Gripping the railing along the side of the airship, Carley leaned over it far more than she ought to in order to take in the view. She smiled in spite of bangs being whipped about her face in the wind, though that smile soon spread into an almost arrogant grin. "Higher than the birds, even." She tipped forward even more to stick her tongue down to the skies and land below, then spun about to push away from the railing. Walk so jaunty, she almost appeared to be skipping as she crossed over the deck and towards the bridge. Perched high, the small elf had to climb a few steps to reach the door.

"I'm comin' in, so ya better be decent Gramps!" Carley's tone as she called towards the door was a jestful one. Without hesitation, she grasped the door and slid it open before slipping inside. Shutting it behind her, she reached up to fix her hair and tie it back up properly with a pale blue ribbon.

Standing at the helm and the other magical doodads and whatchamahickeys that were still too complicated for Carley to understand was Orson. Nearly a head shorter than the small 4'10" elf, his stocky stature and magnificent white beard often got him mistaken for dwarf rather than the gnome he actually was. Thick goggles obscured his eyes as usual. Carley often wondered how he could see out of them, as certainly no one could see through them from the outside. She couldn't recall ever seeing his eyes, in fact, as he was never without them. Orson turned from his view of the skies towards Carley and offered her a big gap toothed grin. "You know I'm always decent, m'sweets!"

Playing up the innocent features of her big blue eyes and blonde hair, Carley smiled as sweet as she could to Orson, though it came out more genuine than sickening as it usually did for most. "About as decent as I am, I'm sure..." She chuckled to herself before stepping further inside. "Everything smooth sailin' in here?"

"Sure is, darlin'." Orson nodded once to the elf before turning his attention back to the very large windows that surrounded him, giving him an unobscured view of the airship's surroundings. "ETA to Rhydin is 74 hours- but I marked another path on the map we could take that would make ETA 52 hours."

"Did ya?" A bit excited about the prospect of arriving in Rhydin even sooner, Carley turned towards the wall several maps had been pinned on. A small desk set in the corner was covered in several tools, from simple compasses, rulers, and markers, to things Carley wasn't sure had a use when it came to navigation. An hourglass. Faintly glowing crystals. A peculiar glass device with marks etched in the side, and a thick liquid within - she never could figure out the use for that, or even what it was. Her attention shifted moreso to the maps than tools, however. "Mm..." Her eyes trailed along the new path that Orson had drawn, in a particularly obnoxious shade of red. Finally, Carley gave a disapproving shake of her head.

"Ya can't take that path Gramps." Tapping one of the countries marked off, she turned to face Orson. "That would put us over Aviana, and they have a strict no flight policy. We have to go around them."

Obviously displeased, Orson grunted. "That's a big waste a' time you know. I could get us over there before they even knew we were in their air space, you know." He turned to Carley and smiled. It was obvious he was trying to tempt her into shenanigans.

Shaking her head, she grinned. "Sorry Gramps. Ya know I wanna get back, but it's best we not travel that way. You'd hit a wyvern, CyCy would have to scrape it off the Luinista, and I'd have to explain it all to the king." Pausing, her nose crinkled in distaste. "I bet we'd be fined too. And that's only if you were lucky enough only to hit a wyvern, and not a.. a gryphon or pegasus. They got all kinds of stuff flyin' around there." Carley made a vague gesture with her hand. "Just stick with our original flight path - an extra 22 hours won't kill any of us."

"Bah.." Orson sounded rather displeased, but the smile on his face spoke otherwise. "You're the boss."

"That I am." Carley smiled brightly and posed for added effect. As Orson chuckled at her theatrics, she peered back out the window and nodded in approval. "Since things are runnin' so smooth here, I'll leave ya be. I have to head to Tower 3 and look around with CyCy. He's convinced we can save it and not replace it."

The smile that had been on Orson's face faded, and finally his expression matched his annoyed, gruff tone. "You can tell Cyrail I think he's an idiot. He really want us to be up here when the Tower malfunctions and our gravity goes out?"

Bright blues wide, Carley pointed at Orson and laughed. "That's what I said!"

Grunting again, he shook his head. "I'm telling ya, that tower's a lost cause, kiddo." Turning to face Carley briefly, he nodded sagely. "You'll see."

