Digital

Cutler continued to follow Tye all the way to the walls of the city. Well, Tye was right. Visdumia had been pretty close as compared to other places, obviously. He just hoped that they were all a long distance away from wherever that Groudon had went.... The last thing he wanted was to meet up with THAT thing yet again. They had all almost gotten killed by that giant.... Well, with the city now so up close, the thought was driven out of his mind. From the outside, this town looked a lot bigger than where he'd grown up.... Maybe he could finally see the inside of a big city? The thought excited him for a while. He had never been in a big city, and maybe this would be his only chance.

But then another thought crossed his mind. He had to remember that he wasn't alone here.... In front of him was Tye the Pachirisu, his new friend whom he'd met earlier this very day back out in that open field.... Nirocci Field, if he remembered correctly. Tye had proven to be a good friend a few times.... After their initial battle--and Cutler's defeat--the Pachirisu had offered him some of his Oran Berries to heal up.... From then on, they had been good friends. At least for the duration of the day. But now, he began to wonder if he was keeping secrets.... Tye had seemed like his mind was elsewhere, or had something on it. But what could it be? For now, Cutler knew that it was none of his business...but if it was troubling Tye, then he just wished there was something he could do to help.

Other than Tye, there was Liana behind him. There wasn't much to say about Liana...yet. They had only met less than an hour ago, or so it seemed to Cutler at least. He remembered finding Liana crying behind a tree...she had claimed to have lost her 'Papa', and her way. She had also said something about remembering a coast or water of some sort.... That was when Tye had mentioned the Kenika Coast here on this continent somewhere.... And that that was their true destination. They would go to the Coast and go look for her Papa. But first, they needed to stop by Visdumia...not only was it along the way, but they probably needed to rest for the night.... No need to go back out into the field at night, after all. At least, not when it wasn't necessary. Cutler looked at Tye and asked, "Alright, so we're here...what do we do now...?" Since he had never been in a city before, it was true that he wasn't sure what they should do first.

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The D.J. C.J.

((Ooh er, has it been this long? This might take some good work...))

Liana just took the chance to look around - admittedly, she was stunned by the sheer size of this massive city - this was nothing like Grass Town, where she'd been 'born'. The city seemed to stretch for miles in her vision, and all the various Pokemon bustling about her made her slowly spin, nearly pirouette, in the air.

"Wow..." she mumbled to herself quietly. It was all she could manage to think of, at least until she heard Cutler ask Tye about what they should do next. And even though she knew it wasn't her place to interfere, she felt compelled to give a suggestion at least, and so put her mind to work.

"Um, sorry to interrupt, but wouldn't it be best to find someone to tell us about where we are? I mean, like, this entire world." Liana felt compelled to stretch her tiny arms out to give proportion to this as she spoke out to Cutler and Tye. "I mean, Tye seems to know a lot about the world, but wouldn't it be best to learn it all for ourselves as well?"

((A/N: By the by, since I'm having a little trouble with the Internet here, I might not be able to get on as often. So if you guys are on a roll, I'll let one of you play as Liana for a little while.))

Blahsadfeguie

Visdumia - a calm, easy-going city for its size, and certainly not as chaotic as the former Grass Town's market square. But still, big cities are big cities; traffic carried out as could be expected, and there were Pokemon headed left and right, up and down, and everywhere in between. Those that could fly took much advantage of it and soared above the roads to get to their respective point B. As for the townsfolk themselves, they could only be described as friendly and wise-looking, for the most part. After all, those that came here sought knowledge, and are serious about it.

Tye walked the streets almost like he owned the place; he definitely knew his way around, and led his two companions down a specific path at his own pace. Admittedly, this pace was rather hasty, as if he had a minor appointment somewhere. He almost didn't hear Cutler's question at first, and he was late in answering as he didn't even get to speak before Liana politely interrupted him. Listening to her inquiry, he chose now to speak. "I'm taking you to a place where you'll find out everything you need to know," he explained quite ambiguously. After that, he said not a word more. He seemed to twitch in nervous anticipation with every step. It may have been obvious by now that he was up to something big that he wasn't about to make clear anytime soon.

