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In the end Tinarah didn't walk the entire distance. They got to the base of the mountain, and Tinarah barely started to climb it before she decided it was not in her best interest to push herself that hard yet. Maybe in future weeks, but as of that day it could wait. Tinarah let Aria go on without her and found a quiet spot near the base of the mountain to meditate until the rest of the group finished their run. It was at least nice to be outside for a change. She was still working through her conversation with Aria earlier, and the reality of Mika's death. Such things weren't easily faced by the young girl, but she was working on them. When Tinarah noticed the group nearly back at the base of the mountain, she got up and started walking ahead so they caught up to her closer to the castle.

When the group returned to eat, Tinarah didn't bother eating herself. She had a little bit of food earlier and she felt bad for taking food from those who just put in the work with running, she would be fine not eating much. She nibbled on a piece of bread to be polite, but that was about it. As they ate however the front doors to the castle opened and she saw Gero standing there, looking at them all. Apparently they finally reached a decision on it all, and for a moment Tinarah's heart pounded waiting to hear what they had decided. He spoke of his own and Stamatis' conditions. They were going to make Choma and Atmos stay behind, which bothered Tinarah slightly. She barely had a chance to talk with her former master, and now they were getting sent off and he was staying behind. She wasn't fond of that idea. At the very least however, he had not said anything about forcing herself or Aria to remain behind. They were still allowed to go from the sounds of it, they would just have a new leader with them.

The new leader that was presented to them, caught Tinarah's eyes. It was her. She was the one that was leading the resistance against Torrin. What was even more strange it seemed that she knew Torrin. The only Thallasa Tinarah knew anything about was enemies with Torrin. She caught herself staring for a minute before she looked away a little uncertain. As they spoke Take spoke up wanting to see their masters before they went. Tinarah didn't know what she would say, so she didn't bother agreeing yet, but after a moment, she walked over to the side near Gero to speak to him quietly. "Before we go.... how is Master Stamatis doing? Is he alright? Can you apologize to him for me?" She didn't necessarily want to open that can of worms before she was sent away again, but she wanted her question answered before she went, she wanted to know nothing was too serious and Stamatis was healing alright.​

While Cerdic sat there staring at the tree, meanwhile Daeni managed to actually do something useful and find some papers. Cerdic leaned his head against the tree, annoyed at himself for being the one with nothing to offer yet again. Daeni tried to be all happy and show him, while Alder looked over her shoulder at the pages, but Cerdic just felt like crap. "Uh huh, good job. Do they help us rebuild the extractor?" Cerdic asked not looking towards them. However when Daeni spoke up he realized the other thing that Daeni was saying. "Other peoples memories? I just have my own useless memories. What are you talking about Daeni. How is that even possible?" He asked finally turning back to the group. ​

The portal was open but they didn't have to go through yet, they had some time. Looking around everyone seemed to be having a good time with each other celebrating. This group that had been together for so long, and here she was, not quite belonging there. It wasn't the fault of anyone but instead of trying to find herself a place, Aislinn looked around the city, picking out a few shops she could go into. Separating from the group Aislinn began to search the shops, taking her time picking up pieces from a few different shops before making up a complete outfit. It was quite different from her own, and in the end, she dropped off her cloak, leaving the old clothes behind as she dawned her new outfit.

Returning to the group, Aislinn gripped her player pin for a moment, looking around at everyone. It was almost time to head back, but there was one more thing that she needed to sort out, that was these auras that they got. Aislinn sat for a moment, focusing trying to find her aura, her center as a familiar song filled her mind. After a few minutes she felt it, an aura guided by sound, much like her fighting style. She often let music guide her and now would be no different, it was just in a different way. There was a soft smile on her face as she opened her eyes. "Well time to go I guess." She sighed again. Finally they were heading back to the realm of light. Soon she would see her sister again soon.

