<div class="floatleft">(http://data.whicdn.com/images/17088347/large.jpg)<br/>(http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/digimonat/images/f/fd/Pagumon_t.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20140820145802&amp;path-prefix=pt)</div><strong>Name:</strong>Elias Wright<br/><strong>Time:</strong>? ? ?<br/><strong>Location:</strong>The Deepwood ---> Skyrock<br/><strong>Tagging:</strong>Pagumon (NPC), Mei, Nyaromon (NPC), Kayla, Pokomon, Morgan, Caprimon (NPC), Open.<br/><strong>Warnings:</strong>Intense PDA. Possible over-protective hoarding of hugs.<br/><br/><hr/><br/>They trudged in silence through the forest as the sun grew gradually higher in the sky - at one point, Elias attempted to figure out the time from its positioning, only to realise that without knowing the length of the days on this planet, he couldn't properly map the position to any real Earth-equivalent time - even Pagumon's apparently usual incessant talking muted after their near-death experience. He couldn't speak to what Pagumon was thinking - or dreaming, as the case may be; the steady breathing next to his ear and the blessedly sweet silence with which he was gifted seemed to suggest that Pagumon had opted to sleep off his exhaustion - but he knew what was running through<em>his</em>head...it was the same as what was always running through his mind when he and Mei were separated, what always occupied his thoughts when schoolwork and monster hounds weren't demanding his full attention...what he hadn't been able to stop thinking about since the day he was old enough to actually<em>have</em>comprehensible conscious thought, and what had tortured him every day of every year they had been apart; Mei. Mei, the meaning for his continued existence, the only person in the world he cared about and who he knew cared about him...she<em>was</em>his world, and he wouldn't get her off of his mind even if he could.<br/><br/>Right now, however, it was all he could do to remain calm and breathing steadily; they'd never been separated quite like this before, and it - truthfully -<em>terrified</em>him. Was she ok? Was she safe? Where was she? If she'd been spat out in this strange world, too, then had she managed to find other people to keep her safe? Had she been met with an annoying little ball of fur like him? Knowing her, she'd love having a pet that could talk to her...and knowing her, she'd make friends with it as soon as it said "Hello." She was so...so sweet and friendly and innocent like that, it made Elias want to wrap her in bubble wrap and then sellotape her to his side, just to keep all the bad things in the world from getting to her...but he couldn't do that, not really, and it made him worry. He and Pagumon had only just managed to escape Dobermon, so what if something even bigger and nastier attacked Mei? Would she be able to escape, to get away, or...He shuddered in horror at the thought, a small feeling of cold despair pooling in his stomach at the idea. And what if she didn't have the idea to go to Skyrock? How would he find her, in this new, unexplored, unknown world? What would he do if he<em>never</em>found her, if he wandered the rest of his life without-<br/><br/>He stopped himself.<em>No.</em>Mei was ok. She'd been luckier than him, and she was waiting for him at Skyrock, probably worried sick about his wellbeing. He was going to get there, they were going to meet up, everything was going to be fine...and then they'd figure out the specifics of where they were, and how to get home, together. Together, or not at all. Thankfully, the river seemed to have spit them out much further along the path than they'd started, effectively giving them a shortcut to their destination; whereas Elias had previously thought that the walk would take them a good few hours - possibly even until nightfall, assuming that the day / night cycles on this planet were anything at all like Earths - the river had shaved that time down to maybe one, if the size of the looming pillar of rock was anything to go by...it didn't look that big from afar, but as he got closer to it, he began to appreciate it size and scale. From this distance, he could already tell that the pillar of stone was a good mile or so in diameter, probably several miles in circumference, and extended into the sky as far as he could see, the pillar continuing long after his vision failed him...at least, he thought so. He wouldn't know, if his vision failed to see that far, now wouldn't he?