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XXXVIII- The Tale of Kaida
Part 2 of 5
"Paradise"
​

Kaida was not sure how long she would be willing to play along with the scenario. She still didn’t know what day it was, or what this memory was. Was it supposed to be something important that she had long forgotten? As she sat there helping Seiza with repairs, her body and speech sort of happened on its own for a while. Like she was being controlled by an outer force, which was the memories she had been placed in. But her awareness was strange to her. She was working tools to repair and build that she had not used in years. She knew the names of the tools, but at the same time she didn’t. She knew how to operate them, her muscles remembered while her mind forgot. And this resulted in her continuing on until there was a noise in the distance. A large banging noise was heard, and a blue flair shot into the air as a sizzling noise could be heard temporarily. This continued until the sound died down, but the flair remained in the air.

Kaida remembered the color codes of the signal flairs without a problem, it wasn’t something she could forget. The blue flair meant it was wrap-up time for the workers, especially the apprentices, who would return to start at dinner before wrapping up for the night. There were other flairs as well, ones not used quite as often. An orange color shined when a meeting was to be held by those in higher ranking positions, usually around mid-moon. A red color shined when something dangerous was nearby, usually wild creatures beyond their control, or sudden weather that was fierce. The only other color was purple, a color Kaida only ever saw once, to indicate someone had gone missing.

The memory of the purple flair, when remembering the codes engraved in her, made Kaida remember what day this was. And she froze a bit at it. Seiza stood up from his space of work and said, “Well, that does it for the day. I think this is progressing nicely, wouldn’t you think?”
“I’m still not sure what we’re building… I don’t know what it is. Why can’t you tell me yet?” Kaida crossed her arms, she knew the answer, but the memory did not.

“I will tell you when the time is right. I promise I will. But for now, it is safer if you do not know.” Seiza picked up a few more supplies and they began their walk to the peak, to a safe space created for Seiza and Kaida to march down what her mind remembered in two contradicting names: The Forbidden Hill, and the Sacred Laccolith. As they marched down, Seiza began to say, “Today, if they ask, we learned that the wind gusts above are much faster. If we wished to send messages faster, heading up the side, not fully, is the best course of action.”
“Why couldn’t they figure something like that out on their own?”
“Who else is going to willingly walk up the mountain except for us?” They reached a safe ledge with a lift, created by Seiza and a few workers willing to help, so they would be able to get down faster when the signals fired. Kaida and Seiza worked together to bring the lift down using a rope, until they were at the ground and they stepped off and continued their walk until they reached the village.

Kaida reached the front of her cabin, which was Household Q, and she felt something she didn’t expect, dread. She dreaded the idea of standing in front of it. Seiza stood for only a moment before saying, “Same time tomorrow. I will see you later.” He placed a hand on her shoulder before walking away and Kaida responded, “I’ll see you later.” Then she walked into the cabin.

As light filled her vision, blinding her from the adjustment to the night’s lights, she walked forward and closed the door behind her and stepped to the right slightly. She counted to thirty in her head as her vision corrected itself to the light, to look inside her home. There was only one other person in the front room, an older man with his hair tied back into a type of bun. He had a clipboard and stood there saying, “L-3MN. You’re late. You were expected five minutes sooner. Was there a problem with your way back?”

Kaida forgot her code number after all these years, she was surprised at that. She also hadn't thought she could forget something so integral to her days on her home world. She also never considered that maybe her nickname, which she thought was based on her colors and her personality, was a pun based on her code. Maybe it was awareness with age, but it made her feel the slightest bit stupid.
Kaida took a step forward and said, “No sir, things went as they were meant to. We are always five minutes later than the others due to our work location.”
The man made a mark down and looked at the board, “I would like to have a meeting with you, if that would be okay?”