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Digital

Cutler looked around at the many, many, MANY Pokemon that were about as he continued to mindlessly follow behind Tye. He was just too busy gaping at the sheer size of the buildings, the amount of Pokemon, and anything else that a big city had that his old hometown had lacked. This was just...amazing for him to behold. "All of these Pokemon.... So THIS is what big-city life is like...." Cutler continued to just gawk at anything that was remotely different to his old lifestyle at all. And boy, was it ever different!

But as Cutler was busy looking around, he couldn't help but notice that Tye had a certain...air about him. Then he heard Liana's question.... "That would make sense to me..." he said, before looking at Tye. It was quite obvious what he was expecting. And he sure got it. As Tye made his entire sentence known, Cutler found himself even more confused than he had been at the sheer size of the city. "Huh? Tye, what exactly is this 'place' that you're talking about?" He was definitely curious. Just what exactly was Tye up to...and where was he leading them? Well, he supposed there was only one way to find out, if Tye didn't plan on telling them straight-out like that. They'd have to just be patient and walk behind the Pachirisu, and find out when they got there.

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The D.J. C.J.

Liana, realising that everyone was quickly leaving, followed after them, fluttering only a little above the ground - though she quickly realised her mistake and flew higher after another Pokemon almost trod on her.

Certainly, Liana was fascianted by all the various things she'd seen - after all, she'd technically never been in a town since she was born as Darwin exited Grass Town.

But while she certainly trusted Tye - after all, despite what had seemed to be reluctance earlier, he had let her follow without (much) complaint, it was him that Liana was focused on. Mainly to follow him, but also to wonder why he seemed to shake with each step - only slightly, and it might have been just her. She figured Darwin would probably trust him about as far as he could throw him - though considering his psychic prowess that might have been further than she thought.

Still, she hoped she'd get the chance to explore Visdumia. All this place with such knowledge about the world - she couldn't wait to find a way to learn it all herself!

Blahsadfeguie

Tye carried on, weaving around the city's traffic; with each turn he made, the streets were less and less busy. Wherever he was going, it was an area where not many Pokemon went. He heard Cutler's question and took his time before answering. "...You'll see," was all he said, as he rounded another corner into a smaller, apparently residential area.

Tye went straight for a while, and during this time, there was a curious sight - sitting on the curb in front of a small house was another Pachirisu, one who bore quite a close resemblance to the one leading Cutler and Liana. He stared glumly at the ground, apparently depressed about something. Tye paid him no mind, and kept on going. The other Pachirisu didn't appear to notice them either, or at least not for a while, until the group had nearly cleared the street and reached another turn-off. The Pachirisu looked up, gazing at the thin traffic passing by the neighborhood, and saw them, blinking a few times as if in disbelief, but just as he did so, Tye looked back at the Charmander and Celebi and said, "We're almost there, come on!" as if coaxing them to pick up the pace a bit.

Just then, an even stranger sight came into view. It was a massive, or at least relatively so amongst the residences, two- or three-story facility. Not much could be gathered about it, other than it looked almost like some sort of library; made mostly of sturdy bricks, fresh as if built just a year ago or less. This was most likely the destination. In the window, a faint silhouette could be seen in what appeared to be a pose of relaxation. Two arms were raised and bent behind a head, which looked as though it were leaning against the window. Tye looked up at this shadow and sighed. There was no telling what could possibly be going through his mind right now.

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Digital

Something was going on that Cutler could...just feel inside. And he wasn't very sure if he liked this feeling. He just couldn't shake the feeling that he might be being a little naïve towards this whole situation...but then again, he didn't exactly think that he had anything to truly worry about. After all, this was Tye, a Pachirisu that he trusted a lot. But then he just realized what he thought was odd. Tye was being so mysterious. And...oddly serious. Cutler couldn't help but think back to the moment when they had first befriended each other.... Tye seemed a lot more hyperactive than he seemed now. Well, maybe there was just something about this new place they were going to. He continued to follow the little Pachirisu without question with a simple, "If you say so, Tye...." And so, he followed Tye without any doubt left on his mind.