Walking towards the portal she let her player pin be returned to the game, ready to get back. Her mind wondered what the entrance fee ended up being. Perhaps she would find the answer for that as soon as it was returned to her. She hoped so at least. ​

Well she managed to trip Lima, but it wasn't enough to stop the girl as one of the new boys stepped in as well to help out. The boy tried to whip out at her with flames, but the flames seemed to just absorb into her skin. "Thank you I feel better now." Kiara stated with a smile as she ignored Echo and continued after Lima. Meanwhile Aeria helped her with protecting the pod, Finlay and Koe were dealing with the heartless Uniform had summoned earlier. If Glen started helping then they shouldn't have too much of an issue dealing with these guys, or at least she hoped. Kiara sent out another attacked aimed at Lima's legs, hoping to buy Aeria more time to get to the pod. Kiara knew she would have to deal with the one called Echo eventually but she was trying to put off dealing with him until they could make sure the pod was safe. ​

It was unfair to them both and Tinarah started feeling bad for only complaining about herself, when Aria was stuck in at least as equally as bad of a situation if not worse of a situation than her. Sure Tinarah felt used, but she was pretty sure her part in this whole thing was over now. She had done her job and now was tossed to the side, her own suffering trying to build herself back up, it didn't matter to Light Chaser anymore. Her only role was to lure Stamatis out, and unless he decided to capture her again to try and bring him out once more, there was no other really role she could play for him. Meanwhile Aria was actively being hunted. He wanted to keep her in his grasp because of what she was. But Aria was here with her, comforting her instead of dealing with her own issues. It made Tinarah feel guilty. So much was going on and she was only worried about her own pain, she hadn't thought of what Aria was going through.

"Perhaps he didn't know how reckless you were, just knew that you almost got swallowed by the darkness once and didn't want to risk it happening again." It wasn't much better, but it was a bit better than knowing someone was watching you and knowing you far better than they should. "If it makes you feel better I would rather have you with us, than forced to stay here. I know the masters would keep you safe, but it would feel too distant.... that is if they even let me go." Tinarah looked down at her, the shape she was in. "I don't know, if what you said about Stamatis is true, he might be too worried to want me in the field either." Tinarah pointed out. Her health wasn't quite up to par with everyone else's. She planned to use this walk to see how bad things really were.

After another minute Aria finished speaking and they agreed it was time to get some fresh air. Getting off the bed she glanced back at her lunch, wondering if it was a mistake not finishing it. She wasn't feeling in the mood to eat anyways, so she tried to forget about it as she followed Aria outside to where others were starting to gather. It seemed that her and Aria were not the only ones to take Take up on his offer. The boy was already jogging in place while others gathered and spoke among themselves. Tinarah stayed back a couple paces, observing them fidgeting with her sleeve as she watched them enjoy themselves. The fresh air, it felt so nice and refreshing. While it was slightly chilly, that didn't bother her as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath in, meditating where she stood, focusing on the sounds of the outdoors, blocking out the sounds of the people around her. She missed the quiet woods that surrounded Stamatis's castle. The fresh air reminded her of that. While she had been outside in short bursts the day before, she hadn't taken the time to appreciate the outdoors. Now it just felt nice to be outside breathing again. She felt less trapped. Perhaps Take was right earlier in suggesting she needed this after her meltdown.

Opening her eyes after a moment she looked back around, refocusing herself on where she was. She hoped she would be able to last the entirety of the walk, if not she figured she could always find a nice place to rest until she was up to walking again. The area really was rather beautiful and it helped calm her stressed out mind a little bit. She would have to thank Take for the invite out later. For now she felt he was too busy and she didn't want to interrupt. ​

I just went through and awarded all the pins from last years awards. Please let me know if I missed something!​

Can you please provide links totwhere you earned the pins? IfIit was last year's user awards, we didn't award any pins to anyone as far as I am aware, so I hadn't planned on taking them into account. I do remember your question time though.

As for employee of the month, as we continue to improve staff and organization we will likely bring it back, just mot focused on it at this time.

As for the material pins, I can't give you a timeframe but I can assure you that we are working on a away for members to earn them, but it will take some time.

