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That word. You keep using it. I don't think it means 's what you think it means.

Episode Tinarah: Part 7
And Time Goes On

About a week after Tinarah had received her new violin Fost had arrived to visit her. He stayed for about an hour before having to leave to continue his business. The other master still seemed awkward around the small girl but he was clearly glad to her doing well. He visited one other time to check in on her several weeks later but after that he had gone silent in his communications again. At least until today.

"Master Fost has informed me that he has found an apprentice. A boy a few years younger than yourself. He has potential, like you." Stamatis folded his arms. "I know that when you came here you would have preferred to train with Fost but that would not have been possible. You see, you are not from this time and Fost holds a very special position amongst our order. He can only take one student and whoever is chosen must one day take the position from him until they too must pass it on. Under other circumstances I am sure he would have been happy to have you as his student but you cannot remain in this time forever." Though, given that Tinarah had yet to summon her keyblade, despite the advancement in her training, there was the smallest part of him that worried that by the time the girl returned to her own time she would no longer be the little girl who arrived.

During the long days Tinarahs birthday had come and gone, she had not mentioned such things however. Tinarah had chosen to keep not to bring the attention to herself. It seemed not important and without her family she felt like it wouldn't be as fun, instead just sad.

This particular day Master Stamatis decided to explain to her why she wasn't able to train with Fost. Tinarah looked quizzical before asking, "what is his position then? Why is he so important?" she asked trying to understand fully. She wasn't as upset anymore but it was good to know. Over time in general she was happier, not better but progress.

"I cannot tell you the specifics of it but he is the keeper of a very precious item that must be passed down in order to keep the realms of light and dark stable." Stamatis scratched his chin as he thought over what else he could tell her. "Actually, he and I competed to be chosen by the master before him. That master had seen potential in both of us but ultimately decided Fost's disposition suited the job better than mine did. I was too..." He tapped his index finger against his chin as he tried to think of the word the previous master had used to describe him. "Social? Yes, that was it. Social. Though it doesn't seem like it these days." Stamatis smiled.

Well that explanation while it didn't answer the main question it did make a lot of things make more sense. "So it was more of a friendly banter when Fost brought me here. I always wondered where you two stood it makes so much sense now." Tinarah mentioned aloud. "if it makes you feel better I think you are a good teacher. Fost was always hard to tell what he was thinking.... He did save me though..." Tinarah kept talking. The days she chose to talk she spoke more and seemed happy for conversation. "Do you think he will visit again soon?"

"Why thank you Tinarah, it means a lot to hear you say that. And as for Fost, I believe he'll show up once he feels his own apprentice is capable enough to either be left to his own devices or ready to be visiting other castles. If all goes well you might have someone near your age to bond with." Fost clasped his hands behind his back and took in a deep breath. "There's some other news I have for you. I've recently found myself in the possession of a piano and, if you'd like, I wish for us to practice together to give us something else to break up the monotony."
​

"I don't... I don't know what I would do with someone my age... I... Well it was always just me and my brother.." Tinarah admitted a hint of sadness because her brother rejected her. Stamatis then changed the subject back to music. "I have... Well I've never played music with someone else before. I can try but I don't know if I will be any good." when it came to Music Tinarah wanted to be perfect.

"It'll be okay. The point is to relax not on being good, which I am confident you would be." He assured her. "Put your heart into it and the rest will fall into place." Stamatis added showing a small smile towards Tinarah.

Tinarah cocked her head to the side a bit listening to that. Perhaps he didn't understand what she was like when it came to music, or perhaps he understood completely and was trying to break her out of her shell. Either way it didn't hurt to give it a try. "Alright... I suppose we can try." She said. This was again another way of her connecting to people, something she was honestly a little afraid of. All at one time when coming here she got hurt so much emotionally, before that people had hurt her physically, and even before that her mom had been murdered, it was difficult for her to really want to find that connection to people, but it had been months now, she would have to at least try.

Two years pass...

