The air was dense and hard to breath in. Aria’s body felt heavy, and ached as she hung suspended in the air by her arms. She didn’t have pep in her left to fight like usual, even though her mind was screaming at her to do something. She couldn’t make her limbs move though, even if she tried to focus all her strength into twitching just one finger. Move, she begged herself. Come on, move! The familiar shriek made the girl’s eyes suddenly open. There before her was the cloaked monster, smiling at her with its sharp, pointed teeth, drooling and growling lowly. It’s claws were already dug into her shoulders, pinning her in the air with no escape. Aria, wake up. It was that feminine voice again... The monster dug it’s claws into her deeper, making the girl gasp out and grit her teeth. Aria, it’s just a dream. A blinding light suddenly overpowered the monster, making it release Aria from its claws and stumble back. Wake up! Aria suddenly sat up in bed, panting and shuddering from the sudden adrenaline rush. She glanced around her with wide, fearful eyes, seeing she was not in a familiar place. It was a room given to accommodate her in the castle, where she and everyone else was staying. Strangely though, it was dark and hard to see in. Aria swore there was some kind of nightlight on before she laid down and drifted off... or even a full moon was showing through the windows . The girl brought up her sheets around her, breathing out as she felt uneasy. “It’s just in your head,” she assured herself. “You woke up, you’re not dreaming anymore. You don’t need to get anyone...” It was then she realized she did the impossible... she woke herself from her own nightmare! Whoever or whatever that blinding light was in her dream, she figured that Aria somehow summoned that power from within to ward away the terrible creature. She was starting to get a handle on this! With that, Aria smiled to herself and nodded her head. She was doing better with handling her nightmares, just like Master Choma said she would be able to do. Maybe it was how much of an effort she put into the fights lately that’s made her feel stronger. Satisfied and feeling good about herself, she scooted on her bed, turning to lay down- She was suddenly face to face with the cloaked monster. Aria’s face paled and she let out a very quiet whimper. ‘No! What are you doing here...? You’re supposed to be gone!’ Never in her life had Aria seen this beast outside of her usual nightmares. She could hear her heart pounding in her ears and feel her throat go dry. There was even a heavy weight on her bed as it crouched there, staring at her from under its hood. It’s breath was icy cold, which sent more chills down the girl’s spine and made the hairs on her neck stand up on end. It stared at her a moment, tilting its head slowly as a gurgle sounded out through its throat. It then licked its lips and grinned with its teeth glinting in an odd light. With that, it bore its fangs and lunged at her with claw like hands out to attack. Blood-curdling screams suddenly echoed from Aria’s room through the castle’s halls. And the sounds of a struggle could be heard behind closed doors...
Aria looked at Boreas with wide eyes when he mentioned taking extreme measures. “Wait, what...?” Her mind instantly flashed to ideas like being pushed off of a cliff, or a chainsaw being used to severe her wrist, or someone trying to yank her arm off. It was then her wrist was grabbed and she jumped, half expecting it to be thrown on a chopping block and lobbed off. Instead, it was Master Aster holding her wrist and inspecting it. Aria winced when Master Aster pulled on it, which only made the bracelet pinch and tighten around her wrist. After all the other strange stuff the Master was trying but failed, Aria was relieved to hear she wasn’t being tracked. But hearing the Light Chaser knew where they were was unsettling... And then it was discussed again extreme measures would be taken. Aira gulped, but then Torrin took over and he tried to take it off. She gasped when she saw the darkness swirl around her wrist from Torrin’s hand, and resisted the urge to yank it away. It seemed to be working until it suddenly began to glow and Torrin had to let go, screaming something about hot potatoes. The girl frowned as she glanced at Torrin’s hand and saw the injury from the bracelet. After listening to the exchanges, Aria gently took his burnt hand and studied it for a moment. “I can fix this,” she said quietly. She then summoned her keyblade and cast a cure spell that went around Torrin’s hand. She realized that it seemed stronger than normal, and kind of smiled to herself as she let the keyblade disappear in a flash. “There... hopefully that helps. Thanks for trying to take it off.” She then looked to Glye and Illiana, and then stretched her arms above her head before sighing out, walking after Master Aster. “I don’t think I’m gonna fall asleep so easily tonight,” she mentioned to really no one. True, she hadn’t drank the tea, but she felt like her mind was swimming too much with her thoughts and events of the day. So much had happened in so little time, and seeing her friends hurt, or aged suddenly like Tinarah, and meeting all these new people was super overwhelming to her.
