nocwhywouldyoutellthekiddiestodothat
The girl finally had a chance to brush out her long hair and actually style it. With the way battles had been going, Aria decided it was high time to tie it back in a braid so she could see more clearly. She even decided to add a few beads from the bags she grabbed from the previous world and placed them in there. By the time she went to check on Tinarah and Take, they were summoned before the Council. It was a little nerve-wracking for Aria as she stood before the chairs that were aligned in front of them, and they were made to stand in a line. She glanced at Master Choma before looking up at the whole Council and caught Master Selene trying to wave at them. Aria instinctively waved back and then realized what she was doing, sheepishly lowering her hand and tucking her arms behind her back. She listened attentively to Master Gero, although feeling uncomfortable all the while. Seeing him in a different light earlier, while understandable given that she didn't know what happened to him, bothered her. It was then Tinarah's turn to tell her story and what happened to her. The whole time, Aria kept her head down, listening to all the words. She could feel anger swelling up inside of her towards the Light Chaser, that he would lie to the both of them and send Tinarah away to a strange place and not back with their friends... The more Tinarah said, the more frustrated Aria was feeling towards herself and the situation her dear friend was put through. They weren't close, but Aria tried her best to show the girl how much she mattered and that Aria had cared about her. The part where Tinarah said all of them had died, Aria felt the girl look back at her and met her eyes for that brief moment. Aria was gradually blaming herself for not holding on to Tinarah to keep her in sight until they both got out of Sleeping Eventide. They both foolishly put their trust in the Light Chaser, someone they were told to fear and to be wary of. By the end of the tale, Aria could see that Tinarah was visibly upset and shaken. Her heart went out to her and she glanced at the others briefly before stepping forward to the girl's side. It made sense now why Tinarah looked older, sickly, weak, and was the way she was now. In a matter of almost three days in Aria's time being back with the others, Tinarah had somehow experienced five years, some of those being so traumatic and heart-wrenching. And it made more sense why Grandpa Gero was extremely hard on Torrin earlier. Aria didn't even look up at the Council as she stood by Tinarah's side. She could see her knuckles white and how hard she was trying to keep it all together in front of everyone. Aria's eyes soften as she looked to the girl's face, making sure Tinarah knew she was there before hesitantly putting an arm around her not so young friend anymore and squeezed her lightly. It was then she noticed that she herself was tearing up too, droplets rolling down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry..." Aria whispered to Tinarah. She meant for her finding out that Mika was really gone, but also for all that she had to endure and go through. She gently laid her head on Tinarah's shoulder in an act of comfort and then stood up straight, rubbing Tinarah's other shoulder with her hand to try to soothe the girl the best she could. "I miss her too..."
Aria was taken aback by Gero's reactions to the bracelet. He... seen it before? She was about to open her mouth, but was stopped when she saw his stare harden and how he wanted to get away so quickly. She held her wrist in her hand, watching him go with sadness in her eyes. She let out a long sigh as if she was holding her breath, moving the bracelet around her wrist idly. "I'm... sorry about that," she sighed out. It wasn't really her fault, but she felt so helpless and was mad at herself for being a sort of problem. She squeezed her wrist and then shut her eyes to calm down her anxieties and her frustrations. She wasn't hungry anymore as she was. She remembered her damp hair though and looked up at it, pulling at a snarl. "I um... I'm going to go brush out my hair," she mumbled. "And then I'm going to go check up on Take and... Tinarah." The two of them had been through a lot, especially Tinarah it seemed. There was nothing else to be done here with the nightmare. Aria would just have to keep figuring this out on her own, like she had done before. Her injuries were healed, and Take and Tinarah were still recovering. She turned to leave and then stopped. "Thank you, by the way... For waking me up and taking care of me when you did." Aria offered Torrin a small smile and then looked to the floor, hurrying off down the stairs to go back to her room. Hopefully the small crowd that was there earlier would be gone by now... Spoiler: Tales of a Princess: A Light Is Born Age: Two Days Old And what of the child’s name, Master Gero?” “Her mother told me that she would be called Aria. A lovely name.” An elderly man spoke, looking down towards the tiny child wrapped in a fluffy purple blanket. “And her parents?” “Safe. Perhaps, when the time is right, they shall be reunited but with the current state of the Realm of Light, she is safer being placed in the care of another.” “Master, why couldn’t she just stay here? Is this not the safest place for her?” “You know she cannot stay here. We cannot be distracted from our duties by having to take care of a child as well. Not only that, but we would prevent her from having any semblance of a normal childhood by doing so.” “I...suppose you are right. Forgive me, Master Gero.” “There is no need to apologize.” The