She nodded, she didn’t truly have permission to say no, it was an illusion of choice. She followed him into a room where she sat across from the man and she adjusted her posture to seem more confident than she actually felt and the man spoke, “L-3MN… Lemon. They also have the name Kaida written down. Was that your chosen name?”
Kaida nodded and said, “Yes sir, it’s a combination of my L caretaker’s name Ida, and my teacher Kaoi’s names. If you could use that name, it would mean a lot.” It was a big step for people to accept someone’s chosen name. Sometimes they never did, and they never gave you a name. Kaida held her breath waiting for his response.

He soon began, “L-3MN, it is my understanding that you have always operated better under crafting related jobs. One of your hobbies from when you were younger was whittling with wood, and your speed with jobs could only be matched by the head craftsman, Yori, himself. We understand that you have been working under Seiza’s tutelage for the past six years, but we feel you are not putting your skills to their advantage.” He placed the clipboard onto the table next to him and said, “We understand the bond between a master and apprentice can grow, but Yori has asked that we tell you to reconsider your positioning. It is the best for our Paradise.”
Kaida felt a shiver at those words as she spoke, “I’m sorry but, I truly feel my skills are being put to an advantage with Seiza. I don’t feel crafting is my natural calling. Plus, who else would be a better fit for Seiza?”

The man looked bothered by the comment and spoke out, “Your master’s job does not actually require an apprentice. In fact, his working alone may greater change his effectiveness as well.” Kaida thought about this, and wondered if they somehow knew the project he was creating, and that it was too massive an undertaking for one person to handle. It was in hindsight, but thinking about this memory made Kaida wonder if it was a form of damage control.

Kaida looked up at him and said, “As unnatural as it may sound, I feel I must decline.” There was an uncomfortable silence between the two before the man spoke, “At least consider a trial run, for one week, if you try your hardest and your productivity is not at the peak that it is with Seiza, we will let you stay with him. It is the best thing you could do.”
“The… best thing I could do?” Kaida thought about those words and he repeated, “Wouldn’t you rather work with Yori and become one of the best? You could be the next head craftsman with the right determination.”

“I… don’t want to be compared to someone else. I want to be my best because that’s how I am… not because of obligation…” Kaida felt the words come naturally, and the man suddenly looked angered and Kaida stopped as the man said, “The Paradise does not and can not base itself on singular achievements and wishes. If everyone did what they wanted, nothing would get done. No one would fight the dangers outside, no one would clean, no one would light the flairs. Is that what you want, L-3MN?”

Kaida knew her choice was gone and she closed her eyes and said, “Fine…. I’ll do a weeklong trial…”
“A week of your best work.” The man’s voice echoed, and Kaida opened her eyes and she was not in that room anymore with the man.

---

She was sitting at a table, in a crafting shop that smelled of wood shavings and a burning smell. There was also a distant smell of clay and some sort of refiner. Kaida felt her hands moving, and when she looked down she was working at an extremely efficient rate, finishing off what looked like a type of doorknob. She placed it on the table and rang a bell on her left side and she waited until a man picked it up and inspected it, “Well done, I haven’t seen work like this since my own master taught me how to craft.” Kaida looked up to see a man with his hair long and black, pulled into a ponytail to work better in a workshop scenario. He was closer to an elder age than anyone else she had seen in this flashback, making her wonder just how much time was left for him in the working environment. Kaida nodded and said, “Thank you, sir.”

“It’s been almost a week and your work is quite astounding. We could finish some larger project with you here. I really think you should consider fully signing on as my apprentice.”
“I am sorry, Master Yori. But I truly feel I work most effectively under Master Seiza.” She looked confusedly at him as Yori seemed to roll his eyes at the name, “Right… Seiza. You know...” He placed the doorknob back in front of her and continued, “There is such a thing as, weights, on the community.”

“What do you mean?” Kaida asked as she looked at Yori who walked to the other side of her crafting table and leaned in front of her with his palms on the table, “Weights. People who hold our Paradise down. They are people who refuse to help us achieve greatness, but rather, do things for their own gain. And Seiza works amazingly at writing and research. However, he stopped writing and reading the plans the community wanted, and instead began reading older books and legends, soon he stopped reading these altogether and would disappear on his own adventures. One day, he came back and suddenly he had a weather apprenticeship, with you.”

