Alexi was confused beyond measure, had no idea where Alyssa was, and, in no small measure, freaked out. Was she still in the astral? She wasn't in any part she recognized and she couldn't summon her guide; the spirit that helped her navigate unfamiliar places. She wasn't able to pull herself out of the astral either. That was either a result of the blood and she simply couldn't leave without Alyssa, or something that told her she wasn't in the plains any longer. Then how did she get in the forest? Nothing really made sense. Alexi just wanted to focus on finding Alyssa at the moment.

It was getting late, though. And she was tiered. Maybe if she slept here, she'd wake up in her living room. Still, she kept walking. It was good practice, even in the astral plains, to find a seemingly safe place to rest. She'd been walking, aimlessly through these woods for some time now. No sign on life other than the small creatures one would expect to find in a forest.

The sun had nearly set when she noticed the trees beginning to thin out, more dirt than grass and fallen leave, warm wind blowing gently in her face. Then she reached the outermost edge of the forest. In front of her was a vest, dry desert. She pursed her lips, pointed her finger in the general direction of the distant sand dunes and said, "Nope." Alexi turned on her heels, muttering to herself, "No way. Fuck that." She grumbled rather loudly to herself with evident frustration. It drew attention.

Rustling in the tree tops sent her into a moderate and reasonable panic. She had no idea what could possibly be big enough to make such a ruckus. She crouched down, "The fuck is this? Son of a bitch, I am so done right now." She looked around to see if she could find cover but before she could dive for a promising bush, a small group of men dropped down from the trees, effectively dragging an embarrassing squeal from her lungs. In her panic she tripped over her own feet and fell right on her ass.

"Oh…"One of the men said, "Uh, you're not… Who are you?"

"What? Me? What? Wait…is that…?" Alexi was struggling to think through her cluster-fuck of emotions, the top three being frustration, anxiety, and confusion. However, she did manage to take notice of the clothing the men wore. The two in back wore loose fitting clothes and head coverings appropriate for travel in the desert. A piece of metal lay across each one of their foreheads and engraved in that metal was…the sand village insignia? The one that apparently led them was clearly Kankuro. It should not be Kankuro. Kankuro was an anime character. At this point, Alexi was utterly convinced she was still in the astral plains and this was some shape-shifting spirit that got in her head and copied a recent memory. Alexi's face dead-paned, "Go away, spirit. You aren't funny. Kankuro's not even a real human."

"What?" The 'Kankuro' said, entirely confused, "What are you talking about? I'm not a spirit. Who are you? What are you doing out here? We thought you were an enemy spy. We could have killed you."

"Alright, so props for roleplaying but, seriously. Leave. Be gone. You're not welcome here." She pushed her energy out in a way that should have communicated she meant business. Kankuro seemed unfazed. That was…not right.

"You're not welcome here." He said, motioning with his hands and emanating a rather frustrated aura.

Alexi finally stood up and approached the men. She had had just about enough of this spirit's little game. She reached up with her hand, pulling energy around it to disrupt an entities anchor and pushed on his chest. Then she jumped back in surprise. One; he should be gone now but her wasn't. Two; he shouldn't have felt so solid. This was not normal. "What are you?" she murmured.

"A very irritated ninja. I'm taking you in for interrogation."

"What? What for?"

"You're a stranger snooping around the borders of Suna. You don't look like you're from any allied village and you're acting like a crazy person. I'm not taking any chances." He reached for her arm and she avoided it half-heartedly. She felt no influence from him like she would with an entity. So now she was just curious. He tied her wrists together, which was very unwelcome but, hey, apparently these guys were ninjas. Not going to risk getting stabbed in the neck because she was uncomfortable.

They pushed forward into the desert without hesitation. Alexi was dressed for a night at home and her air conditioner had been broken all summer, so she was dressed for heat but not for a ruthless sun in a cloudless sky. A tank-top and soft, comfortable pajama pants helped some, but she could feel her light olive skin burning after only a few minutes. Her bare feet tried fruitlessly to be light and avoid hot sand. At least the sun was getting lower. Then again, this was a desert so that might not be a good thing.

Of course they stopped for the night when the sun was down. A couple of tents were set up and Alexi was staked in the corner of one. Kankuro was nice enough to give her a spare blanket so she didn't freeze to death. She still didn't sleep well though. Forget being forced to sit upright. She was in a tent with a strange man, had no idea where her friend was, had no idea where she was. Her stress levels were through the roof. Every now and then, she'd jump awake for no apparent or logical reason. It kept Kankuro up, too.

The next day, she was tiered, sunburned, and irritable. Stress and hunger also added to her mood. Her feet burned on the sand and, eventually, she had enough and plopped down, refusing to move until something was done about her feet.

"What were you doing in the wilderness without shoes in the first place?" One of the masked ninja asked as her feet were wrapped in a strip of cloth.

"Crushing grapes for fine wine." Was her sarcastic remark.

"Avoiding questions will only make things worse for you." Kankuro warned.

Alexi tested her new, makeshift shoes by patting her feet on the ground before standing, "I don't even know where or how I got here. You expect shoes to be at the top of my priorities list?"

"And what is at the top of your list?" he pressed, obviously trying to pry information out of her and determine if she was an enemy spy.

"Well, my friend is missing, for starters. I don't know where she is or if… Finding her is my biggest problem right now." Alexi tried not the think about the possibility that Alyssa might have been destroyed in the astral. She doubted such a thing was possible but, if it were, it would take an extremely powerful entity.

She sensed Kankuro's suspicion increase. Or was it curiosity? It was hard to tell sometimes. Alexi was an empath; someone able to feel another's emotion as their own. Working with her gift had helped her in many ways. At this point in her life, she was able to interpret what someone was thinking, what they wanted to hear or see, or even see from their point of view. She wasn't able to read minds, but she was damn close, depending on the person she was reading. Kankuro was a relatively normal subject. His constant suspicion kept a weak barrier between her empathy and his emotions, but it just meant she'd have to concentrate slightly if she wanted an accurate read.

They continued on their journey with no real excitement other than her occasional, witty remarks or sarcastic answers to questions that hit too close to home. She was a private person; didn't like people prying too much into things. They finally reached Suna at dusk and she was brought to a building, immediately. They sat her in a room with nothing but a chair and a mirror and left her there. At least they had had the kindness to untie her hands.

Of course, she was well aware that the mirror was a two-way but, she had been in the desert for two days. She had a right to inspect the damage the sun had done to her poor face. Red splotches covered her cheeks, nose, chin, and forehead. Her normally dark, brunette hair was several shades lighter from being bleach by the sun. She dared to move the strap of her tank-top just slightly off her shoulder to see the stark comparison of bright pink on comparatively pale skin. The motion stung her sensitive flesh and she cringed. She turned around to try and she her back. She pulled over the curtain of dark hair and found that it had done a decent job of shielding her back from the heat. At least there was that.

She sat back in the chair and undid the bandages around her feet. Before moving back over to the mirror and cupping her hands over the glass to try and see through it, "Hello?" She called, "Is anyone out there? Could I get some aloe for my skin? It's really uncomfortable. There was no answer. She looked at the empty room and sighed. "What do you want me to say? I'm an enemy spy, here to bring your secrets back some nameless village and ruin your country in favor of my own? 'Cause I'm not. Seriously, I'm the farthest thing from stealthy you will ever find in human incarnation." Then she thought of something. She might not actually be in the astral plains. She might have actually been captured by ninjas. But how the hell could that have even happened? She had always believed that there were different dimensions. Did she…? No. No way. That just wasn't possible.

Was it?