With the strange reunion going on, Aria wasn’t expecting her master to come talk to her. She glanced at him, realizing that she had one of the worst poker faces ever. She couldn’t hide her emotions even if she wanted to. “I appreciate it,” she said in a low voice to him so no one could hear, “but even if she gets over it, I want to make it up somehow. Homemade tea is hard to make... and she did it out of kindness. I wasn’t thinking clearly, and I was being rude...” They couldn’t carry on their conversation for long though. Torrin introduces the blonde as... Tinarah?! Aria’s hands flew to her mouth as it fell open. “No, it... it can’t be! He...” Aria felt sudden hurt and betrayal in her heart. The Light Chaser showed her that Tinarah was with Chrono and doing fine, which she found out to be a lie. But to see Tinarah in this state, nearly dead and broken, all childishness and any innocence gone, made the girl’s stomach churn. I shouldn’t have let her out of my sight, Aria thought. Tears stung her eyes as she felt slightly responsible for Tinarah’s current state of wellbeing. She was just trying to help the girl get back to the others where she was more safe and comfortable. But it seemed like she sent her off to a more terrible fate. She was here now, and safe with them... Aria wanted more than anything to run up to the blonde and hug her close, but she saw Master Choma go over and knew that Chrono was needed there as well. Aria decided she was going to give the girl some space given the current condition she was in. There was no need to overwhelm her after all... Aria quickly rubbed at her eyes and sniffed to stop any tears of frustration trying to surface. It was then another voice started speaking to her, and she looked over to see that Torrin was talking to her. “Ah, th-thank you,” she replied and then cleared her throat to get rid of the lump that was trying to form there. She then hugged one arm close to her and looked on to the group. Maybe it was how she felt with what happened earlier, and it was silly, but she was starting to feel like all of this was... Her thoughts were interrupted by Torrin. She quietly listened, absently playing with the bracelet around her wrist. The one the Light Chaser gave her. Her eyes focused on him the more he spoke, realizing that somehow he was taking blame for all of what was happening. Aria didn’t know all the circumstances, but she felt like he was being hard on himself. She was being hypocritical, but she felt like this guy was doing everything in all his power to stop things. To fight off Light Chaser apprentices, take her back to the others, and then go on more tasks... it seems like this guy hardly slept. Her turquoise eyes landed on the golden chain and she yanked on it gently. It only tightened around her wrist until it ached and she let go, only to try it a couple more times while she talked. “I committed tea murder today,” she said solemnly. “We got out of a super nova and a black hole with Heartless running around and fire raining down on us, fought something called a demon tower, survived a mutiny, dealt with the craziest heartless monster ever that knocked out Take and Illiana at one point, got out of an exploding planet, Take’s hand got crushed on a loose canon during the explosion, and then I was given Valerian tea... which I used to drink to help me sleep as a kid, and I didn’t want to sleep yet... so since I drank it, I dumped it... so yeah, I committed tea murder and ticked off one of my friends- ow!” Aria’s finger was pinched by the bracelet when she tried to pull too hard on it and she held up her wrist and glared at it a moment. ”Oh yeah, and the Light Chaser gave me this lovely trinket I can’t take off before you arrived and took me back... Apparently it protects me from most hits and attacks too. We think it’s a way to keep tabs on me and make sure I don’t... die I guess.” She then sighed heavily and dropped her hands to her sides. “So yeah, I agree... it’s been a day...” It was then the girl noticed Take beginning to struggle and Aria spoke up. “Master Atmos, he drank a whole cup of Valerian tea. He’s gonna need a bed like, now.”