old man pulled the child out from her crib though he handled her like a delicate flower that would have been crumpled up had he applied just a little more strength. “Enough children have been harmed by our pride and interference. She will be better off in the hands of another but that does not mean I cannot keep my eyes on this child.” Without so much as summoning his keyblade a column of light materialized beside the old man. “It is time to take her to her new guardians.” Gero looked down at the sleeping baby and allowed himself to show a faint smile. “I will resume my studies until you return, master.” The other man bowed his head slightly as Gero stepped through the portal with Aria and disappeared. On the other side, the portal closing immediately behind Gero, the old man cradled the baby with one arm while the other pulled up the hood of his brown robe. Gero looked ahead to the dirt path before him, lit only by moonlight and the starry sky. It would take him some time before he would reach the location of the child’s new home but he chose to walk to conceal himself from this world and prevent a disturbance. Eventually, as first light began to break, they arrived at a humble abode made of wood and stone, standing about two stories high. The roof had light blue shingles on top, worn from the weather with a chocobo weather-vane. There was a large wooden porch with two white rocking chairs on it with a small end table in between the chairs, and wind chimes with butterflies and small birds tinkling in the wind. The windows were large, the inside of the house obscured by pastel colored yellow curtains. The door was painted a dark blue with a little knocker of a chocobo head holding a ring in its mouth. A light was shining through one of the windows, indicating someone was awake at this hour already. “There it is.” Gero spoke, standing in view of the home. As he spoke the child in the crook of his arm began to stir and let out a tiny weak cry. She fussed as she wriggled under her blankets, pulling out one arm from the bundle and grabbed at her face. Her mouth opened slightly and then she placed her thumb in her mouth and began to suck on in, snuggling into the older man’s chest for more warmth and comfort. Gero’s eyes watered on seeing the innocence of the child in his arms, radiating such a powerful light. Memories of another such child returned to him but when he looked back at the house he could see a silhouette moving from behind the window those memories returned to the dark corners of his mind.It was time. He approached the home and knocked on the door. Soft footsteps approached the door, and then it was opened with a creak. A young woman in her mid twenties appeared at the doorstep, her black hair done up in a bun with wisps of hair floating out of place and framing her face. Freckles dotted her cheeks, and hazel brown eyes met the figure on the doorstep. “You made it,” she breathed out with a sigh of relief. “Won’t you come in for a moment?” She offered, opening the door more for Gero to enter. “It’s chilly outside… I have tea on the stove if you need to warm up.” She was wearing a light grey shawl with little decorative threads hanging down and a light blue house dress with a simple white ribbon around her waist. She was dressed in a haste, but for good reason. Her eyes drifted to the bundle in Gero’s arms, and then gasped softly as she pressed a hand to her chest. “Is that… is that her?” Gero nodded in response to the woman’s question. “Yes. Her name is Aria.” Gero spoke softly as to not disturb the child who was already beginning to close her eyes once more. “I’m afraid I cannot stay for long. Times have been difficult to say the least and bringing her here might have brought unwanted attention. The longer I stay, the more likely danger is to follow.” He paused for a moment. “That is not to say, I will never return. Once the situation has been resolved, I intend to keep a close eye on Aria.” He looked down at the baby and smiled. “Her light is so strong. Even now...” Anja watched the wise old man for a moment with the child, seeing how much he was attached to the small infant. She received word of when the baby was born, which was just yesterday. To see an impact this infant was making already touched Anja’s own heart. She smiled and pulled the shawl more tightly around her. “We’ll watch over her-“ “And take good care of her,” came a deep reply from behind Anja. The woman looked behind her to see a burly young man, dressed in a white button up shirt and blue denim pants. She smiled as he laid a hand on her shoulder and then looked back to Gero. Lanar smiled and nodded towards Gero, and looked down at the bundle in his arms. “It feels like our prayers have finally been answered,” he spoke softly. “We’ve been waiting for a child for so long.” Anja held Lanar’s hand and grinned at Gero as tears of happiness came to her eyes. “We know she’s not ours for long, but we will love her now and forever as if she is...” “Then it seems that she will be in good hands. I am glad to hear that.” Gero raised the baby up then stepped forward towards the couple and offered the child to Anja. “I trust that you will take care of her.” Anja closed the space between Gero, and carefully took the infant in her arms. Aria stirred in her sleep and then nuzzled into the woman’s chest. Lanar peeked over Anja’s shoulder at the baby they were just given, and smiled softly. “She’s so tiny…” “She’ll grow,” Anja said as she looked over her shoulder to her husband and swayed the baby gently in her arms. “She’ll grow…”
Llave must have a pretty bendy car. Or one of them buses.
