Unexpected Awakening

[Diyha]

"Ugh, you kids can never keep quiet..." a scratchy, gruff voice piped up from a corner of the barn. "Some of us here were trying to get some beauty sleep. Thanks for nothing. What on earth is going on on over here that's so friggin' important it couldn't wait until a reasonable hour?"

The old hyena slowly made her way to the small crowd that had gathered before Genie, stretching out her limbs and making her old joints creak and crack. She then adjusted her eyes to see the djinn, in all his supernatural glory, and she gave a few sharp cackles of surprise. "Well I'll be! A bona-fide genie! Don't see spirits like you too much nowadays!" Diyha actually seemed genuinely excited, for once. As a self-identified spiritual medium, Diyha had made herself well-versed in all kinds of otherworldly beings. She, herself, had never actually seen a real genie, and she had a big, toothy grin on her face gazing upon him.

"Ah, you're looking for your master, eh? Can't say I know of anyone named Aladdin around here, sounds familiar though." She pondered, placing a paw to her chin. "Maybe the kid did get caught up in all that nonsense back in Africa. I felt all kinds of spiritual energy when I was still there... hopefully the kid ain't dead. I might be able to search for him though, if you give me some time to get a proper Ouija set up."

[Nikolai]

Nikolai turned his attention towards the newcomer, ears perking up as Diyha awoke, grumbling as she told them to quiet down. He was tense; his nomadic blood was telling him to go, go roam, just move. He wanted to get this search party on not just to find Aladdin, but also because everything in his being was telling him to do anything other than just stand still.

He watched as patiently as he could as Diyha grew excited over seeing a genie, before offering to set up an ouija board to attempt to contact Aladdin. Nikolai didn't know much about what had happened in the Dawnseekers' former home; all he knew was that half the army was decimated and the survivors made their way thousands of miles away from home.

It was entirely possible that their friend had passed during that event.

At the mention of the Ouija, Nikolai perked up, green eyes lighting up almost immediately. He bounded past Genie and the others with a peculiar burst of energy, approaching the elder hyena with almost child-like excitement.

"I'm sorry...I've got a little too much energy right now." Nikolai admitted, with a sheepish grin.

"I'd be willing to help set up the board so we can contact Aladdin. It's been a while for me, but it's something I've got experience in." Nikolai said. He then turned his attention towards the others with a solemn expression.

"It may not be what you want to hear, but considering from what I've heard, there is a strong possibility that your friend might be on the...other side." Nikolai said.

"It's worth a try before we send out a search party."

[Diyha]

The old hyena gave a bit of a snort and a roll of her eyes at Nikolai and his almost childish burst of energy. But hearing he was willing to help set up a Ouija, she gave him a curt nod. "Sure. We're gonna need something to use as a board and something to use as a planchette to have a proper seance. Work your friggin'... unicorn magic or whatever the hell."

Thankfully, this old barn had plenty of wood to spare. She would let the unicorn get to his work. She turned to Genie and put up a paw, "Now, don't have a cow if we do end up getting a response; I can pick up stuff from the living too. A response doesn't mean he's dead. Everyone's got an energy. What I'm gonna do is try and pinpoint where that energy is coming from. That way we'll at least know where he's close to and we got an idea of where to look. And I'm only doing this 'cause you're the most interesting thing I've seen around this dump so far."

[Genie]

Genie smiled at the hyena. "Thank you," he said with a grin. He then nodded. "Yes, I'm looking for Aladdin, and he's not my master, per se, I'm a free genie, but I am his friend, and he's my pal Al," he answered. He then looked horrified. "He couldn't be dead, I would feel it," Wouldn't he? Was he looking hard enough? Feeling hard enough?

He turned to Nikolai. "A search party? You think he's here maybe?" Genie asked. His attention left him and turned to Diyha. "A board?" he asked. A smile appearing. "I can do that easily." he rolled up his imaginary sleeves.

He pointed his finger at the floor and a board appeared. He hoped this was the right board, but it seemed to be. "A cow? Hah, not a chance," he said, turning into a cow and back, like a gag.

"Why thank you," he said with a nod. "Let's get this thing on the roll." he chirped cheerfully. He was honestly really excited. But also nervous. He wasn't sure if this would work or not, and if not, he'd look deeper than he had been.