<br/><br/>In any case, the pillar was now a mere few minutes walk away, and it wasn't long before he finally broke through the trees and found that there were no more blocking his path, the forest behind him cutting off sharply as it touched the bank of yet another wide body of water...it looked still and peaceful, but Elias knew better than to trust the surface of a river or lake...there could be any number of creatures or currents lurking beneath the impenetrably reflective surface of still water, and his screaming muscles protested at his continued walking, let alone the prospect of<em>swimming</em>again, especially against a strong underwater current. On the other side, what looked like a ruined village - dilapidated walls, collapsed stone roofs, what looked to be the remnants of a well and more than a few scorch marks that were only just visible through the creeping ivy tangled around the fallen bricks and stone of whatever was here beforehand - stood between him and the Skyrock. He tried to peer through the ruins to the base of the Skyrock, but several walls and ancient-looking remains of buildings blocked his line of sight. He grimaced, looking left and right, his vision alighting on an old, ruined stone bridge just a short way away...it looked damaged and unstable, but...well, it was better than trying to swim, right?<br/><br/>He made his way over to the bridge - a wide stone affair, big enough for two lanes of Earth traffic to travel across in better days, with high stone railings on either side, but more than a few collapsed sections of the floor and what looked like loose stones and wavering sections of footways - and drew in a slow, steadying breath...it looked unstable, but he'd have to risk it. He placed a foot gently against the stone causeway, testing it with his weight hesitantly before - after determining its stability - slowly walking his way across, testing and prodding every section of floor before he committed to it, making certain to keep to the side of the bridge, banking on the edges - where the supports were - being more durable than the central path. He skirted his way around several holes in the ground gingerly, and besides almost having a heart attack when one of the stones beneath his feet felt like it moved, he managed to pick his way across safely, finding himself suddenly amongst the ruins of whatever town had been here what looked to be<em>at least</em>centuries ago. He looked around carefully, trying to see whether there was any sign of an ambush by another Digimon...but there was nothing.<br/><br/>No sign of animal life at all. No birdsong, no rustling in the undergrowth, no buzzing of bees or wasps going from flower to flower...there was nothing but an air of disquiet and unnatural silence, the only sounds the rustling of the leaves in the wind - and even that sounded muted, if that was at all possible - and nothing there but Elias, the (still sleeping) Pagumon...and the stone walls of ancient, dilapidated buildings. Elias shivered a little, worry over Mei momentarily forgotten as he took in just how...disconcerting this place was, just how creepy it was not to hear animals in the middle of a forest, even animals from off the island - the forest was literally thirty seconds walk away, and he couldn't hear any birds or animals from it? - but it quickly returned as he realised...he couldn't see Mei. Could he? He looked around, furiously searching the surrounding area for that shock of red hair on a tiny, beautiful body that would tell him that his MayMay was somewhere nearby, straining his eyes to try and see towards Skyrock...and his heart leapt into his throat with reckless abandon as he saw something. Small, distant figures, three of them human sized and several smaller dots - Digimon? - clustered around one side of Skyrock, just visible around the curve of the pillar. He took a step forwards, then another one, then another one, quickly picking up speed into a jog as his heart pounding in his throat, blood screaming in his ears at the possibility, his muscles screaming in protest at the sudden resumption of strenuous activity, protests that were promptly blocked out and discarded by his brain, which had one and only one priority on its list at that moment in time;<em>Mei.</em><br/><br/>He came closer and closer in his jog, the figures getting bigger...bigger...and there! His heart soared and all tension and exhaustion fled from his body as he felt an adrenaline spike like never before upon seeing the beautiful face of his beloved MeiMei, peering in surprise at one of the other figures...a male. He didn't like that. His protective, possessive impulse kicked in; He didn't like<em>any</em>male he didn't know speaking to Mei, but in a strange world like this? No, he was<em>not</em>getting any time alone with Mei if Elias could do anything about it. He grimaced, noting the other girl...less of a threat, but still, Elias didn't trust either of them. The sooner he got over there and made clear that she was<em>his</em>and under<em>his</em>protection, the better. He sped up, wanting to close the distance as quickly as possible, wanting - no,<em>needing</em>- to feel her in his arms again, feel her breath on his skin, her body fitting snugly into his own so he<em>knew</em>that she was ok, that she was real, that she was finally safe in his arms again. He drew a deep breath as he ran, and let it out in a single, loud bellow across the previously silent clearing.