Aria was relieved that things to see more calmer now, only to amp up again when Torrin threw in some arguments. Aria held back a sigh and instead pinched the bridge of her nose, listening to both bickering back and forth. "Okay, okay!" She raised her hand up in the air, trying to get them to stop. "Again, please. Stop fighting," she pleaded to the two of them. She looked to Torrin and smiled a little. "We don't know how light and darkness can coexist yet, given how corrupted the two sides can be... I mean, I've seen the heartless side with someone in the last world we visited, and I'm seeing the Light Chaser's side with it a bit. I can see why Grandpa Gero is hesitant." She breathed out and rubbed her temples with her fingers. Processing all of this at once was giving her a headache. "For the longest time, my nightmares were just something written off as a childhood nightmare I'd grow out of. Aunt Anja said it's been around since I was an infant. Well, I'm seventeen, and it's still here. And just today, it physically manifested itself... As scary as it is, I agree, this needs more research." Aria pressed her lips together and chewed the inside of her cheeks. "I don't want this to hurt anyone else... Whatever is going on. And I don't think dream travel is possible? Or even safe. What if my light hurts you badly, Torrin? Or almost kills you... Or what if you hurt me on accident? We'll just have to take this one dream at a time." She remembered something else in her nightmares and looked down at her bracelet. "There's one more thing... Every time the dark creature is about to try to end me the last couple of dreams... Or keeps tormenting me... There's this voice that's been talking to me. A woman. There's this blinding light, and she seems to scare away the monster. Which is what happened last night... But when I woke up this time, that's when it manifested itself. I was in my room, but it was dark... There was no light at all. And it turned out I didn't wake up at all. But my dreams only started picking up recently, and the voice only started to come after I was with the Light Chaser and he gave me this." She held up her wrist for Gero to look at the golden chain.
Village in Peril- Conrad, Everette, Samuel Farmer Ol thought for a moment as he leaned against the stall, looking on to the sick animals. "They always have a drink of water when they get there. And the hay that's already there." He then shook his head at the question if he took them back to the village. "No, they've become so violently sick, I didn't want them to be around the other animals or villagers. They've been here since the first bought of illness... And they've stayed pretty much the same. Just recently they hadn't been a fan of any food... Poor creatures can hardly keep anything down in their guts. I have to puree the food and try to feed them that way to keep it in their gizzards."
Delivery of Cakes- Shawn, Yukyo, Lakoda Lakoda nodded her head in response to Yukyo's and Shawn's request and snapped the reins of the wagon. The horses lurched forward, and Lakoda briefly glanced back at the delivery to make sure it was alright. It was tide down and covered with a blanket, staying in place in the wagon. She then looked back ahead and gasped when she saw someone in the way, but couldn't stop the wagon suddenly. Just as they appeared, they disappeared in a flash before they were hit. The oranges that were spilled out were suddenly picked up by snake looking things that were black, yet flat and gliding along the ground like a shadow. Oranges were suddenly chucked at the boys, trying to hit them back BEHIND the wagon... since walls were preventing them from going on the sides. Village in Peril- Conrad, Everette, Samuel "Not that I can think of," the chief said with an exasperated sigh. "The river might be a good place to look. We hadn't been able to go up there since the storm hit us. Too much to do, and so little time to do it." Chief Yolvun looked to the town hall and frowned a little. "It seems like it comes and goes in spikes... I mean the severity of it. One moment, we'll have several days where people are sick and dying, or near death's door... And then it tappers off and we get a moment to breathe." "Well," the farmer began, stroking his beard, "we always go to the village on Market Days... The village barely comes to us. We are all spread out after all. No one out here has really gotten sick, unless we've ventured into the village lately. Same with the animals. That's why the village is quarantined, you see." The farmer stood up from his garden hoe and held it in his hand, ruffling, Renza's hair as he walked by. "Why don't you go feed the ducks, dear. I know how much you love them." Renza giggled with a nod of her head and then ran off towards the pond where the quacking of ducks could be heard. Farmer Ol smiled as he watched the young girl run off and shook his head. "She lost her parents not long ago... No one had really the chance to take her in as their own though. Not with this disease around. We've been raising her ourselves, and she's been sleeping at the chief's house." He cleared his throat and wiped the back of his neck with a handkerchief, taking Conrad over to the stables. "Anyways, we have a different water source from the rest of the village. We get our water from the mountain snow in streams that come by to the different farms. Not from the main river that comes underground to the village... The crops have been