Kaida watched his hands shift as he stood up straight and said, “You can be amazing at this job and lead us to greater things. You don’t have to be selfish like Seiza has taught you to be. You belong with us, working to your advantage. You are not a weight, you should never be. Do things because you are good at them, not because they feel good, Kaida.”

When Kaida heard, him use her preferred name, she felt like she should have been honored. But she felt insulted. Kaida felt anger build up in her, and taking her out of her catatonic state of efficiency. Kaida stood up from her chair and she ran out of the workshop with Yori shouting her name behind her.

Kaida kept running, as far as she could. She didn’t care where she ended up necessarily. She wanted to get away. She ran into the woods that she was told to stay away from, soon her body kicked into exhaustion before her mind did, and Kaida tried controlling her breathing as she slowed down, and sat down in the woods with her head covered. She tried to calm herself down as best as she could, it was just a memory. But the memory affected her far more than she ever expected. A series of memories that at the beginning of all of this she could not remember, was now hurting her more than when Aux had punched her in the head. She felt the tears come, probably from the memory more so than the reality. Until she felt a comforting presence from someone who was not from these memories and the voice of Max asking her out of concern, “Are you alright?”

life is suffering, we live to die

the secret code is "cal is rude 2 me and my punny humor"

But if you quarantine the puns, no one will get to experience where my humor shines. Have you seen my discord nicknames?

but

the name


is cheesy

I am extremely disappointed in you all that cheddarjak is not higher.

sorry, finals coming up and a bunch of housekeeping things all december. wouldn't even be able to think about joining until around january and I don't wanna hold the game back with non-posting.

If you're seeing it everywhere I post I'm sorry but I don't care. this is important to my sanity:

Kaida was a far less than excited that she was going to be tested right then. And of all things, she really wasn't excited to go to her homeworld either, she'd caught his comment about it and she understood at the very least what to expect as she walked down the hallway of doors. When she reached her's, it had taken her quite some time to get there, she'd passed pretty much everyone else's door first. She had no idea what the number inscribed on the door XXXVIII even stood for. Kaida just kind of took it like it was a serial number at that point to mark her down. She was used to that kind of thing. Kaida could remember her number 20295 for when she needed to be called for something in the Academy. She remembered the marking K-07 that was always spoken as she walked into the meeting room of the order. It was a number that meant nothing to her, but maybe something to a computer.

Kaida didn't really feel the need to hesitate, she figured getting it over with like ripping a bandaid off was probably her best reaction to this. She placed her hand on the handle and turned, just to make sure it really did let her in. Then she pushed the door open and stepped inside.

---

XXXVIII- The Tale Of Kaida
Part 1 of 5
"Home"​

The first thing she felt was the wind, then her vision blinded and she covered her eyes. When she reopened her eyes she was knelt down in front of a large piece of metal and looking upwards to the sky. She knew it was spring, the stars were aligned that way in the sky. The moon was low on the west horizon, making her believe it was early morning. Kaida felt slightly overwhelmed by actually being home. As she lowered her head, she could look down at her village and what was beyond it and that feeling was reinforced even more. She had not expected it, considering how many years she hated her homeworld and how grateful she was to not be back there, the nostalgic imagery triggered some small euphoria she hadn't expected at all.

Then she remembered where exactly she was in relation to her world. But not because she herself figured out the landmass, but because a voice broke through the sound in her mind.

"Lemon, if you blind yourself on that thing you're gonna be really sad when I leave you here."

Kaida turned excitedly around to see Seiza there, he looked much younger but more unkempt. He was working on the ship, specifically placing together the equivalent of a rocket. Kaida could not for the life of her remember how old she must have been right then. Kaida rubbed her eyes and said, "Sorry, I hit it by accident."
"I know, but at this point you should know better. Could you pass the generator piece over there?" Seiza asked, reaching out. Kaida nodded and moved to pick it up and brought it over and Seiza accepted it and said, "You're growing. You're gonna get taller than me if you keep growing at that rate."
"What? You're pretty tall, I doubt you'd be shorter than me. Unless I became a giant."