Dropping her spoon back into her bowl, Tinarah seemed to have lost the ability to function for a moment, as she looked at her shaking hands before running them through her hair to cover up how badly she was being hit with this words, and the talk about the Light Chaser and the way he might have manipulated everything she had gone through during the time in that realm. Tinarah remembered then the words spoken to her by the Light Chaser when he had come to hurt or kill Stamatis and Gero "Good work, Tinarah. There were other variations of my plan that would have led to this result but, complex as this was, this was a favorite of mine. Luring Stamatis out and away from the Council was more difficult than I would like to admit. I went through such effort to go for the oldest trick in the book. Divide and conquer." He knew all along, he knew what she would go through. The only reason she was allowed those good times was so that he could hurt the people she cared about. Tinarah didn't want to believe that the Light Chaser was that powerful, but she had seen first hand. Three masters against him, and he still won no problem. Tinarah had a feeling the only reason she escaped was because he allowed it. Just how much of a pawn of his was she?

There was a promise she had made to A, but she didn't know if she could keep it any longer. Perhaps it was too soon to tell, after all, Aria was just trying to help, but she was just a girl only slightly older than she, perhaps she was mistaken, perhaps it was better to ask Stamatis or Gero. Would they stop her from going back? It was likely she would need one of them to train her if she ever wanted to go back anyways. She would have to tell at least one of them at some point her plan if it was ever going to work.

Tinarah lowered her hand to her chest gripping it slightly as she leaned over her bowl of soup, a few tears dropping in. While one arm was gripping her chest, the other gripped her still scarred wrist. "Why does this hurt so much more than the scars ever did?" She asked. Knowing that her relationship with the two men that she looked up to more than anyone could have very well been an illusion controlled by the Light Chaser just to draw them out and hurt them. "I don't want to be his pawn. I don't want to be his tool to hurt people, but I have already let him make me into that, and I can't stop. I can't cut all those ties I made while he had that control. And it hurts. It was my fault Stamatis got hurt in the first place. If I didn't bother forming a relationship with him here it could keep him safe, but I can't stand the thought of just walking away... I can't do it." Tinarah cried as she lowered her hands staring at how they shook for a moment before looking up at Aria.

"Thank you... for all this, for being here for me, but.... I can't promise you anything. I don't think... my heart will let me rebuild again." She admitted. When they first met her heart was surrounded by a wall, she wouldn't let anyone in, so she didn't bother talking to anyone. When she had thought that Chrono pushed her off the bridge, her heart had broken, and it seemed that parts of it leaked out from the wall. Between Stamatis and Fost they had collected those pieces and slowly broke down the wall, and helped her learn to do it as well. Slowly her heart was pieced back together, but still fragile and healing when she left. With Mika and Torrin it had shattered again, this time she was left on her own to rebuild and she put up another wall this time, to try and keep herself from breaking and losing the pieces again. She gave herself goals to work towards. The wall included bricks with names and goals on them, instead of a solid grey that kept her trapped. She never was able to build it as solid as before, soft spots that Stamatis made still remained, like the way he slowly coaxed her into talking about her problems instead of hiding completely. That being said with the new wall in place trying to protect a heart that had been shattered and rebuilt far too many times. Her heart felt like it bore more scars than she did.

Finally Tinarah gave up on eating and placed her half eaten sandwich and bowl of soup to the side. It was a bad habit that she had of not eating enough when she was upset and never finishing her food. Still she couldn't even think of food right now as she grabbed her hot chocolate and sipped it slowly as Aria kept going on waving a straw in her face. Tinarah chuckled through her tears, but it still wasn't much of one. Her happiness was more of an illusion than anything. "You know I get the first swing right?" She finally said after a long moment of silence.

Moments later Take appeared at the door and invited them for a run. "I can't promise I can run. It has been a long time since I have even walked a substantial amount, but fresh air could do me some good." Tinarah stated wiping the tears from her eyes. Even the fresh air she got since leaving, she was either too focused on trying to survive, or stay awake to even appreciate it. Perhaps it was time to get some fresh air. "Come with me?" She asked Aria, knowing she wasn't going to be able to keep up and not wanting to end up alone in a place she was mostly unfamiliar with. ​

The year pins are only available for those who posted in the New Years thread for that particular pin.