fine... The animals... I have a few sick ones that hadn't gotten any better ever since I took them to the village." He opened the barn doors and walked over to one stall that seemed to be quarantined off from the rest. Inside there were two horses, a donkey, and some sheep. Each of them seemed to have skin lesions, around the eyes, mouth, and nose especially. They were all laying down, having labored breathing and the food was untouched. "I don't know what's the matter with them... I've tried every herbal remedy, but nothing seems to be working." A Price Unpaid- Gavin, Zephyr, Thea The little girl looked up at Gavin and shyed away for a moment, nuzzling into the maid that was helping her clean her muddy shoes. The maid looked down at the little girl. "Don't be rude, Cindy. It's alright." She looked up at Gavin and smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry, she's a little shy. You're the mages that are here to help, right?" She dried off her hands and then placed a hand on the little girl's shoulder. "It's okay, Cindy. You can answer his questions. He's here to help us out." Cindy nodded her head and looked up at Gavin. "I dun know what happens when fog wolls in, mister," she answered honestly as she clutched on the maid's outfit. "We gotta go to bed eawry, and I stay asweep all nigh. I only heard the floot music a few times, but I always go back to sweep. Even when I wanna stay awake." One of the boys looked over at Thea and smiled gently. "We're playing Dominoes," he said with a smile. "Are you new in town?" "No, I don't think so," said the boy with suspenders. "She came in with those other teenagers. Are you a mage?" One had ruffles around his neck and a teddy-bear in his lap. He stayed quiet as he silently placed a domino down by one that was placed down earlier. The twelve year old looked up at Zephyr, raising an eyebrow at him in curiosity. "Yes... Her name is Maliel," she said quietly. "She can't come see me much for some reason though," she said softly as she looked back at the ball and rolled it between her hands. Realization suddenly came over her and she looked up at the young man with wide eyes. "Oh, you were the ones that threw the ball over the wall... Thank you," she said with a smile. "That was really nice of you."
Aria was caught in a middle of a dispute it seemed. Although it seemed pretty one-sided to her to be honest. She was stunned to learn that Torrin had been hanging around her room throughout the night, given the fact she was pretty much left to freely roam in the other world with the others. Then again, he seemed more paranoid this time around than the time he took her from the Light Chaser and dropped her off with her friends. Something about the Light Chaser making Torrin and his small group to fall in a trap he set up... When Grandpa Gero and Torrin started to threaten each other, Aria inhaled sharply between her teeth. It was time to step in. “Whoa, whoa! Okay, calm down everyone,” Aria tried to coax. She stepped up to the middle between the two that were arguing, gently taking the cane in her hand and lowering it gently while looking up at the older man. “It’s okay, Grandpa Gero... it’s okay...” She didn’t know what happened to him in the years that he was absent, but it seemed to have left a bitter taste in his mouth towards Torrin. Something about another him... Aria didn’t understand it, but she was going to do her best to defuse the situation. “There’s no need for cane throwing or dropping-down old people,” she said to Torrin as she glanced over at him and then back to the elderly man. “And there’s no need to throw people out of the castle suddenly.” She sighed out and rubbed the back of her neck, feeling a little frustrated for being out of the loop of things. “L-Look, Grandpa Gero... I don’t know what happened... when you were gone. And I don’t know much about Torrin and his situation... but this Torrin that I’ve gotten to know for the little bit I have hasn’t hurt anyone. He saved me. The Light Chaser had me and made me believe that if I left a world I was stuck in a sleeping state that it would collapse because of my light... The Light Chaser also told me Tinarah was returned safely to my friends, which was an absolute lie. And this all happened... almost three days ago.” She clenched her fist as she raised her hand and looked down at the bracelet. “But Torrin went to face the Light Chaser to get Tinarah back. And when he found me, he brought me back to my friends, even when I was scared the Light Chaser’s words were true. From what I understand, him and Atmos put their lives on the line to save just one person, even though that mission seemed impossible. The Torrin here has been going above and beyond for us... and when he found you and Tinarah, him and his friend protected you two when the trap fell in place...” Aria was now standing between the two so they wouldn’t go at each other’s throats while she was talking. Her eyes soften as she looked to the elderly man and she carefully took one of his hands and held it for a moment. “Whatever this Other Torrin did... shouldn’t reflect on the one standing before us now...” She squeezed Grandpa Gero’s hand and let go before turning to face Torrin. “We’re all worn out. We’re tired... we’ve been through a lot we don’t understand right now. We can either learn from each other and get stronger,” she said as she looked back to her old mentor, “or keep fighting with one another and get weaker...” She looked to