By now, Tinarah's self-defense lessons had moved beyond the basics and onto how to wield a blade. Given her age he had kept her training with a wooden blade up until just a few weeks ago to ensure that the techniques she practiced were being done correctly. The routines were still the same, regardless of how much easier basic chores were for her now. Even though she had made progress with her technique she was still unable to bring out her keyblade and, with having spent so much time here, Stamatis had noticed she had become more quiet. Though Tinarah had become more comfortable in the castle it had become apparent to him that she was growing frustrated with herself over her inability to return home. Fost had kept up his promise to visit her but it had not been enough to keep her from withdrawing into herself. She had even begun refusing to use her spare time to play music with him.

It had become time to switch things up. That morning, before even the first light of dawn, Stamatis knocked on Tinarah's door despite knowing she would still have been asleep. "Get dressed. We're heading to another world." This had been the first time he had told her such a thing but enough time had passed. She needed a win.

As normal Tinarah was fast asleep during the early hours of the morning. She had been sleeping in more and more the more frustrated she became with herself. She no longer wanted to go to practice or play music with Stamatis. She had started to accept that she was never going to go home, and while she was learning to accept it, it was not easy to live with. She was falling into a more depressed state and not wanting to even try to do anything out of the ordinary. She got up and did her chores and then went to training like what was expected of her.

That morning there was a knock at the door drawing her from her sleep. Tinarah put a pillow over her head as Stamatis' muffled voice spoke to her. She wasn't going to listen right away, that was until he said something about another world. It was interesting enough. "Coming." She murmured as she dragged her butt out of bed. By the time she staggered out of her room she wasn't fully put together. She was dressed, but her hair was a little bit of a mess still and she looked tired. "Where are we going?" She asked drowsily.

"Put this on." Stamatis held out a long black trench coat that was just about Tinarah's size. "We will be heading near the Realm of Darkness and that coat will serve as your protection." In Stamatis's free hand he held another coat, larger and obviously meant for him, as well as the sword Tinarah had trained with--a short sword with a black handle and nearly nonexistent hilt. "It will be dangerous so it is best that we come prepared." His voice had grown more serious compared to the normal tone of serenity he typically had.

"Your training has been going well but not nearly at the pace either of us anticipated. It is no fault of your own but merely a failure of my teaching." Stamatis added, waiting for Tinarah to put on the coat before he handed the blade over to her. As he began to put his own cloak on he remained silent and only once the hood had gone up did he speak once more.

"It is time to take your training to the next level."

Alright, lets see. I got:
-A set of 5 red pots and pans
- A red hand mixer
- My mom knit me a throw blanket
- a flannel Scarf (because they couldn't find me a good flannel shirt)
- Full Metal Alchemist Art Book
-Red Dutch Oven
-Pajama's
-$50 prepaid mastercard
-$100 Cash

I just got around d to finishing g reading the story it was cute, I loved it. Thank you so much Cal. Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas all! Here we go Secret Santa. I have been so excited to post this. I got a good friend as the person I was making for and really wanted to make something they would enjoy. So Merry Christmas Joce! I hope you love your gift and receive many more wonderful gifts for a wonderful girl!

@KHGrl15

Aislinn tried to go after Kaida and help get the meerkat off her back. It wasn't that Aislinn had any intent on hurting the thing, but it couldn't have been pleasant to have some animal just hop on your back when you weren't ready while freaking out. However Hikaru got to it first, so Aislinn simply backed off as she watched the entire scene unfold. It was loud and messy, but at least Nala was finally going to get her meal and she wouldn't have to starve another day. Even if it wasn't enough to share with everyone back at the pride.

Before Nala could make the kill however another lion jumped out attacking her. Aislinn summoned her keyblade to her mouth, ready to defend her new found friend, when the fighting suddenly stopped as the attacking lion called Nala by name. The situation became awkward and tense for a moment before a realization set in between the two. This lion was the son of the last king that Nala had claimed died. Well that was an interesting turn of events. Suddenly the situation became a whole lot less intense, more interesting however as Nala and Simba began to speak, then decided they needed time alone. That left them with the animals that they had previously been trying to eat.