But just as they turned another corner...Cutler saw something that made him do a double-take. He stared at the other Pachirisu until they had made it to the opposite side of the street and about to move on.... There was something...VERY familiar about that Pachirisu. At first, he thought that he looked just like Tye.... But that was a stupid thought. After all, Tye was the one leading them through the city...right? He When the other Pachirisu looked up at him, they actually locked eyes for a moment. Or at least, that's what it seemed to Cutler. And...in that moment...he felt like something was wrong. He couldn't put his finger on it...but there was just something about this situation that he didn't like. In fact, he actually stopped moving for a second when they did look at each other. But he quickly caught himself and continued to walk, wondering just what exactly was really going on.

When they arrived at the new building, Cutler looked up at it...just in awe of its sheer size. "So...this is where you wanted to take us, Tye?" Cutler asked, looking the building up and down. He glanced backwards at Liana and then back at the large structure. Cutler's attention was soon drawn to the window with the silhouette behind it.... What was that? Was there somebody in there that Tye wanted them to meet? Or...was it? They knew nothing about the situation that Tye was putting them in...and he knew that he had to protect Liana if something went wrong. Not that he had any solid reason to think that something was going to go wrong. But he just couldn't shake the feeling that something was off....

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The D.J. C.J.

Liana was still trying to get her grip on being a city full of an incredible amount of people, looking left and right the entire time and trying to be able to process all the information of such a new experience, when her eyes suddenly - and finally - stayed in one position - that of the massive building Tye was leading them towards.

She couldn't help but gape slightly. After all, this was quite possibly the biggest building she'd ever seen - and she hadn't even been in one yet. What would it be like, being in such a close, confined space? The thoughts gave her a slight feeling of cluastrophobia before she'd even entered the thing.

It bothered her that, if it turned out that something bad happened in there - after all, Tye was being so mysterious and leading her and Cutler towards such a dark building there was no way of telling what could possibly happen. Still, the only way she had a chance of finding her Papa again was to help these people - and besides, these two characters - even if she only had just met them - had given her some of the most interesting experiences in her life, even if she was separated from her Papa.

Hoping for the best, Liana could do nothing more than follow along for now...

Blahsadfeguie

As the building took up more and more of the sky, Tye looked back at Cutler. "Yep, this is the place," he responded. "My friend, who lives here, knows almost everything, or so it seems. He'll most likely be able to answer any questions you have, and help you get to where you need to go." He glanced once more at the building, with the silhouette in the window. "I'll go on ahead and tell him you're coming. Wait outside for a little while." He went up to the door and knocked a few times, to notify whoever was inside that he was coming. He then opened the door himself and dashed into the entrance, closing it behind him.

A minute or so later, the door opened again. There, in the doorway, stood a tall and majestic figure - an Alakazam, the sage wisdom characteristic of his species piercing the very air around him. His colors seemed to contrast a bit more than normal - his tan was whitish, and his brown was blackish. He carried no spoons, but wouldn't it get annoying having to carry silverware around everywhere? He glanced down at Cutler and Liana with understanding and welcoming eyes. "Ah, so you must be the human and his friend," he greeted. "I am Dr. Winfred Odin, one of the many bright minds of Visdumia. I know much of your origin, and what you seek... Please, come inside." He gestured into the building, inviting the pair in. However, Tye was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps he was inside, waiting for Cutler and Liana to enter.

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Digital

Cutler just continued to gape at the sheer size of the building. It was...huge! Just what kind of a building was this, anyway? And what Tye said next caught him by surprise. Was there really a Pokemon in this Dimension who knew as much as Tye claimed he did? But...he trusted Tye, so he believed him. "Well...if you say so." responded Cutler. He was still a bit skeptical about a Pokemon that was as smart as he claimed...but if it was true, then Cutler and Liana might be able to find out everything they needed to know from him.... So, he listened to Tye and waited outside. He watched Tye go inside and sighed. "Guess we don't have much of a choice, huh?" he muttered to Liana.

Afterwards, Cutler looked on as the Alakazam stepped out through the doorway and into the open. He noted the odd color swap, but he figured that that was merely because of his probable age. At the Alakazam's greeting, Cutler nodded. "Yeah." he said. "My name's Cutler...and this is Liana, and-" but before he could say anything else, the Alakazam had already introduced himself and mentioned that he was already aware of why they were there. Maybe he really DID know everything! "Wow...o-of course...!" he said. He didn't notice the lack of Pachirisu around as he stepped into the building.... He was too taken in by Dr. Odin's knowledge and building.