"I suppose I will..." Trailing off, Carley lifted a hand to wave in farewell. "See ya later Gramps. Don't let yer blood pressure get too high thinkin' about it." Turning, she slid the door open and stepped back out on the deck, careful to make sure she shut it properly behind her.

Having wandered to the side of the ship, she trailed a hand along the railing as she walked to the back of the airship, a little more careful in her movements now, being so close to the edge. It would also be most unfortunate if she was caught up in a propellar... Neither Orson or Cy were pleased when her beret had clogged one up, a couple months back. Still, the memory made her giggle to herself.

Approaching Tower 3 with caution, the sight of it had her sighing. Even from the outside, the metallic, cylindrical 'tower' looked in worse condition than the other two. Metal was dented, and mana panels didn't glow as radiantly as they should have. Even the propeller perched atop it didn't seem to spin as fast as the others. "Maybe Gramps is right..." Secretly, she had been hoping Cy was right in being able to fix it. Carley hated the idea of having to spend so much money to replace such a big part on the ship. "Gussyin' ya up might have to wait, Luinista..."

Sliding the door open that lead into the tower, Carley stepped in and as always, shut the door behind her. Grin on her face, she called out in a sing-song voice. "CyCy, Gramps says yer an idiot."

Carley's eyes widened a little as they followed Cy out of the Tower. "Are ya sure you should just be chargin' out there if yer not sure!?" Regardless of her own statement, she huffed and followed him out onto the deck, making sure to keep close to him- which really meant she stayed behind him, just in case there were pirates or other nasties abound. Looking around, it wasn't long before she took notice of various debris and chunks of metal and wood around the ship. Not falling, but suspended in the sky. For a moment, she nearly panicked, thinking it was from the Luinista, but closer inspection made it clear the wood was much darker and older from that of her own airship. "Whoa..."

Cy had noticed the floating debris, of course, but his focus had quickly gone to what was in front of the Luinista. Another airship. The wood was definitely far older than that of the Luinista. In fact, it was cracked and chipped in many places. Some of the metal pieces looked rusted. Inwardly, Cy wondered how the thing still flew. He couldn't see anyone on the deck of the ship. With no apparent danger, the elf turned and called out loudly toward the bridge. "Nice flying, old man!" He wasn't too concerned if Orson actually heard him or not.

In spite of the situation, Carley actually managed to chuckle at Cy's words, though it was more of a nervous chuckle than anything else. "Well, at least it's not pirates..." Stepping away from him, she wandered towards the railing and leaned over it a bit to catch a better look of the airship they had hit. "I'd almost say it's been up here a while - doesn't look like anyone's been takin' good care of her."

Cy followed after Carley and paused at the railing. "Careful, boss." It always made him a little nervous when Carley got really close to the railing along the ship. Or the propellers, for that matter. After his couple words of caution, he looked over at the other airship again. "You're right. Doesn't look like anyone's been on that vessel in quite a while. Bad stroke of luck on our part, I s'pose."

Leaning away from the railing, Carley offered Cy an apologetic look, but it wasn't long before she was grinning brightly. "Maybe it's not.. Might not be bad luck for us at all, actually." Before she had a chance to explain, however, she was cut off by a slew of curses and the stomping of feet. Orson had apparently been outside of the bridge to inspect the damage. Now he was heading their way.

"I'll have you know my flying was just fine!" His ire was directed at Cy. Seems he had heard him after all. "That ship appeared outta nowhere!" He turned to point accusingly at the ship that obviously hadn't been moving at all.

He opened his mouth to say something to Carley, but he turned when he heard Orson. "Yeah? It's more likely you're getting senile and forgetting how to fly than that thing coming out of nowhere." He thumbed backward toward the other airship.

"Senile!? Boy, if you think you can do a better job, why don't you-"

Already tired of the arguing, as it happened rather frequently, Carley groaned quietly before sticking her fingers in her mouth. Whistling as loudly and shrilly as she could, annoyed looks were shot to both Orson and Cy. "The both of ya knock it off right now! You can argue later if ya want, but now isn't the time." Bright blues shifted from elf to gnome, hoping they could come to a truce for the moment.

Cyrail, naturally, had been about to make a smart remark to Orson. However, after hearing Carley's whistle, he glanced between her and the gnome. He conceeded with a nod. "Right you are." He glanced at Orson again and then back over to the other airship.