Ananta started asking about Simba's relationship was with them. It was a fair enough question but considering what they last agreed to do, Aislinn was curious about something else. Simba seemed healthy and happy, well eaten, perhaps there was another food source around that they could be pointed in the direction of. "I have another question as well. Your friend seems rather well fed, and the girl he ran off with... well she and her people .. er.. animals... are well... starving. Is there a food source around here that you can point us in the direction of?"​

Episode Tinarah: Part 6
Music of the Heart

The morning sun had just begun to shine through the stained glass windows of the castle. Stamatis had long been up since then having begun his daily meditation early this day. By the time he had finished he returned to the castle. It had been quite some time since Tinarah had arrived and still she could not summon her blade. He had sensed the potential within her and told her that it was in her somewhere but she was unable to call her keyblade. Additionally, the only communication he had from Fost was a week ago when the master said he was searching for an apprentice of his own. The man had been aging but it still surprised him that Fost had taken so long to even begin a search for someone to pass the legacy down to given Fost's status. Stamatis had told this to Tinarah but could tell she wasn't happy about this.

Master Stamatis paced around the entrance hall for several minutes still deciding what the girl's next lesson would be. He looked out the window and gazed at the grass, still moist from the rainfall that occurred last night. It wasn't a storm but merely just light rain. He waited in the entrance hall for Tinarah to wake, if she hadn't yet, to continue with the plans for the day.

Even after a month of being there, Tinarah's speaking was still at a minimum. She did her best to avoid it when she could and often time during or after meditations she would look sad, like she was missing something dearly. In some of her spare time she looked around the castle, almost like in search of something, but would often quickly end up back in her room, staring off into the nothingness. During this time she had not seen Fost but was told that he was off searching for his own student. It made Tinarah feel like she wasn't good enough, even if Stamatis told her that there was potential. It seemed depression weighed heavy on the young girl still, something a month of training and structure wasn't fixing. The structure and chore certainly weren't a bad thing, they kept Tinarah busy after all, but there was only so much it could do for her going forward, it was just a small comfort.

One morning Tinarah got up and ready shortly after sunrise. She didn't really have a clock or anything to wake her up, instead relying on the sun streaming through the curtains that she would leave open as a way to wake up. Stamatis had never said anything about the time she woke up, so she assumed that worked as well for him as it did for her. While she dragged her feet a little that morning while getting ready, she found herself dressed and down in the entrance hall after Stamatis arrived and was waiting ready for her. She nodded her good morning to Stamatis as she stopped near him getting the feeling that he had a plan for the day.

"If you wished for one object, what would it be?" He clasped his hands together. "I realize that you haven't exactly been comfortable staying here and I have not done as much as I could have to help with that, so if there was something that would make you more at ease here, what would it be?" He had also avoided the subject to keep Tinarah from withdrawing further into herself or risk forcing her to open up when she was not ready. But so much time had passed that he could no longer put it off. She was going to stay here for the foreseeable future and for her training to be more productive she needed to feel at ease.

"Or is there something you would like to do? A change of pace in your training perhaps?" He further questioned, genuinely curious as to what Tinarah wanted.

Tinarah looked up at Stamatis slowly. A direct question was hard to respond to without speaking in some way. Tinarah thought about it for a moment, what she would like, it wasn't as much a question as it was her worrying about being a burden if she asked. What she wanted wasn't as cheap as it could be, there were plenty of other ways to entertain herself. However aside from family, aside from changing the past, what her brother did to her, and how she was just left here, there was only one easy solution Tinarah could think of. "Well....." She started softly, her eyes darting around the room nervously before she forced herself to continue. "I would like.... Well I play violin, and if it isn't too much burden. And you don't have to or anything, but I would like one to play. I understand if it is too expensive, I just used to play my moms old one and it helped calm me down and all you see." She tried to explain feeling the need to justify herself more. He also asked about training. And while Tinarah didn't have any particular opinions on it, she was sure Stamatis had noticed her scars by now, perhaps it was a good time to ask about what Choma wanted to teach her, it was after all valid with or without a keyblade.