She was had. The sneaky tea dumping did not work. Aria committed tea murder. Honestly, she didn't know what was going through her head at the moment of the crime. She was tired, she knew what Valerian was, she already drank some of it, she didn't think it could be saved because her germs were in it, and then dumped it. It was logical, right? Apparently it could've been saved, the root was in limited supply, and it ticked off Illiana immensely... Which made the girl feel shame burn hot on the back of her neck. Things already moved on though, so Aria was forced to move on too. She would have to find some way to make up for the tea wasting... Man she could be stupid sometimes. Aria was brought back to the current situation however when Jim and Silver accepted her bracelets. She was glad for it, and was even more glad when she was hugged by Silver. She tightly hugged him back, closing her eyes for a moment to silently let the old pirate know how grateful she was to him for the adventure. When the hug was done, her hair was ruffled, which she made a face and then laughed. Why does everyone need to ruffle my hair... Soon, Jim said his goodbyes, and it was time to move on. She quirked an eyebrow at Master Choma when he said they were called to meet some very important people... superior of the masters. Honestly, Aria never heard of it. She glanced at her bracelet, wondering if this whole running in to the Light Chaser had caused some serious problems, and swallowed. She trusted her master though and nodded her head, following after Take and Chrono. When she stepped out on the other side, she was taken aback by the new landscape and the feeling of solid ground suddenly under her feet. She stood a little ways behind Take, still keeping his intake of Valerian in mind, but also not sure what to do with herself. Her eyes landed on a large group in front of them, recognizing Atmos... And the guy that saved her from the Light Chaser... Or so that's what she wanted to believe for the time being. She then saw the cat go up to a guy that was holding a blonde girl that looked to be around her age, gently trying to get the guy's attention. It was strange behavior to say the least, at least to Aria. Nonetheless, Aria gave the group of a newcomers a small wave. "You can pick her up," she said to Qamar when heard her talking to Nini. "She won't mind."
Aria took the tea and sat down by Take after Choma fixed him up. The makeshift sticks were cast aside, and she was grateful that a master was here to solve the problem... at least for now. She was about to drink the tea, when a strange smell hit her nose. It smelled... like something rotten. She made a face, and realized Illiana was probably watching, and then glanced to Take drinking it all. She took a test sip of it, and immediately straightened. Wait a minute... I know this... She looked at Take and opened her mouth to stop him, but apparently he drank it all. She blinked at him, realizing what was going to happen to him. Yeah, I'm gonna keep an eye on him. Aria had Valerian tea all the time as a kid when the nightmares plagued her too much. It smelled nasty, but it did help her ease back to sleep sometimes. And with the state Take was in, she was expecting him to pass out shortly. Not wanting to offend Illiana, Aria turned around on the crate to face her back towards the group, and made it look like she was drinking the tea before leaning forward and seeing a hole in the ship. Quickly she dumped the contents down and circled around, sitting with a sheepish smile and the teacup in her hands. "Mmm, lovely tea," she commented as she stood up and handed the cup to Illiana. "Thank yoooou...." She then heard what Choma had said about Dodge Roll, and cringed at how ironic that was, given the recent situations. She was glad things were over though. She sighed out, and then reached in to her bag and flipped open the flap. Nini meowed at her and hopped out on the deck, kicking her feet at Aria in contempt for making the bag less roomy, and then padded over to Take. The cat sat on her bottom and stared up at Take, tilting her head before standing up and rubbing herself against his leg, purring loudly. She missed the boy, and she sensed he was badly hurt and wanted to make it better again. Aria