A knock at the door alerted Tinarah to Aria's arrival. The girl soon pushed open the door and stepped inside the room with a cart full of delicious smelling food and drink. Tinarah giggled a little bit at Aria's extreme way of showing off the food. It was quite entertaining to see in the end. "Thank you, it smells good." She said quietly picking up a bowl of soup and starting to eat. As she did the knots in her stomach started to loosen, allowing the food to nourish her. While she had been struggling to eat a lot of food at once, every time she did eat, it made her feel a little better. Tinarah knew that she wouldn't be back to full health and a healthy weight for a while, but every time she ate she was feeling a little better. It made Tinarah wonder how Gero was doing. He must have been in worse shape than she was but he seemed to be doing pretty okay, or perhaps he was just better at hiding it than she was.

Clearly she wasn't good at hiding anything as Aria asked her what was wrong. Setting down her soup and picking up her grill cheese instead, Tinarah hesitated before talking. "I contacted him.... He doesn't seem to know me at all. When I called Stamatis he said he didn't remember but his heart told him it was true, but Uncle Fost.... nothing." Tinarah admitted. Perhaps that wasn't entirely true, but it felt like it. "I tried to explain, and he just told me we would be in contact... If feels like I am losing a family again..." Tinarah tried to explain before turning her mind to what she wanted to ask Aria before she had left to make them food.

"Aria... You spoke of Fost like... you knew him? Or at least you knew what he was up to. I never even got that much, Stamatis once explained why Uncle Fost couldn't have been the one training me, and after that he took on a student so I assumed he was just at another castle training for all that time.... and maybe he was, I don't know, but he was never one to talk much about what he was up to, that is why I am curious how you knew. I am sorry if I am being pushy. It just seems... you know everyone, and I don't even know myself anymore. Anyone I thought I knew it isn't the same anymore." Tinarah finally took a deep breath before admitting "I'm lost Aria. I don't know what I am doing any more. Every time I thought I find what I was fighting for or a place I belonged it has changed and now sitting here, all I can think of is going back and stopping that other realm from falling into it's fate. I know that you need help here, but my heart is there." She stated, hoping Aria would understand and not try and talk her out of it. ​

Of course another had to come out. Kiara was too busy fighting the battle to get a good enough look at him, but he made a comment about her looking familiar as Lima seemed annoyed by that. At least Uniform was now deal with thanks to the help of Vallus. "I don't know, maybe because everyone in this realm is out to fucking get me?" Kiara hissed getting more and more fed up with the situation as time went on. It wasn't the fact people knew her that was getting on her nerves. It was the fact that everyone who did know her were people she didn't particularly get along with and were actively making her life a living hell. She was almost tempted to run after Uniform and finish him off if it wasn't for the traps the other kid put in place.

Of course there was also talk about the new vessel arriving and Lima started to dart to get it. Kiara flicked her wrist trying to catch Lima with her whip to slow them down. "Don't let her get that pod! We can't let Nequa have her new form. We need to kill her now while she is still weak!" Kiara called out to the rest of her team as she put a fire wall around the pod to keep it safe for the time being turning her attention to Lima once more. Of course they needed to get into that castle but dealing with those outside would have to come first. They couldn't afford to rush in without dealing with this bits at a time. They had enough trouble with Lima and Uniform, if they ran into their layer it would be suicide. They had to deal with things one part at a time as much as it bothered Kiara to do so. It wasn't like they had much other choice. ​

The way that Aria spoke about Uncle Fost. She spoke with a familiarity to his name, though she called him Master Fost, comparing him to the version here. This opened up a thousand more questions that Tinarah had on the subject. She had no clue that Aria would have known the man she had grown so close to, especially when he seemed so distant from most people. She counted herself lucky to have him come visit when he did. To have another person talk about him so casually, perhaps it was because of her ties to Gero she knew so much though. After all Gero was like her grand father.

