"No, no.. If you have tried it, I am in!", Pia added hurriedly. She did not want to let this chance slip away. "It is just.. well, I talked with someone who was.. pretty adept with that sort of thing, and she told me not to do it alone. Since we will be two, and you already know how, I guess we will be safe."

Please, please don't take my hesitation as rejection!
Pia pleaded inside. It dawned upon her how paranoid, how odd her own behaviour might seem to others. Others who were not used to jumping at their own shadows. Others who did not know the secrets of Shokushu.

Then there was the question of the dampeners, of course. It was entirely possible that they could not project at all.

Cindy smiled, "oh she's right." A slip of course and Aegir only realized it when it popped out though one that wasn't too bad. He realized the mistake when it occurred and went on, the error could easily be explained away as a slip of the tongue or an assumption on his part.

He kept going though so that, hopefully Pia would not pick up the error, or if she did not think of it as such given the paranoid vibe he was feeling at the moment. He did not want her to over think things though if she did that could not be helped.

Of course she dwelt upon the inhibitors of the island. He thought only briefly as he continued to speak to her, the advantage of having a mind that could focus on dozens of tasks. "Oh, yes, it's not without it's risks if you're a novice at it." She smiled as she stepped back.

"Two o'clock ..." she reminded as she backed away from her. The next time Pia would see Cindy again was at two minutes past two when she wrapped on her bedroom door.

When Cindy knocked at the door, Pia had managed to tidy her room a little, hurriedly moving away most of the clutter. Pia liked keeping things somewhat tidy, at least, but housework usually came second place when she was studying or working on her secret projects.
She cast a glance around her, confirming that her laundry was safely stuffed in her hamper, and that her floor was not covered with books and notebook papers.

"Please come inside!", she beamed, opening the door for Cindy. "Uh, I hope it is not too messy or something.. I tried to clean it a little".
She moved aside for Cindy. "I put on some water. Do you want some tea or something?".

"Coffee if it's no double, milk, two sugars," she moved into the room, eyes flickering around as they took in the room then her eyes closed and she shivered a little holding a book firmly to her chest. When they opened again she smiled.

"Oh, I can feel that. It tingles like electricity her. Oh, this is for you," she handed over the book and smiled again. "There's an entire chapter on ley lines in there that I thought you might like to read. It's heavily highlighted though. I had the book for awhile, years really and it was one of the first I could get my hands on.

"It goes into detail about speculation of druids using the ley lines at Stone Hedge to perform various rituals and the like."

The book was real, one that Aegir read many years back though knowing of it's existence it was easy enough to jaunt across the galaxy to get a hold of the book. He ensured that he arrived close enough to a focus so that he could get back quickly and of course he did not go from here to Earth. As he learned he couldn't do that though off world he had set up his own monuments and wisked himself from the gate he constructed her many months back to that one then to Earth without suffering any complications.

It was easy enough to highlight a few passages to make the book appear older then it was and right now there was an illusion on it to make the binding appear looser than it was so that the deception wouldn't be noticed at a quick glance but rather a detailed examination might pick something up.

"Ok," Cindy said as she wandered over to the window. "We can start here when you're ready."

Pia's eyes widened as Cindy handed her the book, an her smile widened with it. It was not one that Pia had read. Most of all, she wanted to bury her nose in it right away, to gobble down any iota of knowledge she could glean, but she restrained herself.

"Wow.. Thanks! This looks good, right up may alley. Thanks again! I have some books here, you might look upon them later, if you wish.. if there is anything you want to borrow."

Pia placed the book on her table with great care, after briefly flipping through the pages. The illusion was undetected by her. She went over to the tiny kitchenette to find what she needed to prepare coffee.

"I think I am ready now, if you are. Do you want your coffee before or after?"

"No problem at all and your welcome. You might have something interesting that I haven't read as of yet though I am rather voracious when it comes to books so I've read a lot. And after for the coffee. Ok, so where to begin."

Cindy glanced around then walked closer to the bed before kneeling on the floor and taking a large flowery bag off of her shoulder. She took an incense burner out, laid down a few incense sticks before her and a book of matches. "Do you mind?"

If not she would set up one of the incense sticks then burn it.

"Now, come here," she said holding her hands up to Pia after gesturing her over. "Relax. Close your eyes and envision where you wish to go. I was thinking something simple ..."

Pia watched the preparations. They seemed simple enough. She uttered a simple "no.. not at all", indicating that she was okay with the incense. The aroma was rather heavy, and added a whole new ambience to her room. She guessed that was the purpose, transforming the normal, common room into something other, a place fitting for a ritual.

She sat down, and extended her hands, even if she was unsure if she was supposed to. She closed her eyes, and tried thinking of a place. She was unsure. Something near. After a while, she made up her mind.