her arms and stroked the healed skin, then back up to Gero. “Something the Light Chaser told me really bothered me... that he wants to find a way to be rid of all the darkness in the worlds and in people’s hearts.” She pressed her hand to her chest and fell silent for a moment. “What if... that causes more destruction than somehow finding a balance? Like how the daylight and night time take turns rotating, or how people use the shade to cool off on a hot summer’s day... or needing complete darkness to see a meteor shower.” Aria shook her head with a nervous smile. “I don’t know. Maybe I’m being silly... but I believe if we work together, we can figure out a way to understand the Light Chaser’s powers and his reasons why he is doing what he’s doing. And we need Torrin’s understanding of the darkness to see how, and if possible, Darkness could coexist with the Light...” She let her arms drop and looked to the floor. “...I’m really scared right now too,” she admitted. “I don’t... I don’t understand about this whole thing about being a princess of heart. If I’m a princess of heart, a being of pure light, why am I having nightmares about this dark creature? Why is it suddenly appearing and able to physically hurt me but no one else can sense its pressence? I mean, it’s lashed out at me before, but I never ended up with marks or scratches... maybe if I understand why darkness has to be in the worlds along with the light, maybe I’ll find the tools to stop it and conquer it...”
Aria had dried away most of her tears and had regained control. She sniffed, and smiled up at Gero, beaming with pride when he commented how strong she was now. She had worked hard to get up to this point, even with Master Choma kinda telling her to take it slow. What was said next surprised her. Her Grandpa Gero... was the Master of Masters? She felt her jaw gape open and then closed it just a quick. She had so many questions swimming around in her head all of the sudden, and then realization kind of struck her. Oooh... that actually explains some things... She straightened to attention when Torrin tried to excuse himself, only to be stopped by Gero. And hearing Master Choma not being invited, or anyone else for that matter made Aria wonder why Grandpa Gero needed to fall to her and Torrin at the same time. She looked to her master and nodded her head, and then followed up after the two. She stayed behind the old man and walked along side Torrin. She glanced at the young man and shrugged her shoulders with a raised eyebrow, wondering what was going to happen exactly. When they ventured far enough away from the others, Aria finally spoke up softly. “Did they... tell you what was going on with me?” She asked as she continued to follow. “About the... weird nightmare thing?” Her eyes looked to Torrin and then back to Grandpa Gero as they continued forward. “Torrin was the one that woke me up from it... and helped me calm down. I was really out of it earlier.”
“I’m really bad at lying,” the girl admitted a smile they walked. Aria then giggled at the second question, trying to straighten out her messy mop on top of her head. “It’s kinda always been like this? As far as I know. Although my aunt says it was like a lighter purplish-pink when I was a baby... and where I’m from is Amerath. It’s kind of a quiet little world, with mountains, a town, and farms. I grew up on one of the farms with my aunt and uncle.” She furrowed her brows in thought and frowned a little. “... I don’t know why. My parents are alive, or that’s what I was told. I just couldn’t be with them for some-“ She was caught off guard in mid-sentence when Torrin suddenly tensed up and Aria jumped when a girl with black hair and a purple bow hopped in front of them. It was unsettling to say the least, given the scare that Aria had earlier. She had to pinch herself to make sure she wasn’t having a third dream within a dream... within a dream. Aria watched the exchange between the two of them, sensing the tension in the air. She raised her eyebrow at the girl when she suggested dueling with Torrin and gave the guy... wait, no, did she hear that right? Master? She didn’t have time to dwell on it though when she sensed more people had shown up. She looked up, and saw- “Grandpa Gero...?” Aria whispered out loud with disbelief. She couldn’t believe who she was seeing before her. He looked more worn and older than what she remembered, but the eyes were the same. As he came to the bottom of the stairs, Aria grinned widely and tears of happiness flowed freely.”Grandpa Gero!” she exclaimed, running up to the old man and throwing her arms around him in a warm embrace. “It’s you! It’s really you!” she laughed through the tears as she hugged her hero close to her. “I hadn’t seen you since I was ten!” She pulled back and wiped her tears away with her finger, smiling up at him and brimming over with joy. “They told me you were dead... I knew they were wrong. I just knew it.” Aria pressed her lips together, her chin quivering and her feet dancing a little in place. She went in for another hug to make sure he wasn’t going to disappear on her again. “I missed you so much!” Her shoulders shook as she sobbed softly, digging her fingers into Gero’s cloak while hugging him tightly to her. She didn’t care who was looking on or if she was making a scene. This was her idol growing up, and she was very lonely and sad when he vanished for years and years on end, no one really knowing what happened to him.