"Could you possibly... Maybe teach me some self defense one day.... Chrono said I was too weak and... well he is right. Choma and Chrono has both had to save me because I couldn't myself..." She admitted sounding ashamed about that.

"I see." Stamatis nodded and stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Well I don't see any problem with either request. Before I became a master I spent much of my free time sitting in front of a piano. Giving you something to express yourself is no problem. It's admirable to be honest." Stamatis motioned for Tinarah to follow him. "Give me a day and you will have your violin. For now, I can at least teach you some of the basics of self-defense." He began his ascension once they reached some stairs. "There's a sparring room, I'm sure you've seen it while exploring, that's big enough for...well it's size is of no importance. It's just the two of us for now."

It made her feel better that Stamatis also seemed to appreciate music. It made it feel a little less... well alone. However even with that she chose not to go into full conversation, instead returning to nodding as Stamatis told her to follow him. She was smiling a little bit, or the closest she had come to a smile since arriving, at the thought of having an instrument to play as she followed through the castle to the sparring room. She had indeed seen it in her exploring, generally avoiding it, not feeling comfortable going in it yet. However she knew if she wanted to return to her brother she didn't just need her keyblade back, but she needed to prove that she was strong, and to that she needed to... well learn to be strong. She couldn't help but wonder what he was going to say about the size of the room but it didn't matter. Tinarah rolled up her sleeves and looked at the one remaining scar. Her hand then drifted up to her head where her hair hid another. She wouldn't let those things happen to her again. That is why she requested this even though she hated fighting. She couldn't just hide behind Chrono. He hated her now because she had for so long. She had to make it up to him somehow.

When they arrived at the sparring room Stamatis placed his hands on his hips and looked around. His footsteps echoed throughout the room and, aside from the racks on the sides of the room holding training weapons such as wooden swords, blunted swords, and staves, it was empty. It had been some time since it had seen any use but none of that had shown through since before Tinarah had arrived he still kept everything in top shape.

"We won't do anything fancy today. So we'll be starting with the very basics. Today that will be throwing a punch."



One day passes...

True to his word Stamatis had returned to Tinarah the next morning, violin in hand as he waited again for her by the entrance hall.


Basic training or not, Tinarah was quite tired by the end of it, just wanting to relax a little bit. Her violin wouldn't be there until the following day at least so after Stamatis has taught her a little bit about punching she then had a shower and returned to her daily chores, following back into the rhythms that had become so familiar to her over time. Not only the chores became a pattern, but the order she did them in. If anything happened that through off that order she had a hard time keeping pace and remembering what to do next.

The next day when Tinarah went down to meet Stamatis like she did every morning, she noticed he held something in his hands as she descended down the stairs. As she got closer she could make out what it was, the violin she asked for. Running the rest of the way to him, Tinarah paused a moment to take in the beauty of it. How much had he spent to get it? While she loved her mothers violin and would rather have it, she could tell this one was of a far finer make. She just looked in awe for a moment before looking up at Stamatis, forgetting all about pleases and thank yous as she looked him in the eye earnestly. "May I?"

The man nodded and motioned for her to play it. "Of course." He was just happy to see Tinarah so excited for the first time during her stay in the castle. "I look forward to hearing music in these halls again." He added in cheerfully.

Tinarah grabbed the violin as softly as she would hold a child. She then slowly placed the violin under her chin. She didn't know if she was worthy of playing such a beautiful instrument, but slowly she began to pull the bow along the strings. A song came out, slow at first but the longer she played the happier she seemed. It wasn't that Tinarah was smiling or laughing really, but something in her seemed to settle, like she found a home as she started playing. She played one full song before lowering the violin down. "Thank you.... So much for this. Really." She said, and for once she didn't seem to be forcing herself to speak, instead fully meaning what she was saying. having a violin in her hand brought her more comfort than anything else he could do for her would.

Stamatis listened intently to Tinarah's performance, now finding that this girl had a knack for music. Tinarah wouldn't have been able to play forever but, for now, this was a nice reprieve from the usual order of things.