Orson grunted but nodded his agreement as well. With a sigh, Carley nodded to both men. "Alright. Just gimme a moment to think..." Turning to face the airship, she absently leaned against the railing as she pondered their current predicament. Not just running into the airship, but the fact they only had so much airtime left before Tower 3 failed. "Okay." She turned back to face Orson and Cy, smiling once again. "Gramps, I'm gonna need ya to make sure the Luinista is put into stasis properly so we don't drift. Then I need ya to check on the cargo workers and the cargo itself. After that, evaluate the damage ya caused in yer collission and set about to fixin' it." Her smile took on a peculiarly innocent quality as she peered up at Cy. "CyCy, we're boardin' the ship."

Cy sighed a bit, but then lifted his shoulders in a shrug and smiled. "Kinda figured I was gonna get roped into doing that." He glanced over at the other vessel once more, then over at Carley. He nodded.

Orson, not liking the idea one bit, started shaking his head. "I dunno m'sweets, I'm not so sure that's a good idea. I don't think it's safe for you to board that ship. We don't have any idea how unstable it is."

"He's got a point, boss." Cy had to admit that. He glanced at Orson for a moment. "But, it wouldn't be a bad idea to put the other ship into stasis. If we ran into it, it's possible someone else might hit it when we're gone. They might not be so lucky as to stay in the air. Don't really care to have that sitting on my conscience." Already, Cy was moving to grab the mounting bridge from a small compartment on the deck itself.

Carley hadn't even thought of that, but nodded just the same. "See?" She gestured towards Cy for Orson. "And while we're over there we can look for spare parts to use in our Tower. If we're lucky, we can fix what we need to fix and head straight to Rhydin without any stops. We gotta make the most of our time since we only have about thirty hours of airtime right now." Before Orson could voice his surprise at hearing that, she stepped towards him and leaned down to kiss him on the forehead. "I love ya and value yer opinion Gramps, but I am the boss here, ya know. It'll be fine. CyCy knows what he's doing." She smiled to the gnome confidently.

Cy didn't bother to glance back at the other two. He was busy attaching the bridge to the front of the Luinsta. Once he had it affixed atop the railing, he pushed a small button on the end facing him. Gears clanked as the metal extended out to touch the other airship. Cy wiped at his forehead. "Thing's heavier than it looks."

Orson glanced aside to Cy and grunted, but nodded to Carley. He knew he couldn't argue the matter. "Just take care of yourself, okay?" Grinning at the small elf, he patted her arm a couple times before setting off towards the bridge to start carrying out his orders. However, he paused along the way to address Cy, his voice kept low so Carley couldn't hear him. "If anything happens ta her, I'll have your head, boy."

"Yeah, yeah. Don't get your beard in a knot." Cy muttered that to Orson as the gnome passed. He hopped up onto the railing and onto the mounting bridge with ease. He didn't seem to be bothered by the fact they were so high in the air. "All set, Carley."

"Mm? Oh! Right!" Carley jogged towards the front of the ship. "Sorry CyCy, ya should have let me helped you out." She smiled up at him, but as her gaze lowered to the mounting bridge, it faltered somewhat. In all the months she had the Luinista, she had never used the mounting bridge so high up in the air before, to board another airship. "That's.. safe, right?"

"About as safe as it can get. Don't worry, it's not going to wobble or anything like that. Watch your step, though." He started across the mounting bridge in his regular stride, seemingly ignoring the danger of falling.

"You make it look so easy..." Carley murmured to herself as she watched Cy crossing the bridge. "Okay, it can't be all that tough." Taking a deep breath, she ascended the mounting bridge on hands and knees. However, the thought of standing up was a little.. overwhelming, so she simply started crawling towards the other side. "Slow and steady wins the race."

Cy turned back to check on Carley's progress once he'd stepped aboard the older airship. He managed not to laugh, but he did crack a smile. "Just take your time, boss. Don't need you falling or anything like that."

"Yeah, I'm tryin' real hard not to do that." She glanced to the side of the bridge and made a face at the seemingly endless skies below. "Geez, it looks like a person would fall forever from this height. That's gotta be the scariest way to die..." She shuffled along further, but stopped near the end of the board. "A little help, CyCy?" Carley hesitantly raised her arm up and extended a small hand his way.

