to scream. Then, she landed, surprisingly softly, to the sound of an umph.

Silence ensued, stretching on for a full second or perhaps even ten, then laughter. A man bent over in front of her, great guffaws of laughter crashing out of him. Yani felt the ground move, then realized it wasn't the ground at all; she was sitting on a person. Her attempt at rolling off of him failed miserably. Her muscles refused to cooperate. She felt like a stranded, flipped turtle, wobbling on her back. Tears pressed against the corners of her eyes. She was so useless.

"There, now," someone cooed at her. A hand her cheeks, gathering up her tears.

Next thing she knew, she was flying through the air to a soft bed of moss. Only when he released her, did she realize she had been carried over by the laughing man, but he was no longer laughing. "You're not useless, I think," he said, eyes twinkling, "A little tired, perhaps, but not useless."

Something red flared up behind him, and Yani gasped, realizing it was a flame. A huge fire burst from the ground, up towards the canopy, effectively erasing her tree from existence. A roar resounded through the woods.

The man who'd helped her winked, then turned around, hands on hips, and shouted: "Ken!"

The flame... turned, somehow, clearly attentive. The man took a deep breath and said, loud and clear: "Your zipper is open."

~~*~~

Dominique was one happy dog. A dog's life was not the awful thing the term made it sound like. Quite the opposite. As Dominique lay on a soft lap, soft hands fondling her ears, she forgot about the rest of the world, even her new friend, for a few splendid moments. But the owner of the lap was talking, and she couldn't help catching a stray word, now and then.

They were talking about some goddess, and a woman, but the woman might be the goddess, and the goddess might be the woman, but either way, they needed to find her, and... Dominique yawned, snuggling into the nook of a warm elbow. He smelled nice.

~~*~~

Yani wanted to laugh. The roaring fire had blown out in an instant, leaving behind a red-faced man, desperately covering his crotch. "I guess I'm busted," he said, quickly zipping shut his black trousers with a grin. Then he saw Yani, and frowned.

"Pretty, isn't she?"  The laughing man asked, with a sparkle in his eye. Yani could feel the giggle, hanging in the air, waiting to be released. He seemed really cheerful for some reason.

"I wouldn't know," the fireman said, visibly calming himself, then turning a heated grin towards the laughing man. "I am blind, from your radiant looks."

Yani blushed.

Laughing man blushed.

She couldn't help wondering how that worked though. Other than the obvious, she wondered what kind of radiance could actually blind a person. Suddenly, a picture from an old comic book came to mind.

"I hope you're not comparing me to nuclear waste?" giggly guy asked. Hothead paled. Yani blanked. Giggly guy laughed, hard. "Good one, lady!" he half-shouted between his giggles, "Thank you!"

Hothead turned to look at her, and Yani thought quietly: "If looks could kill..."