One hundred and fifty days pass...​

​

I managed to get Vulpes into second place. Now it is time to take my leave again, fading back into the shadows. It has been fun.

Aislinn was caught a little off guard when Hikaru answered the question meant for Kaida, that being said she chose not comment on it, not wanting to be the person pointing out that she wasn't talking to him. Aislinn simply gave him a nod and turned her attention back to Kaida. "Good, glad to hear it." She said softly as they continued on their journey.

Soon Nala seemed to small food and soon they saw it. Aislinn took a step back while Nala prepared for her hunt. Not everyone was okay with it though it seemed. Hikaru seemed mortified though Aux shrugged it off. "It is the circle of like, after all we did come with her to help her find food." Aislinn tried to point out the logic in that.

Soon however another smaller animal showed up, and hopped onto Kaida's back soon after Kaida had gotten off of her back. "Okay this is getting too much, we are going to draw too much attention at this rate." Half of them might have been predators, but the other half, like her were prey, they needed to be at least a little careful. ​

Lay low, stay hidden, with a group of people who blamed her for the incident with Krista, claiming her own past was going to bring them down? That was not an idea that Kiara was too fond of. She would rather get out and prove herself worth while, than sit around. She would rather not let her mind keep going down the path it was going while left in silence to think. "What you mean to say is before someone else from my past pops up again, right?" She couldn't actually remember if Lea knew anything about that, but Arctus sure did and his accusations on the subject had really gotten to her.

Before the conversation could continue any further there was pounding on the door. Kiara turned around, planting her feet in a fighting position in the process. She brought her hand down to her side, flicking her wrist on instinct. When the warm handle of her keyblade failed to come to her, she realized what she had done and reached for the whip coiled at her waist instead. As the door burst open she let the whip uncoil as she prepared for a fight, her eyes set on the man who walked through the door. However, Lea didn't move like she expected. He two was ready with weapons in hand however as the man walked through the door he greeted him with familiarity.

Flames flickered in her palm as she tried to shake them off. What sort of sick joke was this? Part of Kiara wanted to yell at the man for scaring them half to death, warn him next time she might act without thought and murder him, however just looking at this man... It had been a long time since someone made her feel small, and Kiara didn't like that one bit. It was an effort of will to stand and face the man without backing up at least some as he entered the room. Even as Lea tried to introduce them, the man had to step in and take over.

Well this man certainly didn't know how to shut up, but more he spoke the less frightening he seemed. His sheer size still called for some intimidation, however the names he gave Lea, well someone with that sense of humour couldn't be that scary. "Jalapeno Headed Firestarter. I like that." Kiara mumbled, however making sure it was loud enough for Lea to hear. Now that Fin's introduction was done, in theory it was there turn, however that was for someone friendly, someone Kiara was not. She didn't even know what to say after all that. It would have been easier if Fin let the old man finish his introductions, but that wasn't going to happen.

Looking to the ruined doorway Kiara ignored the formalities and just looked to Lea. "No hiding out in here now, your friend here just wrecked the door." She said with a tone of satisfaction. ​

Episode Tinarah: Part 5
A New Start?

"This should be it." Master Fost spoke as he folded his arms, staring up at the castle ahead.

"Yes, it is. Can I help you?" A warm and soft voice belonging to a man spoke from behind the two.

Fost jumped and spun around looking ready for a fight but he relaxed when he saw who it was. Before them stood a man looking to be roughly the same age as Fost, his features softer than Fost's but his white hair long and flowing. "Don't do that." Fost growled lowly.

"I thought you of all people would have known I'd have done that." The man mused. "Welcome to my castle, both of you. I am Master Stamatis at your service. What can I do for you?"

Fost's eyes stayed narrowed at the other master but he breathed out and finally spoke in response. "This young girl, Tinarah, might be displaced from her time period."