Aria had declared that she would go make them hot chocolates and meet back in Tinarah's room. Tinarah supposed that her questions on Fost would have to wait. "I know he had his reasons..." Tinarah responded softly as she watched Aria leave the room. She sat at the piano for another minute, picking out the notes to another song she used to play with Stamatis before turning around and heading back down to the first floor where she could find her way back to her room. Part of the reason that she didn't want to go to Aria's, was that she wouldn't have known where to find it. Glancing back down the hall before going down the stairs, she looked to see if any of the keyblade masters were there, or any she cared about at least. Not seeing any she sighed and returned to her room.

Sitting on her bed, Tinarah kept thinking about Uncle Fost and what Aria said, why he didn't come. She thought about the panic she was feeling when she called him, and wondered what he was thinking at the time, what he might have been thinking now. Did he know they were safe? Did he care? Even if he didn't care for her, she would have thought that he would at least care for Stamatis. Without even thinking about it, Tinarah summoned her keyblade to her lap. Looking at it for a moment she finally planted it in the ground as she took a deep breath. "Uncle Fost." She spoke a little nervously as she focused herself on the spell.

"Why do you call me that?" A voice spoke up from the other end, a familiar voice that warmed Tinarah's heart a little even if he clearly didn't have the same fond memories for her that he used to. While it was disappointing, it was what she had expected in the end.

"Because... in another time... and realm, that is what you were to me. I mean you aren't really my uncle but you were like one. You rescued me and brought me to Master Stamatis to train, you would always come visit us. I... I just wanted to tell you that we all made it out, we are safe. Stamatis got hurt, but we are okay." In the end she didn't know what she was doing, what she was saying. Tinarah was trying her best to talk with Fost, but he wasn't exactly the same man she remembered. She knew that was only due to the fact that he didn't remember her the same as she remembered him, and she spent years trying to worm her way inside his heart so she would feel less alone, but now... for only a split second she regretted it, because it was causing her so much pain now as she spoke with him.

"Before you said that someone was trying to kill Stamatis and Gero. You must be mistaken. Gero is dead. What kind of joke are you playing here with this talk of other times and realms?" Straight to the point of course but she supposed that none of what she had been saying had been making much sense, Tinarah figured she at least had to try and explain it a bit.

"I am not mistaken. It is no joke. Please you have to believe me, search your heart. You might not remember me but somewhere in your heart you must know it was true, that we had that connection. Gero promised me! Listen there was another realm, that is where I found Gero, he had been trapped there for the last six years. We used my keyblade to escape it when I finally could summon it again. The Light Chaser sent us there." Search your feelings. You know it to be true. Her heart was begging him to have at least the same reaction to Stamatis, where he knew that she was at least telling the truth, knew that she meant something to him in another time and realm. There was still something there. Tinarah couldn't tell if there was anything there with Fost. She so desperately wanted him to remember. Call her kid and give her a bad time. She wanted to one day spar against him so he could see her growth. All these things and none of them felt possible anymore, not until she made it back.

"I see...we will be in contact, then." The line went dead and Tinarah was left in silence as her keyblade fell and then disappeared.

"I will hold you to that." Tinarah whispered into the silence. She hoped that it was a good thing that he would be in contact, but with his tone of voice it was impossible to tell. Perhaps he would try and remember her, or perhaps it was his way of making her stop bothering her. She didn't know, but if she didn't hear from him, she decided he would hear from her. Not until he remembered in some way, would she let this go. She couldn't lose him again. He was alive, he might not remember her, but he was alive. Tinarah knew things wouldn't go back to the way they were in the other realm, here Stamatis wasn't even her master, but she still wanted to try. She had walked away from her father, and knew now that she couldn't go back to him like this. She felt so distant from her brother after the events that she had been through. Stamatis and Fost were her family, and she didn't want to let go of them like she felt she did with her father and brother. She didn't want to lose them like she lost her mother. She wanted to keep them in her life and she was prepared to fight for it. ​

What am I not good enough for you?

Thank you for the votes. It was a lot of fun. Next year if we get paired up again, I volunteer to switch partners so some people *cough*Arch*cough* will be less bitter and I prove I can kick his butt no matter who I am paired with!

