[Eithra]

An apple tree
A sword that talks in rhyme
A villain in pink
An actor and a cat
One is not what it seems

[Eithra]

His fingers drummed impatiently on the hilt of his sword, maroon eyes scanning the words on the page over and over again. "Meet me by the apple tree," the redhead said out loud, almost seeming to talk to no one. "That's what it says." He took his gaze away from the paper to look up at the tree he was standing under, unmistakable apple blossoms visible among the green leaves. "I'm by the apple tree. So where is this person?" At least, he was assuming they were a person.

"Be patient, warrior of red. You don't want to get in over your head." The answering voice seemed to come out of nowhere, though he knew better. He immediately looked down at the sword that hung by his hip, eyes narrowed.

"...Do you always have to talk like that?" he asked, directly addressing said sword. "It's a little annoying."

"Yes. Annoying as it may be, it is the enchantment that is upon me."

The redhead just sighed and rolled his eyes at this, going to fold the paper in his hands. "Whatever." Annoying or not, he's had the sword long enough to know that there was no stopping its rhyming. He was just going to have to deal with it. Besides... He hated to admit it, but he's gotten a bit attached to the weapon. "I doubt I'm going to get in over my head with this one, anyways," he told the sword after a few moments of silence. "So far, the only thing out here is that tree, that cat, and the bird it's trying to eat." He waved his hand in the general direction of the little kitten and its prey in the apple tree, staring at it for a moment before turning away to look out on the field. "There's not even any other trees out here..."

It was kind of unnerving, actually. Only one not-so-little tree, all alone in a field. How often did that happen? Didn't seem too terribly natural to him.

As if right on cue, a cat's distressed yowl came from behind him, giving him quite a start. He spun around on his heel to face the tree behind him, just as that poor little kitten went running for cover. The bird was nowhere to be seen, though; Instead, a girl was sitting in the tree with quite the devilish grin on her face. Where as he had subdued red hair, hers was a vibrant hot pink, as were her sleeves and leg warmers. Her hat, which covered the upper half of her face, and the main color of her clothes were black. But everything else... Good god, the pink!

"Hello!" she chirped out, her legs swinging around. "I see you got my letter~. That's good! I was worried he wouldn't deliver it to you. Actors make terrible couriers, you know that? They can be so difficult sometimes!"

"Who are you?" the redhead snapped at the girl, not trusting her in the least. She was small, but he was just...getting a bad vibe about her.

"Who, me? I'm Momoiro! And I'm gonna kill you!"

...Well. At least she's to the point.

[Shiny]

An alligator
A pair of headphones
A book and clock.
One of these things is incredibly dangerous.

Molokai was incredibly lost. "This is all your fault, George." He peered down from his perch atop a giant alligator, a frown marring his expression. George just grumbled under his breath causing Molokai to tilt his head. "Excuse me?"

"Nothing, Kai." Molokai looked satisfied. "That's what I thought. And would you take those ridiculous headphones off? You look silly!" Still grumbling, the alligator reared up on his back feet, pulling off the headphones and stuffing them in, of all the undignified things, saddlebags. Dropping back down to all fours, George tilted his head to the side, blinking one large black eye in Molokai's direction. "Maybe you should consult the book." Molokai pulled a face, distaste clear in his expression. "If I must..."

With a sigh, he pulled out a bound book. Kai stared at it for a moment. George sounded a gruff, "Get on with it", and Kai loosed the bindings. Immediately the book tried to detach Kai's fingers from his hands. "Ah, hey!" Kai shot a zap of purplish electricity from his fingers at the book. With a shudder, the book lay flat in his lap, no longer intent on bodily harm. Kai flipped through the pages until he found the ever changing map. He compared the flickering symbols to the dials on his watch. Each dial spun a different direction, some with numbers, some with letters, some stranger than that. All of this made complete sense to both Kai and George which was exactly why they were lost. Binding the book, he stashed it away once more.

Right.

"Ask them," George sighed with a shake of his great head. Kai frowned, "Who?"

"Them."

"Oh."

Two people and a tree. That wasn't odd at all. Who was he kidding? This whole quest has been nothing but odd! "Fine. Let's go." George lurched into motion, taking Kai nearer just in time to hear the rather curious death threat. "Excuse me? Before you two get to killing each other, would either of you know how to find the Singing Harp of Tilamilu?" George hmphed and Kai sighed. "Please."

[Eithra]

When this...Momoiro girl said that she was going to kill him, it was safe to assume that the redhead immediately went on the defensive. Him, die? As if! He wasn't going to be killed so easily... "Be careful, she isn't how she looks!" his sword warned him, its voice resonating deep within its hilt. "You never should judge the cover of a book!"

He huffed, a sharp sound through his nose. Maybe he shouldn't be acting so overly confident... But he really did doubt that he would be killed so easily. He wasn't going to let himself be killed so easily. "Are you just gonna stare at me all day?" Momoiro whined. "Come on, it's more fun when you put up a fight! Besides, I wanna see how you handle that sword of yours~!"

"Hmph." Well, no point in dragging it out any longer. He drew his sword in a single, quick motion, automatically holding it so that it was pointing right at the girl. She just hummed and smiled some more, muttering something under her breath.

And then they were interrupted.

Both girl and man blinked in mild surprise, looking over to see the brown-haired boy come up to them...on a crocodile? What? A giant one, too. "The...what?" the redhead echoed, a bit caught off guard by the odd request. The Singing Harp of Tilamilu... That sounded kinda of familiar...

"Nope! Never heard of it!" Momoiro declared, her voice just as chipper as ever. "Now go away, you're interrupting us!" She didn't give much warning before lunging at the redhead, landing a solid kick on his jaw during his moment of distraction.

Ouch.

He let out a shout, falling backwards and rolling head-over-heels down the hill a short distance before he stopped. Momoira was already on top of him, giggling like a little school girl. (She certainly looked young enough to be one.) "Sh-shit!" His sword! Where was it?! He'd lost it when she had kicked him... Damn! She went to bring her hands down on his throat, just barely catching her by her wrists. She might've looked like a school girl, but damn, was she strong.

Meanwhile, the sword had...actually landed a short distance away from the brunette and his reptilian friend, panicking inside its own mind. It was perfectly aware of its surroundings, after all. Including its wielder's well-being, and the pair beside him. "Please!" it called out to them. "Please, Aka is my master! Hurry, hurry, help him faster!"