Aria knew Illiana was going to be persistent about getting to the bottom of what was going on. She was about to open her mouth to speak when, Torrin took her by her arm and pulled her up to her feet. She was perplexed by the sudden turn of events, and even more confused with the explanation he gave about why the door the way it was. She felt the nudges from him to move forward, and walked towards the door opening. “About... the new recipe for hot chocolate I came up with?” She played along, knowing full well she was so bad at lying but was going to go with it anyways. “Yeah, maybe it’ll lift everyone spirits more if it tastes like s’mores. You know, remind you of a cozy campfire under a blanket of stars.” She smiled to herself and then made her way out the door. “We’ll catch up later,” she promised to Illiana and Glyde before she started to make her way down the hallway to get away from her room. Her hair was a mop bucket of mess on top, but there wasn’t much she could do about it at this point. She would have to brush it out later, maybe style it differently per usual. Once they were far enough away from her room, she looked over at Torrin and smiled a little. “Thank you... I didn’t want to tell them what happened until we have some kind of idea of what it is...”
The nice comment went over the girl’s head. She didn’t think what she was wearing was nice, but she smiled anyways at the comment. Aria paused ruffling her hair to try to dry it, hearing where Torrin was from. “Realm of... darkness?” How could someone live where the Heartless were and not become one of them? Or stay so nice when things were... not so nice. She didn’t have time to speak to him though when one of the students of the big masters showed up, being all nervous as well. “Oh, hello!” Aria greeted warmly as she took the towel off her head. Her wet hair flopped in her face, and she spat and parted it away from her face, gasping. “Aiiiir!!!... um, yeah, anyways-“ It was then Glyde joined back in and was being all sheepish. “It’s okay, now we can get breakfast without getting lost.” She looked at the boys, and then back on the new guy. She could tell he was upset about the door, but she didn’t feel like explaining that she had a nightmare and thus her door was broken down to check on her wellbeing. She was trying to move past that already while waiting to tell someone else about it. “Aw, you’re really nice. Thank you for getting us dinner last night, that was sweet of you,” she said to Adalric. She then eyed Torrin suspiciously. “No one skips breakfaaaast. He’ll have toast with a hot chocolate... I’ll have Bacon, scrambled eggs, and a bagel with cream cheese, please. Ooo! And a hot chocolate for me too! If that’s okay...” She then raised an eyebrow at the guy, combing her mane back with her fingers. “Do you need help cooking?” She asked Adalric. “I bet it was stressful cooking for all of us last night. I can help out. I know a thing or two.” Aria perked up when she heard a familiar voice and smiled a little when it was Illiana. “Yeaaaah,” Aria admitted while rubbing the back of her head. This was getting a little uncomfortable with all of these people wondering about the well-being of the door and what caused it to break in the first place. She didn’t want to tell anyone else what was going on yet until she figured out herself what was going on. Seeing how worried Boreas and Torrin were for her earlier, she didn’t want to do that to anyone else if there was no need for it.... granted the physical harm from the dream appearing on her when she woke up was serious. She cleared her throat and rubbed her finger under her nose before resting her hands in her lap. “Everything is okay now though,” she simply said, giving a tiny smile to the older girl.