"Course." The taller elf backpedaled a pair of paces to the mounting bridge. He grabbed hold of Carley's hand so he could help her finish crossing. "This gal's seen better days. I wonder how long she's been adrift up here."

Thanking him in elvish, she gripped his hand tighter than necessary before hurrying the rest of the way so she could hop off the mounting bridge and on the deck of the airship. That was an activity she didn't want to do again any time soon. Exhaling in relief, she relinquished Cy's hand and peered around. "Dunno... but it is obvious people haven't been around for a while." Pausing, she glanced aside to Cy. "What do ya think happened to the people on this ship?"

"Hard to say. Especially with the ship still up here in the sky." He placed his hands on either side of his waist for a moment and then started forward. The deck had lost nearly all of its luster. The wood looked like it'd come from dead trees. The sight made Cy frown a touch. He pulled his wrench from his pouch and hefted it into his left hand. "Well, we better hurry."

"Yeah, I suppose we should." Carley pointed towards the front of the ship as she followed behind Cy. "The bridge will probably be up front. I hope this ship actually has controls for puttin' it in stasis." A particular and familiar scent caught the elf's nose. Pausing, she sniffed at the air and very nearly frowned.

"That makes two of us, boss." Cy continued on the deck in the direction Carley had pointed. He was unaware she had paused until he turned his head to glance back in her direction. "Something wrong?" Mild concern was in his tone.

Almost distractedly, she glanced back to Cy. Carley was about to try to explain it, but it all sounded rather ridiculous in her head. With a chuckle she shook her head. "No, it's nothin'. Just my mind playin' tricks on me, I guess." Bouncing on her feet, she looked around again. "While yer checkin' out the bridge, I'll look around and see if this ship has anything like our Towers." It was the main reason she had boarded the airship, after all. "And hopefully the parts aren't as trashed as the rest of this ship."

"You got it." Without further ado, Cy moved off toward the bridge. His pace was quite a bit quicker than it had been. His dark brown eyes searched for the entrance to the bridge when he neared it. He found a rusted metal door with a hoop used to pull the door open. He tugged on it, but it wouldn't budge. "Blast it. Rusted shut I s'pose."

Meanwhile, Cy was busy trying to figure out how to open the door before him. He didn't think physical force was going to do the trick. There were no openings to put his wrench in for leverage. Instead, he put his right palm flat against the door. He held it there as he whispered words in elven. A blue pulse of energy blasted the door wide open. It was quite apparent the door wasn't going to be closing again anytime soon. Since Cy figured the ship was abandoned, that thought didn't bother him.

He stepped past the doorway and into the bridge. He searched around with his dark brown eyes. He could really see nothing out of the ordinary nor anything of use. The helm was all but gone. Only a single piece of wood, the base, remained of the wheel. Empty wooden boxes lined the walls of the room. The floor was covered in a thin layer of dirt and other filth. The elf sighed quietly to himself and muttered. "Guess I won't be finding anything here." He tapped his wrench against his leg.

A sound caught his attention. He couldn't make it out at first, even with his sensitive elven ears. He frowned slightly. For a moment, he thought that perhaps his mind was just playing tricks on him. He shook his head and smiled. That had to be it. However, the noise became much louder and more distinct. A little girl giggling. "There's no way a kid could survive in this place..." Confused, he turned back toward the door, intending to leave the bridge. However, he found that he was no longer on the bridge at all.

He was in a lush forest. Surrounded by the colors and scents of spring. The ceiling had become treetops. Rays of sunlight penetrated the canopies and lit the forest floor. Immediately, Cy was suspicious. "An illusion?" He began to doubt his conclusion as he moved forward. He recognized the forest. The name of his village was a simple one. Hurin Taure. The Hidden Forest. His kind preferred to be secluded from the other races, though it was not born of ill will. The laughter had stopped.

Cy turned, only to hear a cheerful cry. "Osi'Tan!" A little girl threw her arms around Cy's waist and laughed with delight. Her hair was a dark brown, very much like Cy's. Her eyes, however, were the color of a bright silver. Cy was frozen in place for a moment. It couldn't be real, could it? He could feel the girl hugging him, see her happiness in seeing him. "Morwen?" Cy's tone still held some surprise and disbelief. The girl released her hold on Cy and put little hands on her hips. "No one else would call you uncle!" Her stance reminded Cy of his sister.