smiled at the cat, and then reached for two leather bracelets. She made them the night before the mutiny, after making hot chocolate and defeating the Demon Tower. She approached Jim and Silver after Take said his goodbyes, clearing her throat and smiling sheepishly to them. "I wanted to give you guys something." She held out the bracelets, one being for Jim and one being for Silver. "I had this silly thing with my best friend... We made friendship bracelets with each other so if we ever got separated, we'd remember each other. And... I feel like you two became my friends over this short stay with you... Even you, Silver." She smiled at the pirate. "You weren't all bad as you were trying to be." She then looked to Jim and nodded. "I hope after this, things will finally start turning around for you. I learned a lot from you, and you helped me realize a few things. So... thank you." She wanted to give them a hug, but she didn't know how they would feel about it and instead offered with her hands to put on the bracelets if they would accept it. Spoiler: Silly thing ooc:// Silver will be like
I shall take zeh waters, and upgrades zeh cura. muwhahahaha
(Aaaaand due to a busy week, can't really spend too much time with formats and pics this week. Sorry guys) Delivery of Cakes- Lakoda, Yukyo, and Shawn Lakoda looked over at Shawn, taken aback that he picked up on her uneasiness. She knew he meant well with his words, but still she chewed on the inside of her cheek. She was nervous to be in the forest, and nervous that they were being followed, but this was the wrong place for that fear... It happened elsewhere after all. Only a few handful of people knew what was in her history. She didn't like to talk about it much. It was then Shawn threw a rock in the forest, and she looked at him with a quirk of her brow. When it seemed to just scare some birds and a bunny rabbit, she shrugged her shoulder and then glanced over at Yukyo. "I will," she said with a small smile and glanced ahead again to keep her eyes on the road. "I'm alright for now." ***Just then, shadows moved above them in the trees. Lakoda didn't notice as she was distracted talking to Yukyo. One moved on the side of the wagon, about ten feet away at a quick and silent speed, almost faster than the wagon. Someone was following after them. Village in Peril- Conrad, Everette, Samuel Renza made her face in a shape of an o and then turned back to Farm Ol. "This is Conrad. He's from that one Rose guild. He and his friends came to help us." Farmer Ol was patient with the small exchange and smiled gently at the little girl and then looked to the mage. He nodded his head and then brushed off his dusty hand on his pants before taking Conrad's hand and shook it. "Thank you, we've been desperate lately... I know you're not here just to check up on an old man though..." He leaned against his garden ho and got comfortable standing up. "How can an old farmer help ya?" With Everette... The chief nodded his head. "There's a road leading to the river from here..." He then subconsciously went to scratch at his neck, only to stop and cleared his throat. "This way." He led Everette to one of the houses where a barrel was sitting there with a spout leading from the roof to the container. It was sitting up off the ground on cylinder looking blocks and had a spigot at the bottom. "Every house has this system... Each roof is outline by a drainage system we keep clean on a regular basis and catches the rain water into the barrel... Sometimes we're able to store at least three barrels at a time for each household." He moved around to where a shed of some kind stood, and opened it, showing more storage containers with water. "This is the water we mostly drink and cook with." A Price Unpaid- Gavin, Zephyr, Thea The group was free to talk to the kiddos. The adults and the butler was staying back, chatting quietly to themselves. There was a 12 year old that looked like a younger version of Maliel sitting on the ground and rolling a red ball idly back and forth. A group of three boys were near by, chatting with one another and finishing up playing a game of dominos. An older girl was kneeling on the other side of the room, helping a four year old clean her muddy shoes with a smile. GO FORTH.