Aria blinked when Torrin suggested to scream if she needed him and snorted at the attempted humor. She smiled and shook her head as Torrin headed to the doorframe to talk to Glyde and carefully slipped out of bed. She stretched out her tired muscles, only to shiver from the chilly air and grabbed her rainbow fleece blanket from her bed. That much she was able to pack along with a change of clothes, and the grey T-shirt with printed rainbows on clouds on blue PJ bottoms. She wrapped her blanket tightly around herself and went to her bag, digging passed the bags of beads she snagged from the last world and pulled out a clean outfit. With that, she nodded her head and slipped into the bathroom, locking the door behind her. True to her word, she took a very fast shower, cleaning off most of the dirt and grime. Once she dried off just as speedily, she slipped on her outfit and wrapped her towel around her long, purplish hair. She sat it on top like a turban and then hummed as she unlocked the door and ventured out. “All done~” she declared. She was now wearing a purple, sleeveless dress like tunic top with a single belt around her waist. The neckline was cut into a v-like shape, and the collar was up midneck. She wore a choker with a rainbow star in the middle, and greyish-blue leggings with a floral pattern on them. She placed her folded PJs in her bag and then sat down in a comfy chair by a desk. “So... where do you come from, Torrin?” Aria asked as she wrung her hair out with her towel. She wanted to make small talk, given how awkward the situation was earlier. She felt bad he had to see her like that... or anyone for that matter. She knew how much it bothered people to see her cry or get sad. So she was trying to make the atmosphere more relaxed and welcoming now that the worst was over and she was awake... it wouldn’t do good to keep dwelling on what happened after all. It still bothered her, but she knew she’d get a chance to talk to Master Choma soon about it.
“Hm?” Aria glanced over at Torrin and chuckled when he suggested a shower. “No, I know what you mean!” She said with a grin to show she wasn’t offended with the suggestion. “Showers and baths help relax you... especially after something stressful happens or you just had a bad day... or night.” She ran her fingers through her hair and cringed when she caught them in a snarl and freed them with a shake of her hand. “That sounds like a good idea... I don’t want to miss Master Choma though... I mean, I can take a five to ten minute shower to get clean. Just it won’t be super relaxing. But I’d feel a bit better. I dunno, should I wait?” She asked Torrin with a raise of her brow.
Glyde was so nervous to talk to her. Aria couldn’t help but smile a little at that,. She didn’t mean to be intimidating if she was... She listened quietly, hearing how he had a rough night as well and had woken up before she did. He heard the screams anyways, and he came to check up on her. She was surprised, however, when he offered to grab her some breakfast. She smiled warmly at him, letting her hands relax in her lap. “That’s really sweet of you, Glyde. If you wouldn’t mind grabbing me some too, that’d be great. I eat just about anything.” She softly giggled and hunched her shoulders before relaxing them. “You weren’t intruding or being a bother. Thank you for checking up on me... I appreciate it.”
Aria listened to Torrin as she cried softly, sniffing and hiccuping to herself. She had fought this battle alone for so long she didn’t know how much longer she would last. Her aunt and uncle did what they could to help her from night time herbs, to dream catchers, to soothing music, to warm milk before bed and cookies... but nothing made the nightmares stopped. She never knew when she was going to be plagued by the dreams, and so she was always a little on edge when she was too tired to stay awake much longer and drift to sleep. She looked down at her lap when Torrin said he was going to back her up. Aria could tell her being upset bothered him, but she couldn’t help herself. She was wiping her eyes with the corner of her sheets, about to apologize to Torrin again when she was suddenly hugged. She dropped the sheet back in her lap, and felt herself gradually relax in the embrace. She didn’t know Torrin well, but she could feel he was genuinely concerned about her. Hesitantly, she wrapped her arms around Torrin and hugged him back, burying her head in his shoulder. She could feel herself calming down in his arms as the sobbing was lessening along with the shivering. She was awake now, and she was safe. Nothing else that was bad was going to happen to her today. “Thank you,” she finally whispered after a moment, squeezing Torrin as comfortably tight to her as possible. She wanted to reassure herself she was actually awake and this wasn’t some dream within a dream again. It was then she heard a voice at her door, and pulled away from Torrin to see Glyde there. Aria felt all embarrassed and rubbed away the remaining tears with the back of her hand and snagged a few tissues off her nightstand to wipe her nose. “Y-You’re okay, Glyde,” Aria managed to get out with a nervous smile. Did she wake up the whole castle with her screams? “I-I’m sorry if I woke you up too.” She half-laughed and sniffed again, throwing her tissues away in a small waste basket by her bed. “I’m okay now. How are you?” The last thing she wanted to do was carry a conversation, but this was the way it always was with her. She had a moment to express her real emotions, and then she had to tuck them away and soldier on. There wasn’t time to feel sorry for herself or dwell on the negative for long.