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The D.J. C.J.

Liana was starting to get a little confused at what she should be doing. Admittedly, she was following Cutler and Tye, but for the most part she seemed to have no idea what she should be helping them do...

...that is, until the majestic figure of Dr. Winfred Odin appeared and Liana nearly fainted in the air. The sheer force of knowledge and power emanating from the Alakazam nearly knocked her out of the air (figuratively). Liana was so sure he could answer all her questions that a million started coming to her mind at the same time, each one crowded out by the other to such a point that she couldn't actually manage to say anything.

At least, until the Alakazam gestured in. Liana, almost smitten with the idea of being able to learn all about the world, without any hesitation entered the doorway, hoping that she'd be able to single out the question she most wanted to ask him by the time she sat down somewhere...

Blahsadfeguie

Dr. Odin led the pair of Pokemon into the building. The main hallway was very large and elegant; it would be the ideal first sight of a millionaire looking to buy a mansion. As it implied, riches come with wisdom, and if that were the case, this Alakazam would likely have several other seasonal houses like this in various vacation spots. Each door from the halls branched into a different room - there was a study, a kitchen, dining room, rec room, and the list goes on. Dr. Odin turned up a stairwell and proceeded to climb it.

The top of the stairs emerged into a great lounge, complete with comfortable-looking sofas and chairs, warm lamps, and a piano in the corner. One wall of the room was literally covered in books; it consisted of merely a giant bookshelf, stocked without a single gap with books of various sizes. "Please, sit down," invited Dr. Odin, gesturing to one of the many couches as he sat down in a large chair. "Feel free to ask any questions you like, and I'll try to answer them to the best of my ability."

As Dr. Odin spoke, footsteps could be heard coming from another hallway on the opposite side of the room. Another Pokemon stepped into the room. It was another Alakazam, in fact, and a female to boot. Her coloring was similar to that of Dr. Odin's, but a tad reddish in hue. "Oh!" she exclaimed upon noticing Cutler and Liana. "I see we have visitors. Hello there!" She greeted the pair with a cheerful smile.

Dr. Odin chuckled. "This is my wife, Alanis. She'll be coming and going from time to time. If you need anything, something to eat or drink, perhaps, just let her know, and she'll be happy to fetch something for you." The two Alakazam glanced happily at each other as he explained this, and Alanis bowed. There was something very odd about her, though... something peculiarly familiar. Or perhaps it was just the striking resemblance she had to her husband, aside from the obvious gender differences and the slight hue change.

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Digital

Cutler looked around as they continued to further climb the large staircase. Boy, this Alakazam sure seemed to know how to live. One glance told Cutler that this guy was really loaded. Whoever this Dr. Odin guy was, he wasn't sure what to make of him. He seemed friendly enough, and he was nice to them, and he was willing to answer any questions that complete strangers like he and Liana had. But Cutler couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right. And perhaps it had something to do with the situation in which they'd been led to meet him. Maybe that was all there was to it. But...then again, there was still a possibility otherwise. When he glanced back at Liana again, he realized he didn't want to appear unsure about the situation. He didn't want the little Celebi to worry or anything. He had to look as though nothing was wrong or on his mind.

So, as they continued to maneuver through the mansion, he put on a straight face as he continued going. When they emerged into the large lounge, he was strangely unsurprised. He supposed that the fact that the rest of the house was so grande...that it didn't matter how big anything else was. There was no way he was going to be surprised anymore. Cutler found himself eyeing the large...no...enormous bookshelf that made up one of the walls. No wonder this Dr. Odin knew as much as he claimed! If he had enough time to read ALL of those books, then he was SURE to know almost everything...right?