Seiza laughed and snapped the generator and stood up quickly and his movement was extremely fast as he stretched and quickly jogged across to grab something. Kaida reached out and said, "Wait, Master, that could..." Seiza stopped suddenly, concerned, and looked over and asked, "What's wrong?"

Kaida then remembered, at that point in time, she hadn't damaged his heart. He could be active, running wouldn't kill him. He could do all the things he loved. Kaida went silent, filled with regret and said, "Sorry, I..."
"Did something happen today, Kaida?"

Kaida looked at Seiza for a moment before shaking her head and lied, "Nothing happened. Everything is fine."
Seiza looked sceptical, and he started walking away and said, "You want a snack? I'm grabbing a couple oranges."
"Yes please." Kaida replied as she walked him walk off. She looked up towards the moon and took a deep breath and whispered, "So... what's the point of this? Why am I here?"

"For a test, right?" a teenage voice suddenly spoke by her. Kaida jumped and let out a bit of a yell before she looked over and saw Max Goof standing by a tree. He was leaning against it trying to look all cool, he waved his hand and said, "What's up?"
"Why are you here?"
"Ouch. Am I that bad to hang with?"
"No it's just..." Kaida looked back at the world, at where Seiza stood, at the scenery, then back at Max and said, "You stick out like a sore thumb. You also weren't exactly someone I expected to see here of all places."

"Where is this? It looks like it'd be a cool vacation spot." Max replied looking around, especially at the village and Kaida said, "We're at my home."
"You look really uncomfortable if this is your home."
"It's been years..." Kaida started. She didn't even need to continue, Max just nodded and understood. She suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Seiza holding out an orange towards her, "Did you not get enough sleep?"
"I did." Kaida protested, Seiza chuckled and walked away and peeled his orange. Kaida looked back to look at Max, but Max was gone. Kaida was confused, but she figured he'd probably pop up again. She had no idea why he was even here, but she decided to turn and walk back closer to Seiza.

Maybe in your case most of the cost was the shipping?

In comparison, yeah, I can understand why you were bothered a lot more since 25 dollars is a LOT of money. But I still felt it was hyping up at least two items or four with the way it was presented. And... I don't really wear scarves all that often so it's probably why I'm a bit more disappointed over the 15 dollar thing (though it was a risk I took so). There are worse things you could get for 15 dollars... you could get 3000 jewels and a week of all events unlocked in KHUX for example... but I still expected a bit more than a scarf that would have realistically cost about 5-8 dollars at f.y.e.

At this point, the mostly unanswered response from the other two just made Kaida bother reaching out for conversation anymore. They were already there, and the single "yeah" from D'daear made her realize that everyone else was probably feeling about the same as she was. But that just meant she was going to leave them be. So when they had arrived, Kaida had walked a little further and just looked up at the castle for a bit, then she continued her whittling.

It was turning into the shape of a fox slowly, and it was looking alright. The light made it easier for her to work on the finer details, she just kind of sat alone and continued, looking at how the single source of light caused her shadows and the shadows nearby to dance and she just kind of stared at them, feeling a sort of nostalgia for it and she closed her eyes.

"We need even teams though, or this game will be in favor of those with the most players..." a young high pitched voice stated.
"Well, Lemon is over there, we could grab her-"
"Shh don't say her name too loud. She's annoying, and she cheats in most of the games."
"She also hangs out with the crazy man on the mountain. Miss Shen said to stay away from him since he keeps talking about insane things."

Kaida felt the wood shaving land on her legs and she shifted ever so slightly before opening her eyes and making sure she didn't mess up anything.

"But if we don't get another person it can be uneven."
"We can ask someone else, just don't talk to Lemon or she'll get us in trouble again."
"Or she'll hurt us like that time she punched Eyebrows."
"Seriously? It's like she doesn't want any friends."

Kaida shook her head to just get the thoughts out and continued her whittling, her ears ready to listen to any conversations others may have been having.

OH I DID IT WRONG

You couldn't just start a conversation with all four of them? LOL