As soon as she saw Take stumble away, Aria yelled and let the cannon fall back in place. She stood there ontop a moment longer, panting a thin sheen of sweat appeared on her brow. Aria hit her head softly on the back of the wood as she realized the feat she just pulled. She was just grateful she had enough strength to help in a dire situation. Gradually, she sat down on top of the cannon and slid off, her legs trembling under her as she caught her weight, nearly buckling. “Whoops...” She caught herself on the side of the cannon and took in a few deep breaths to regain her composure before assessing everyone else. She saw Take’s keyblade get thrown and Glyde was over by Take’s side, which Glyde looked a little shaken himself. Everyone was tired, bruised, and beaten from the battle... except her. She hardly left without a scratch. She stared at the Light Chaser’s bracelet on her wrist, tightening her hand in a fist and looked up in the sky. It was a blessing, but she felt like she was taking an easy way out and cheating constantly. Done feeling bad for herself for that brief moment, Aria pushed herself off of the cannon and summoned her own keyblade. She casted cure on Glye and Take (knowing it probably wasn’t going to help much, but maybe lessen the pain) and a few other party members before letting it disappear and moving over to Take’s new good side. “Come on,” she spoke softly to him as she carefully placed a hand on the non-injured one. “Let’s go sit down,” she coaxed, being wary of his frustration. “The less we move, the better it’ll be.” She wished she would’ve moved fast enough to at least move Take out of the way or something, or at least be more aware something was happening. But what was done was done. Now was the time to figure out how to handle things and move on. Aria glanced at the mangled hand and winced in sympathy. She helped him over to a crate that somehow lived through the ordeal. “Sit,” she ushered. When Glyde suggested a splint, Aria first made sure Take would be okay on his own before moving away and picking up various pieces of wood. There was no way a med kit would have survived on this old thing for so long. Once she found two of them not so splintered and small enough, she held them out to Glyde. “These okay? I believe I have an extra clean shirt in my bag I can rip up and wrap around them to make them more cushioning.” She then looked for her Master, swivling her head around. “Master Choma?” She needed more of an expert to look at Take’s hand. She didn’t want to injure it further by trying anything other than cure.
Aria struggled to hold on as the ship lurched back and forth during the explosion. The heat was immense, and even her bracelet couldn’t shield her from that. Shrapnel fell all around, some bouncing off of Aria’s light bubble. She held on as tight as she could to something stable, closing her eyes tightly as she braced herself for the worse. She felt the final wave rattle her bones and she instinctively held onto the bag where Nini was. She felt a form of a cat in there, and clutched it to her body while using the other arm to brace herself the best she could. Soon, it was over, and Aria felt herself breathing heavily and shaking. She opened her eyes and let go of the edge, realizing she could have been thrown off but grateful that didn’t happen. She stood up and was about to ask if everyone was alright, when she heard Take shout out. Aria’s head whipped around, eyes landing on the boy. He was stuck, a cannon pinning his arm and debris on top of his body. The girl gasped and stumbled towards him. “Take!!! H-hang on! I got you!” She grabbed the larger pieces and hoisted them to the side before assessing the situation with the cannon. “Alright, just lemme get over here...” Aria moved swiftly to the other side of the cannon and awkwardly placed her hands on either side of it, making sure not to bump Take’s arm. She grunted as she tried to push it off, but to no avail. It was simply too heavy to be moved in that manner. Aria then thought of an idea and climbed ontop of the cannon, digging the soles of her shoes into the edges at the end and bracing her back against the wall. She then forced her legs to push it forward with her back and arms bracing her upper body against the wall, and gritted her teeth hard as she pushed with all her might. She then felt it shifting under her legs and glanced down to see it moving agonizingly forward. Soon it was enough and she gasped out, “Move! Hurry!” Her legs were shaking and her muscles were screaming at her that it couldn’t hold out like this for much longer. Aria grew up on a farm and had helped out with things that required brute, manual labor, but not too often. Still, she had to stay physically fit. And even with the easy going training with Master Choma, she always found ways to excercise and build her strength.