Then he was instructed to sit down.... He was unsure about whether he actually should or not. With a single glance at his tail, he shook his head. "Heh...for...well, for obvious reasons, I really don't think I should. Eheheh...." He gave a nervous laugh, and looked at Liana. "But if you want to sit down, you can." He shifted his gaze back to Dr. Odin and smiled a bit. He would be willing to answer any questions that they had? That was great! "Oh, uhm..." he muttered. But now he had a problem. He had always intended to get answers.... But now that he was in that situation...what exactly was he going to ask? "Well, I guess I'll start with-"

But before he could finish, another Alakazam stepped into the room. "Oh, hi there...." Cutler said, as he saw that this Alakazam was a girl. And it was glancingly obvious that the two were married. "Glad to meet you." he said. He couldn't help but wonder, though.... He felt like he'd seen this Alakazam before somewhere. She seemed...very familiar. But he knew that he had never seen an Alakazam other than these two before...or even a Kadabra or an Abra. So there was probably no way he could have met her before. Oh well. Maybe it was just because she looked so much like her husband.... "Well, no thanks, I don't think I need anything.

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The D.J. C.J.

To be honest, Liana was completely naive about what they (potentially) had gotten themselves into. She was so excited about the situation if Cutler had suddenly told her they were all about to die she wouldn't have noted it properly for a few minutes.

And when she came inside, seeing a room filled with books galore, she had to stop herself launching at it, considering it would have been impolite - such was her craving for knowledge at the current time.

Still, she decided to wait a little while before she interrupted - after all, this was Cutler's journey and she was just travelling along with him until they found her Papa...so really, it was him who ought to have the first right to talking.

And yet she couldn't help but float towards the bookshelf, idly browsing through names to see if there was anything interesting...

Blahsadfeguie

Alanis nodded to Cutler. "I see," she responded, "I'll just leave you fellows to your, um, business." She turned the corner and headed down the stairs at her own pace. As she did so, her footing was just a tad awkward, as if something was on her mind. As she disappeared onto the bottom floor, she gave a slightly audible sigh, and muttered something indiscernible.

Dr. Odin didn't seem to notice, though. He was distracted by Liana, who seemed to have taken an interest in his shelves of text. The books covered a wide variety of topics, from conventional sciences such as biology, chemistry, and physics, to bizarre and unheard practices such as mind control and even time travel. There was even one, rather large and old book on interdimensional portals. "I see you're curious about my studies," the Alakazam commented. "Feel free to pick out any book you like; just remember to put it back when you're done, please."

He glanced across the room at Cutler. "I can tell you have a lot on your mind," he noted. "Please, take your time. I've been around so long that time is never a factor; I can answer your questions all day if you need me to." He sat with his arms folded in his lap, patiently awaiting Cutler's first inquiry.

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Digital

Cutler nodded at Alanis as she acknowledged his response. He said nothing to her as she turned to leave, nor did he pay any mind at all to her behavior and he failed to notice her mutter any sounds. Instead, his attention had been grabbed by Liana as well. He had failed to notice that the Celebi had fluttered up to the bookshelf. 'So she's the knowledgable kind...somebody who wants to learn as much about the world as possible.... I wonder if she gets that from her "papa"....'

However, his attention was soon diverted as the Alakazam addressed Liana himself. He did seem really nice. He seemed brilliant, rich, and nice...such a nice Pokemon.... And then, his thoughts were interrupted again as Dr. Odin addressed him yet again. "Oh, right.... Yeah, I don't know where to start.... So many things have happened, and I have no idea how or why." He stopped and started to think about the many things that had happened to him in the last fourty-eight hours. He supposed he may as well ask in chronological order.

"Alright, well, I guess I'll start with the first thing that happened.... You may find this hard to believe, but...I'm human. I came here from my own world, transported into this new one that I know absolutely nothing about. And I found out that I was a Charmander! A dark-colored one at that.... I was wondering...do you know anything about this? About how or why I was brought here and turned into a Pokemon...?" After this sudden question, he glanced at Liana. He had forgotten that that young Celebi had had no possible way of knowing that Cutler was human.... How would she react to that?

__________________

The D.J. C.J.

Liana hadn't even been paying any attention to anything Cutler said, she was so unable to choose what she should start learning about first. The book on interdimensional portals looked interesting but almost far too much for her to absorb when she didn't really know that much as it was...

Without any reasonable guide to help her, Liana simply scanned the shelves for the largest book, randomly grabbed it, and decided to just idly flip to a random page, practically absorbed in her own world.