"The large oak accross the road outside the window."

It should be close enough. She hoped Cindy would be pleased.

Cindy grasped her hands, her thumbs tracing over em, the scent of the incense hanging in the air. His mind was digging into her own picking up the thoughts within. Initially he was going to tell her to focus on a specific point but this would work out well actually.


He shaped things around them via his illusions, coupled with his telepathic abilities he was able to reconstruct matters fairly well. Easiest was the oak tree since Pia had focused on it so heavily.

"Alright, envision thinks. Concentrate ... concentrate ... concentrate ... now open your eyes."

There was a chirping of a bird and while it was day here there was a strong overcast of clouds, least he give himself away through squinting all the time.

Pia slowly opened her eyes. "I hope I did not.. eh.. ruin anything, did I?", Pia said. She was anxious not disappoint her new friend.

Once her vision became focused, and her vision adjusted, her jaw fell down, and she stared at their surroundings wide eyed. "Wow!", she said. For at least a minute and half, that was all she said. "Wow..", she added again.

It was a well crafted illusion, and Aegir had managed to slip it past her defences without her even knowing. "We moved?", she asked. "Can we.. can we move about?"

"Everything was perfect. It must be the presence of the ley lines that made it so seemless." But as Pia recovered from her shock an amazement Aegir analyzed her mind digging through her memories of this place to ensure that he had everything right or nearly right since he was recreating it from her memory.

"Sure we can move but just remember that our actual bodies are unconscious on the floor of your dorm room. We shouldn't stay longer than 15 minutes or so, that's when astral projection gets a little risky in experiences of great length. Oh, an keep in mind that we are effectively invisible and inaudible to everyone save for others on the astral plane."

Cindy patted her knees then got up to her feet and moved towards the window, glancing out of it though her field of vision was dominated by the tree. "Where is this place, actually?"

She glanced back at Pia from over her shoulder then returned to gazing out the window.

Pia slowly stood up, and actually pinched herself, just to see how it felt. It felt quite real. She was thinking about their bodies on the floor. It was vital to remember to return.

"I was just thinking about the big tree outside the window. It is something I look at every day, and it is nearby, so I thought it was a good way to start.
Pia reached out to touch the large tree. "The one I was talking to earlier.. she used to travel through peoples dreams. This is different, isn't it?"
Pia pouted a bit while playing with a loose strand of hair, an unconscious sign that she was concentrating. "If we are to move about, do we walk, or can we take short cuts, so to speak?"

"The tree where? At your old house I presume." Cindy followed the motions Pia made as she touched the tree.

"Feels weird doesn't it? We're not really solid so we can move through walls and such, they give off a little resistance but nothing that can't be overcome. I think it's the same force being applied against us so we don't sink into the floor unless we will it. And there's nothing to stop us from going up or down," she flickered her gaze up to the ceiling.

"I guess," Cindy said, "that we can fly though it's not really flying just that gravity has no hold on us. And I know about the sort of astral projection you're talking about, more complex stuff than this, more risks if you don't know what you're doing though usually you can focus on someone and usually need a possession of theirs to do it though those that are really skilled can do so as easily as you and I breath air."

Pia listened to Cindy and her explanation, nodding, while running her hands up and down the bark of the tree. Something was not right.. but it was still familiar.

"When..when.." Pia stuttered, trying to gather her thoughts. "You said something close.. I was thinking of a tree.. one I could see from my window.. yet this isn't it. This is.. Oh my!"

Pia's mind was trying to grasp the situation. It was like the ground was dropping beneath her.

"It was similar to one from my home.. And this is.. this is it!"

She was unaware that she was wrapped in a layer of illusion. Instead she made do with what she knew. Or thought she knew. It must be the lay line. Aegir said they were means of travel. Somehow, we must have projected further than we thought!

"We are in Norway! Our house is near here!"

"Well ... certainly further then I'd expect seeing how we're half around the globe now. You'll have to translate for me though, no one can see or hear us but we can see and hear them and something tells me that they won't be speaking much English in these parts."

Cindy gazed out the window at the tree in question as Pia's hand traced over one of the branches there. She smile at her, patted her shoulder. "Let's go then ... we can check things out." She walked forward and through the wall with no fear or hesitation as if she did this often enough. She popped back through the wall.

"Coming?" She asked as she gazed at Pia.

"Are you.. are you sure this is safe.. we are far, far from our bodies."

Pia felt torn inside. She so wanted to have a look at her home, just once more. Her parents might not be home at this time, they were busy people, still, to catch a glimpse of them, or just see the signs of them living their lives.. To have a small peek at her old room, her own stuff..

But they were in danger. What if their essences could not find their way back? What if their bodies died, or became comatose. To return would be terrible, but the consequences of not returning would be worse.