Being relieved that the fight was over was an understatement. Seeing Bright Eyes disappearing into a cloud of darkness took a weight off her shoulders, but seeing the heart float up made her hold her breath for a moment. She ignored the negative thoughts that were trying to push through when it seemed like everything was going to explode all of the sudden. She ran after the group when they seemed to be heading for the ship, and that was when Glyde made the comment for not helping much. "Eh, everything turned out alright. Let's get out of here." She hopped on the ship and then turned to Illiana. "Way to finish off that last one!" she praised with a big thumbs up and then looked over at her master. He seemed to have handled things off on the side, which was good. She was just glad she was able to fight along everyone else and wasn't held back. Spoiler: Tales of a Princess- Darkness on a Sunny Day, Part 2 7 Months Old Same day as the previous episode, evening time... “Black shadows?” Lanar asked. He was dusty from a long day’s work and his skin was gently kissed by the sun. He was sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of tea in hand and watching his wife with concern. Anja was worn out herself, her usually perfect bun messy and stray hair sticking out here and there. “I swear I am not crazy,” she said as she paced in the kitchen back and forth. “Th-the snake was going right for Aria. Which I recall from my studies, X-Xogus’ does not stalk prey larger than itself. I-It was as if it was fixated on Aria and trying to ki-” Anja was so upset, she didn’t hear Lanar her up from the table. He embraced her tightly and gently rubbed her back while laying his head on his wife’s. “I’m here now,” he murmured and kissed her on top of her hair. The young woman sighed out softly and forced herself to calm down. She nodded her head and pressed her head on Lanar’s chest. “I’m worried about her… Master Gero said she would be safe here, yes?” “Perhaps we should let him know what happened,” Lanar thought aloud as he rubbed his wife’s back. “But if we do, would he take her away?” “I don’t think so,” he muttered and kissed his wife once more while placing his hands on her shoulders and bringing looking at Anja lovingly. “This was just a one time incident. Nothing else has happened in the past seven and a half months she’s been here. Everything is going to be alright.” Anja’s eyes teared up as she nodded her head. She had grown attached to little Aria and didn’t want her little light to be taken away from them just yet. She felt for a moment she was an unfit surrogate mother, but she didn’t want to give up something she had been longing for years. She wanted to prove she could make it safe place of refuge for the princess to be. — Meanwhile in Aria’s nursery, the infant was fast asleep in her crib. Yet her dreams were far from peaceful. She could see the sharp fangs grow into more than two in a large mouth and see a shadowy form that had an air of danger about it. The creature opened its mouth as if to scream while holding on its hood and pulling it over its face in agony. No noise could be heard from it, but faint screaming could be heard in the distance and haunting moans of agony all around. The shadow looked to Aria and gradually let go of its hood, straightening up as it turned to face her completely. It then lifted a gnarly finger and pointed it towards her while creepily smiling with a set of pointy teeth on display. Soon the image was gone as the babe woke up to her own crying. She felt herself being lifted out of the crib and rocked softly as a voice whispered softly to her in comfort. A finger gently wiped away her tears as they sat down in a rocking chair and began to be swayed back and forth in a calm motion. There was humming, and then words being sung in barely a whisper as Aria’s crying was beginning to die down. Her forehead was touched, and an image of light flooded within her mind. The infant could see butterflies, flowers, and feel warmth and happiness around her once more. She saw a blurry image of a man and woman wearing crowns and felt their love they had towards her. The fussing and crying stopped all together, and little Aria had drifted off to sleep once more. Even though she was at peace, she was still rocked and hummed to far into the night to let her know she was safe and protected on this small farm.