It had to be real. Cy wanted desperately to believe it. He had not seen his family in many years. He reached down and scooped Morwen into his arms. He hugged the little girl tightly. She laughed and squirmed. "Put me down!" Cy smiled. Differently than usual. It was a tender smile, filled with emotion. "All right, Morwen. Down you go." He set the girl down on her feet. "Come on, Osi'Tan! Dinner will be ready soon!" Morwen ran off, her dark brown hair and pointed ears swaying in the light breeze that swept through the forest.

There were a few that Cy was close to, but Morwen had always been special. The little girl had held a place in Cyrail's heart since the day she was born. He watched her grow, slowly. Always, he looked out for her. When she would run off into the forest, it was always Cy who went to find her. When Morwen had a secret to tell, like where to find the best berries, Cy was the first she told. She was curious as well, always interested in whatever machine Cy was tinkering with. Of course, his sister didn't approve of her daughter learning anything about machines. She was usually quite angry with Cyrail when she found out he was showing things to Morwen. The memories made him smile, even so.

"Huuurrrry!" Morwen's voice broke Cy out of his thoughts. He laughed lightheartedly. "I'm coming, Morwen. I'm coming." He picked up his pace to follow after the little girl. As they neared the edge of the village, Cy could smell something very distinct. Wood burning. He got in front of Morwen and began to look around. Fires, everywhere. Suddenly, there was screaming. Shadowy assailants fell from the treetops, attacking the elves after they landed on the forest floor. Cy looked around again, searching. He had to hide his niece, but he also had to fight. Morwen was already confused and near the verge of tears. She didn't understand what was going on.

Cy took her to a nearby tree. The trunk was hollowed out. Normally, it was used by the village's scouts when they expected something to be coming toward the village. The fact that no one was in it left a greater sense of dread in Cy's stomach. He ushered Morwen into the hollowed out tree. "Stay here, Morwen. I'll come get you soon." Before the girl could say much of anything, Cy placed a spell on the opening of the tree. He hoped it would keep the enemies from finding her. When he stepped back a couple of feet, it appeared to be just an ordinary tree. It would have to do.

Cy sprinted forward into the village. What had once been homes made from the trees were now huge pillars of fire. The red glow was all the color that could be seen within the center of the village. A creature landed near Cy and swiped out with a long blade. Flexing his wrist made the center of his glove glow briefly. A barrier of mana appeared just in time to deflect the blow. Cy whirrled his wrench around and caught his assailant in the head. It dropped immediately.

"Cyrail!" He heard a familiar voice scream his name. He could see his sister and her husband, surrounded by the creatures. "No!" Cy sprang forward, evading attacks as he ran with all his might. It wasn't enough. Anguished cries rang out above the other noises. Cy completely stopped for a moment. Anger twisted his expression. He screamed with rage and charged at the assailants. Caught in his emotions, he didn't have time to consider why they had fled.

Even though he knew it was far too late, he ran to his older sister. The mana barrier faded away. He dropped his wrench. He knelt down quickly to shake her. There was no response. The life had long since left her eyes. The same was for her husband. Tears ran down Cy's cheeks as he looked around. The fires continued to rage. There was only one thing he could do now.

Protect Morwen.

He ran as hard as his body would allow. As he neared the entrance to the village, he could see the little elven girl. She was crying and screaming as one of the shadowy figures pulled her from her hiding place. Cy kept on running, straight toward the creature. He slammed into it with such force that it lost its hold on Morwen. Cy pounded his fists into the creature's face repeatedly. All he could see clearly were the eyes. Mocking him. When his rage began to subside, he ceased his attack and turned to check on Morwen.

Standing near her were four other figures. The girl was on the ground. No longer breathing. Chittering laughter echoed in Cy's ears. The assailants seemed to be shaking in their amusement. Cy's eyes erupted into a pure white glow. His anger was fueling his magic. "This... this can't be happening!" He yelled as loudly as he could. A shockwave of mana rippled away from his body. It obliterated everything. Or so he thought.

When the glow left his eyes and he could see again, Cy stood in what had once been the bridge of the old airship. He'd blown the room wide open with his spell. He looked around and shook his head. "None of it...?" He came to a realization rather quickly. He had to find Carley and get the hell off this vessel.