Aria’s eyes darted over to Boreas, the guy that suggested to take extreme measures if they couldn’t take off the bracelet normally. He seemed concerned though, and she caught a glimpse of his armor and keyblade before it vanished. She felt bad for causing such a fuss and bit her lower lip. She then looked at Torrin with wide eyes when he seemed to order the older guy to go get Master Choma and summon the master of the castle. She felt dread within her and fought back the panic and the tears the best she could. It was then Torrin took her scratched up arms, and she winced as she stared back down at them. Whatever happened in her sleep terrified her to seemingly no end, and now to see it physically hurt her...she didn’t even hear Torrin tell her that no one was going to hurt her. He was trying to comfort her, but she knew it not to be true... She finally remembered to breathe in through her nose, and let out an unsteady, slow breath of air. She watched as her scratches faded under the green glow of Torrin’s hands and she looked at him with curiosity. He didn’t need to summon his keyblade to use the spell. He was thanking her for yesterday, which brought her anxiety ridden mind back to reality. “You’re welcome,” she half-whispered as he began to heal her shoulder. She took in another shivering breath of air, and let it out gradually. She then winced in pain, and looked to the other shoulder. “Oh yeah, it held me with b-both of its clawed hands,” she muttered as she turned the other shoulder to Torrin to show him the other bruise standing out. She sniffed again and hiccuped softly as tears were still trying to make an appearance, which she rubbed her eye furiously with the heel of her palm. “I had these nightmares since I could remember... it’s always the same; some weird creature in a tattered cloak with sharp teeth and gnarly clawed hands... I never seen its eyes. It never talks. It just growls, shrieks, and gurgles. Sometimes it’ll be over someone, trying to take their...” She swallowed hard and began to fiddle with the charms on Mika’s bracelet as she talked. “... their heart... and then it’ll turn its attention on me. It’ll make me stuck or freeze in place and then it would pin me a little ways up in the air with some kind of darkness so I can’t run or struggle so much. It’ll show me it’s sharp teeth and get a scare out of me... Just only recently it started to dig its claws in me. This is the first time it caught me outside of the usual dream area. I thought I woke up. I thought I was safe. And th-then it was here, hovering over me on my bed... where I was supposed to be safe. It was supposed to be gone.” Aria trailed off and shuddered at the thought. “I’m supposed to have grown out of it by now,”’ she mumbled as she looked up at Torrin. “I’m supposed to have a handle on it, but it keeps getting worse and worse... and now this happened.” She looked at her arms and inspected them again, seeing that Torrin didn’t miss a single scratch. “... They’re going to believe me right?” Aria whispered as her eyes landed on Torrin again. “Even if the marks are gone, th-they’re going to believe that something weird is going on, r-right?” She shivered from feeling suddenly cold and closed her eyes as she inhaled and exhaled again before letting her eyes open again. “This is more terrifying than being trapped in a tight space,” she muttered to herself, letting her tears fall freely yet silently.
Aria was thrashing her arms around as if trying to get something off of her. She was didn’t even hear the door slam open she was caught so deeply in fight mode. When Torrin grabbed her arms, Aria shrieked out and tried to pull them back away from him, not knowing it was someone coming to help her. When she tried to hit and couldn’t, her eyes snapped open as she pressed herself in the mattress to try to escape. Everything was blurry at first, and then she caught the familiar facial features of Torrin. The girl was frozen, hyperventilating and looking around wildly. She was stiff under the older teen’s hands, and chest was rising up and down rapidly. “T-Torrin...?” Aria choked out. She started to relax as her mind was waking up and becoming more aware that she wasn’t sleeping anymore. Aria’s face contorted as her eyes filled with tears and her body shook. She had never been so scared in her life. “I’m sorry,” she breathed out as tears rolled down her cheeks freely. “I-I’m sorry to have scared you... I’m really sorry...” Aria pushed herself to sit up, and winced when pain ached through her shoulders. Her body was shaking like a leaf, and she cursed herself for being this weak in front of someone she barely knew. She wiped her tears away away with the back of her hand, and felt stings radiate through her muscles. Raising an eyebrow, Aria looked down at her arm and gasped, her face paling further. There on her skin were thin ribbons of crimson as if she had been scratched. She held out the other arm to examin it, seeing it suffered the same fate. “No... This... this can’t be. It was just a dream...” But she’s wasn’t so sure about that anymore, and panic was starting to overtake her again. She dropped her arm and reached up to her night shirt she’s had changed into. She peeled back by the neckline to have a look at one of her aching shoulder and gasped. There, where the nightmares had dugged its claws into her skin, there was a large, purple looking bruise there. “How...?”