3 to AP 3 to HP And Blitz +
Aria was hit back, but it wasn’t as bad as the other times. She saw Take and Illiana get knocked out badly and cried out for them, only for an unlikely hero jump in. “Silver!” It was a relief for someone else to jump in. She grinned and got to her feet, raising her keyblade in the air. “CURE!” Her cure spell went around Take and Illiana, helping them get up to better health again. She then charged forward, going all out with her attacks on Bright Eyes. HP: 24/45 AP: 0 /22 MP: 4/20
Delivery of Cakes- Lakoda, Yukyo, and Shawn Madam Madeleine was pleased with the way Yukyo held himself. He was so polite and charming, and he seemed to pay attention to the smallest details. “You’re too kind,” the elderly lady said with a chortle. “Actually, yes. When you present the cakes to her, tell her to remember to look for the power within. It’s the saying of what’s brought her through this far, and she will be comforted by them. Now, off you go before it gets too late in the day. And have a safe journey…” Later- The group was on the road, the cakes and pastries carefully packed in the cart. Lakoda has the reigns of the horse, taking the group at a steady pace through the roads. Lakoda’s eyes darted to the trees, way beyond the road and clustered into a forest of sorts. She felt her heart skip a beat and absently touched the charm around her neck. She knew this wasn’t the right region to be fearful, but the scenario was similar. Clearing her throat, which just sounded like air being pushed within, she looked back to the others in the cart. “Madame Madeline was very nice to us… she’s a very sweet old lady.” Lakoda looked back ahead to the road, seeing the sign indicating Garriot Forest was just ahead of them. She sucked in air between her teeth and snapped the reins to urge the two horses forward. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Village in Peril- Conrad, Everette, Samuel .Meanwhile with Everette…. “Only a few handful,” Chief Yolvun explained as he walked to the well in the center of town. “We have about maybe 30 young adults to older folks around who hadn’t been terribly infected. We only have a population of about two hundred out here….” He threw the shared water bucket in the well and begin to pull up on it once it filled. “About 10 our youngest died, under five years old… a handful of our elders have past or are in critical condition, and we had about two expecting mothers die as well…” He sighed out and brought the bucket of water up, sitting it on the lip of the well. “The rest of us are disheartened, caring for those who are sick, or who are in critical condition.” He pointed to the town hall a little ways from them. “There’s about twenty to thirty people in there at death’s door… Though the ones that care for the sick haven’t been infected right away… I’m sure your friend will be fine in there.” He gestured to the bucket of water, letting Everette take a look. “This is the town’s main water supply. It comes underground from a river about fifteen miles out of town. Fresh water spring that relies on the snow run off on the mountains and filtered with minerals from underground. We’ve always used this water since the foundation of our small village about one hundred years ago. It’s mostly used for cooking, washing, cleaning, and watering our gardens. We only drink out of this when our rain water is low, which happens rarely.” If inspected, the water would be cold, clear, and taste crisp. Although it would have a slight hint of an odd aftertaste to it… Meanwhile with Conrad…. Renza was happily leading Conrad along, giggling and picking wildflowers left and right along the path. She was gathering yellow flowers in her arms when Conrad asked her the question and she paused to point ahead. “Farmer Ol’s Farm. He has the biggest farm and his has been around the longest. He’ll have the most information for you.” She stood up with the flowers in her arms and smiled sheepishly at Conrad. “This way.” She trotted ahead of Conrad not to dally anymore, leading him to a single story medium sized farm house made out of brick and wood. A man in his forties was out front, digging in a vegetable garden with a garden hoe. He stood up when he sensed visitors approaching and lifted his head. “Renza! What a pleasant surprise.” The farmer wiped his brow and took of his straw hat for a moment. “Who did you bring with you today?” Renza giggled more and smiled up at the man. “This is…” she trailed off as her eyebrows knitted together in concentration. She wasn’t there for introduction of first names, and realized she didn’t know his name. “What’s your name, mister?” She whispered shyly. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A Price Unpaid- Gavin, Zephyr, Thea Kyo didn't seem to mind the group chatting on about plans to catch the infamous mage that was causing trouble. He led the group to the inn where they dropped off their things in their rooms (everyone could choose to stay all in one room, or arrange it differently), and then he led them back towards the Town Hall via request. He seemed to keep to himself, hardly speaking unless spoken to. He approached the large iron gates to the Town Hall, guarded by at least four guards. Two in the front, and two behind the gates. "We're here under Divine Rose's request to see the children, via permission from the mayor," he said as he pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it over to one of the guards. They looked it over, and then handed it back. With a wave of the hand, the gates were opened and the group could go inside. "Follow me," Kyo said quietly with a bow and walked to the front door, again with guards about on either side of the door frame. The yard was quiet, balls and some toys were scattered about while a swing swayed silently in the background. "They're preparing for supper around this time," Kyo said, "but feel free to interview them as you will." He opened the doors to the Town Hall, revealing a bustling of excitement and kids from ages three to twelve darting around. “Hurry along, children,” an older woman called after a group of giggling girls. “Chop, chop!” She has a shawl around her shoulders and glasses she held to her eyes by a handle connected to it. She had a long, pointy nose and looked kinda snobbish. She looked at the mages and huffed. “Visitors at this hour?” Kyo bowed to the woman. “Apologies Miss Prine. These are the mages that answered the mayor’s job for the capture of Necos… they wanted to interview the children under the permission of the Mayor, of course.” Miss Prine sniffed and brought her glasses to her nose. “Oh very well! But please don’t stay too long, we have a schedule to keep.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Meanwhile AWAY from the group, back in the mansion... Maliel walked back into the Mayor’s office area with a tray in hand. There was a hot pot of tea in fine china with sugar cubes, milk, and things needed to make tea. She set it down silently, making as little noise as possible while the Mayor sat in his chair, staring at the fire. “How old is she...?” Came the sudden voice of the mayor as he stroked his hand, fiddling with the golden ring with the emerald on it. “Sir?” Maliel inquired without looking up from her task. “The Mage girl… how old is she?” “Fourteen,” Maliel said without hesitation as she plopped in one cube of sugar and began to stir slowly with a teaspoon. There was the sound of the chair creaking behind Maliel, and she turned around to come face to face with the Mayor. She gasped, and he leaned in close to her. “Tell me again,” he said with a raise of his eyebrow. He brought his hand up with the ring and it began to glow a lime green color. Maliel’s eyes seemed to go blank, and she dropped the teacup in her hands. “How old... is the girl…?” (Ooc; will format later, sorry kiddies)
Aria almost didn’t believe what she was seeing. It was the stuff of nightmares, and she fought hard not to have flashbacks. It was then all hell broke lose, and she was blasted back with everyone else. She felt pain radiate through her body and winced, forcing herself to sit up as quickly as she could. She felt a little light headed and grabbed at her head, immediately worrying about everyone else. She saw Take up, and felt relief before glancing at everyone else. Illiana was hit, but Chrono was fine somehow. “I’m okay!” She grunted a reply to Take as she finally got to her feet and shook off the shock. “I’m just not gonna have the same power as I did before...” She felt the extra strength had worn off, but she could still stand on her two feet. Aria held up her keyblade and then let out a yell to get her spirits pumping before she charged and jumped in the air, slashing down at Bright Eyes. She then slashed at his claws and then jumped back, only to lunge to the side and attack him from behind. Aria then moved back, keeping her guard up as she prepared for the next wave. HP: 29/45 AP: 5/22 MP: 4/20 Special Attack In Effect: Rainbow Glow
Pffffff. XD
XD yeah, we busted a gut with that one
What popped in my head with that announcement
Aria gasped when Take was knocked to the side and then did her best to guard against the strong attacks directed at her. She gritted her teeth when she was knocked to her back, and held up her keyblade, only to see that blinding light again. Bright Eyes was flung back from her, which made Aria confused for a moment as she sat up, looking at her bracelet and turning her wrist to examine it. “Huh...” Knowing she didn’t have much time left with the temporary power given to her, Aria jumped to her feet and raised her keyblade up in the air once more. “Thunder!” she called on the spell one last time. As soon as her spell struck, she leaped right towards the enemy again, slashing left and right to try to stun him and knock him down a little more. He was getting more angry, which could only mean his rage fueled attacks were only going to get worst after this. “Come on, everyone! Put your all into it!” She called. “I’ll help you out the best I can.” She twirled her keyblade in her hand and then caught it, swishing it in the air and holding on the handle with both hands. A rainbow light shot forth from the tip of the keyblade, scattering in four directions and wrapping her comrades in a sphere of colorfulness. It hummed peacefully, offering protection as her friends would charge forth once more. HP: 34/45 AP: 4/32 MP: 4/20 Special Attack used: Rainbow Glow