As they were celebrating Kel and AJ spoke up as well, and Aislinn walked over and slung her arm around AJ. "You really did. And I am not repeating it. I don't know how Kaida feels though, maybe ask her if you want to see. I don't think I am ever going to sing that fast again though." Aislinn laughed. She was getting giddy about this whole promotion. She was so excited to be here now. She just wished that she could share the news with her sister, but even being named master, Aislinn still didn't know how to get home. That was something she would need to figure out along the way.

Stratos began speaking again and mentioned a change of outfit. Aislinn looked at her own and smiled. "I think that is a great idea! It is a new chapter, may as well start with some small changes to go along with it!" Aislinn agreed. ​

​

Aria’s words did make Tinarah feel a little better, knowing that because they came looking for her, Torrin and Atmos discovered that Aria was still alive and was able to rescue her. Like Aria said she wasn't physically able to do anything, which bothered Tinarah slightly because it didn't feel like she had done anything to help, but at the same time of she had never shown up there, still no one would know that Aria was alive and with the Light Chaser.


Aria then started to talk about Gero, calling him Grandpa, while some saw that as weird, Tinarah understood. She listened to Aria and what Gero was like before, meanwhile the Gero she saw had been locked up for years. “That reminds me of Uncle Fost. He was the one who saved me from the world falling to darkness and brought me to Master Stamatis. He would visit on occasion and occasionally bring us good food. Stamatis and I usually grew our own food. And after three and a half years, when Stamatis realized we hadn't celebrated any of my birthdays, he came to the party we had for that. I never got to train with him, though I wanted to. He never could stick around long enough. When the Light Chaser attacked Chomas castle when I got back… I called Uncle Fost for help, and… He didn't come. I just hope he had a good reason.” Tinarah so badly wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps she needed to call him again, at least tell him they all made it out alive.


“I know Grandpa Gero isn't who you remember him as, but I suppose that happens when you come across a power that he can't even stop. He just doesn't want to lose you.” Tinarah refused to go into detail on how bad of a shape he seemed to be in during their time in jail. She was nearly certainly her giving him bread was the most consistent food he had gotten in a very long time. She was almost surprised he seemed to be doing so well now, when she was still struggling. While Tinarah was functioning, it was like functioning with a cold, possible but not pleasant or easy.


Aria then offered to make them Hot Chocolate. However the way Aria was wording it made it sound like she wanted her to go down as well. Tinarah wasn't fond if that idea. “I would rather not… There was a lot of people in and out of the kitchen earlier and I don't really want to deal with any more people… Sorry.” Tinarah informed the older girl. She never had been overly social, especially not on bad days. Tinarah generally preferred to be left alone with her music when she was upset so going to a high traffic area didn't appeal at all.

It seemed everyone was in favour of sticking together, and while Cerdic knew it was safer, he was sfill worried about them all leaving and Ria returning to destroy the thing they were trying to fix. However the matter was settled and Cerdic was the one who encouraged Alder to take up being leader.

Leaving the cave the walk wasn't nearly as long as Cerdic had expected. He remembered nothing of the path they took, it didn't start feeling familiar much to Cerdic's disappointment, but at least Mora managed to lead them somewhere more familiar. While Mora was holding her side again something that concerned Cerdic, he chose to take lead heading towards the trees instead. "why was I here?" Cerdic whispered to himself, searching for something useful in his memory as he ran his fingers across the symbol carved into the tree. ​

Aislinn laughed at Stratos explaining his world, and commenting on Kaida's reaction. "Hell yeah we passed. I didn't dance the hula for nothing. But you know a group of both preditors and prey helping a lion dethrone a corrupt king and help him get back his rightful spot as king. Have to says pretty standard as well." Aislinn joked as she heard clapping followed by the declaration of them becoming masters. Aislinns eyes lit up with excitement not quite, but nearly matching Kaida's. Aislinn had refused to let herself get too excited before it was officially declared. Now she jumped in the air. "We did it!" She looked back at Stratos and hugged him. "Thank you for being a great partner and teammate. I know it is easier to go with your friends, so it means a lot. Couldn't have made it to master without any of you." She knew how cheesy it sounded, but also knew no one had to be welcoming to her, but they were and she would be forever thankful for that.​