<br/><br/>"MEI!" The sound reverberated around the walls and ruins, echoing in the silence...he got a distinct air of disapproval at disrupting the quiet, but he didn't care. He shouted again, and Mei's head whipped around...and then she was running too. He broke into a sprint - Pagumon suddenly falling from his back with a half-asleep, startled yelp of shock as he bounced off the ground, but Elias didn't care; Mei was right there! She was ok! She was safe! She'd had the same idea he had, and he'd managed to - against the odds - find her in this vast, unknown world! - and met her only a handful of feet away from where she had been talking with the other two - him having longer legs, being able to run faster and him already being up to a decent speed meant that she only had to run a very short distance - gathering her into his arms forcefully. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close, trapping her against his body as he buried his face in her hair, hugging her tight as if needing to feel her squished into his body, wanting to seal her against it and never have her leave it again...his heart pounded so loudly that he thought she must be able to hear it. His hands moved, one hand moving to her waist, one to her cheek, lying across it gently-but-firmly, possessively.<br/><br/>He pulled away and, without saying a word, dragged her head upwards and captured her lips in an aggressive, passionate, relief-and-love-filled kiss, claiming her mouth with his aggression, doing it as much as a show of "She's Mine" to the other two as it was about showing<em>her</em>how worried he was over her. He kissed her hotly, fiercely, his tongue invading her mouth to greet<em>her</em>tongue as a long-lost friend and lover, before he finally pulled away, breathing hard. He could hear Pagumon's indignant huffing coming up behind them, the movement coming to a stop as something butted against his leg. Pagumon said something - something about "How dare you drop me, you moron, warn me before you do that, are all you Humons so inconsiderate, etc etc, blah blah blah," but he ignored it for the time being, tuned it out, Pagumons grumbling becoming white noise as he looked at Mei, their foreheads resting against each other. He smiled, relief and love and finally-disproven worry etched into his face.<br/>"Oh, Little One..." he murmured quietly, "I'm so happy you're ok...I was...<em>so worried</em>about you..." He looked her over quickly, head to toe...he noticed, slightly "uncomfortably," that her uniform was wet, her shirt clinging to her curvaceous, gorgeous body tightly, her shirt a little see through...<br/><br/>He glanced at the other two - how<em>dare</em>they see her like this! Only<em>he</em>was allowed to oggle her! - and then back at her, undeniably attempting to avoid looking down...he was worried, he was scared, he'd had a near death experience...and now he was relieved, pressed against his darling MeiMei, familiar feelings of protective possessiveness over her rising...a heady concoction that made concentrating on anything other than pushing her against the Skyrock and ravaging her right then and there to show her how happy he was that she was ok difficult, to say the least. He forced himself to concentrate. "<em>Are</em>you ok, MyMei? Are you hurt...did...<em>they</em>do or say anything to you?" He glanced at the other two humans, then back at her, fighting to keep the lust out of his eyes as he just...enjoyed her proximity. He was breathing hard, both from the run and the adrenaline that demanded he do something with it - preferably<em>her</em>- keeping her pulled against him tightly. She was ok...he wouldn't hide his relief over that fact even if he could, and he couldn't stop himself from beaming at her happily...she was ok, and she was never leaving his side again. Now that they were together again...now, he could finally start caring about where they were. Not that it mattered; he was ok, so long as he had his MeiMei in his arms. Right now, he was just happy to have her back. He'd worry about the others and<em>their</em>annoying fluffballs later,<em>after</em>he made sure Mei was ok. She was what was important. To him...everything else was secondary. Right now...his whole world was Mei, and only Mei.