She did find it quite useful that there even seemed to be a reading light close by to help her get the words better - of course, she failed to realise this light was actually Cutler's tail...

Blahsadfeguie

Dr. Odin laughed humbly upon Cutler's mentioning that he was a human. "Oh yes," he said, "I already knew that you were a human. I was just wondering if you were willing to reveal it to a stranger like myself. Ho ho!" His laughter died down quickly, as he knew this was a serious question and nothing to be taken lightly. "Yes, there have been rumors of humans arriving in this dimension. As soon as I heard of it, I did some research. It turns out, hundreds of humans have already been brought here by the Creator's tapping into another world. And, you were automatically given a form that more closely matched the spirit of this world."

The Alakazam got up and began to pace slowly and casually around the room. "Although, it puzzles me why the Creator would kidnap humans from a dimension that was not his, and hold them here in his own world..." He gazed out of the window at the city streets. A small crowd had gathered at the corner of a crossroads, attending to something that was unusual but probably trivial. "A lot of people here have found his rule to be rather questionable, and that he may be abusing his power..."

Gazing back into the room, he noticed that Liana had chosen a book and was looking through it. "Interested in the pursuit of astronomy?" he commented, noting that the Celebi had withdrawn a book of stars. It was open to a page describing in detail one particular constellation, and its discovery and origin. After that, it went into a speculation that there may be life in one of the stars' solar systems, but it couldn't be for certain. "Admittedly, that book is rather dated. I believe they recently sent an unmanned craft to the star it mentions. Ah, how technology has advanced..."

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Digital

"R-really...?" Cutler muttered. Wow...to think that this Alakazam knew THAT much just from what little time it had been since they'd met. He already knew that Cutler was human...and that he had been more than ready to answer the inevitable question? That just plain blew his mind, to be honest. But if THAT came out as surprising, then the next bit of information was just plain shocking. "Wh-what...?" he muttered. "R-really...? You mean...I'm...I'm not the only human in this Dimension...?" He wasn't sure how to respond to that. On one hand, he was relieved to know that he wasn't pulled here specifically to do anything special, like some classic television shows or comic books. So, he could just find a way to settle in this world...if he could find his Pokemon again. It was then that it hit him...living together in this world with his Pokemon would be AMAZING! He thought he couldn't truly understand his Pokemon...but now he really WAS a Pokemon! Surely he could understand them now better than ever before! But that once again brought up a small thought...what about his Pokemon...? Did they follow him through that strange portal...? Or did they linger behind?

Then his attention was brought back to the situation at hand as Dr. Odin continued to go on and keep talking. He probably missed a good amount of it while he was deep in thought. But he didn't suppose it mattered. He failed to catch what Dr. Odin said about the Creator 'abusing his power'. The first line he caught was the Alakazam's noting on Liana's book 'choice'. Come to think of it, Liana was a Celebi...it seemed odd for her to pick out a book about the stars rather than a book about nature or time. Oh well, he supposed he probably shouldn't descriminate based on species. That was a bad line of thinking, after all. They had been travelling together for only a short while now, actually, so he probably shouldn't act like he knew anything about her.

But the thought about those he was travelling with brought something up to his mind. Where had that feisty little Pachirisu friend of his gone...? He just realized that ever since he had walked into the building, he hadn't seen Tye anywhere. Surely the Pachirisu would have loved to hear what questions Cutler had. "Dr. Odin...." Cutler muttered, turning back to the Alakazam. "You wouldn't happened to know what happened to Tye, would you?" he asked. "I haven't seen him since before I entered this building...."

__________________

The D.J. C.J.

Liana had already found the idea of learning about the world an amazing thing, so when the book told her about the fact that there were worlds even beyond the one she was on now, it gave her even more questions that she couldn't wait to find the answers to. Unaware, she began fluttering about while reading the book.

The idea of new worlds to explore - all the possible new things she could find - the questions filled up her head even more than before, but she ended up enraptured by the feeling that she'd never run out of things to learn.

However, she was interrupted when she realised what Cutler had asked - where had Tye gone? Come to think of it, Liana hadn't even noticed him since they entered the building either - where could he have possibly got to? She spun around in the air a bit, trying to see if Tye would magically appear if she willed it to be so...