The instant the word "time" was spoken Stamatis looked at the girl with intrigue and knelt in front of her to get a closer look though kept some distance from her as to not make her too uncomfortable. He held out his hands, palms towards Tinarah, and closed his eyes without saying a word. Fost folded his arms and went quiet save for the tapping of his foot against the ground as he waited for whatever examination Stamatis was doing to be over. A minute passed. And then another.

"Ah yes...your suspicion is correct." Stamatis smiled.

"So what? Can you send her back?"

"Nope." He stated simply.

"Nope? What kind of answer is that?" Fost was clearly annoyed.

"I can't send her back. But she can send her back." Stamatis's voice remained calm and clear as if he was talking about something as trivial as sweeping or cutting grass.

Fost blinked in disbelief. "...What?"

"I meant exactly what I said. I cannot fling her into the future to a destination where I am not. But I can train her to take herself back." He spoke with optimism.

Fost grunted. "That'll be a problem. She can't use her keyblade."

Stamatis frowned. "I see...well then, back to the basics it is."

Tinarah jumped equally as much as Fost, if not more. She was on edge enough as it was given the entire situation, people sneaking up on her did not help in the slightest. At least turning around, the man looked nice enough, his features were softer than most the adults that she had met recently, so that was nice. The man seemed to be helpful too, welcoming them and asking what he could do for them, even as Fost was clearly a little put off by the surprise. And once more Fost took lead in talking to her, so Tinarah could stay back and quiet and not make a bigger fool of herself than she already had been.

The conversation was rather short before the man examined her then knelt in front of her. Tinarah was a little unsure of what to do with it. He held his hands out to her and went rather still. It felt like a life time of awkward silence and stillness while she waited for him to do something again, at least open his eyes, or speak. Finally he did however and told Fost that he was right, she was not from this time period. Tinarah didn't even know how that was possible, being sent to a time period that she didn't belong, but here she was, and seeing young Choma, she had a hard time arguing otherwise.

The problem with the situation turned out to be, this new master, he didn't have the ability to send her back. Tinarah looked at him rather disappointed. He offered to train her, but she didn't have a keyblade, and she had never thought herself a particularly good student. Fost brought up the keyblade point for her, but the man still seemed willing to train her. "A-are you sure it isn't too much trouble. I didn't.... I don't want to burden anyone anymore than I do." Though her head was still tilted down, she looked up at Stamatis through her long eyelashes. She honestly felt awful about how much everyone had to do to help her, and part of her was disappointed that it wasn't Fost offering to train her. He had helped her so far, brought her to such a beautiful world and just as she was starting to trust him, she was passed off again. She knew they were all only trying to help, but it hurt, just another small pain to add to the aching of her heart that had only grown since she tried to return to her brother from the sleeping world of Eventide.

Master Stamatis looked around as if searching for someone but there was no one around save the three of them standing there in front of the castle. "I don't see any students other than yourself. Do you?" Fost rolled his eyes and huffed clearly not amused with the other master's general attitude. "Don't mind him. He's always been like this and you, luckily, will not have to deal with him for much longer."

"Better than putting up with you." Fost muttered lowly.

"In any case, of course. I have no trouble teaching you, Tinarah. I would not have become a teacher if it was not for me. Though, considering your circumstance, I must warn you that it will take time before I can even begin teaching you the ways of, well, time." He smiled confidently. "Once you regain the use of your keyblade everything from there will fall into place." Stamatis glanced over at Fost and nodded at the man. "Thank you for bringing her to me. I can take it from here."

"You sure?" Fost looked from Stamatis towards Tinarah and, though they had only spent a very short time together, the concern he held for her was clear in his voice.

"Of course."

Fost grumbled and folded his arms then unfolded them looking uncomfortable. "I'm not...good at this."

Sensing that it was better to give the two some space, Stamatis stood back up and stepped away from the two until he was out of earshot. Fost coughed and shifted in the spot where he was standing as he tried to form the right words to say in this situation. Finally, after a long moment, he composed himself and began to speak with a lighter tone than he normally did. "Look kid, I hope you make it back in one piece. Just take care of yourself, okay? It looks like you've got a long road ahead of yourself so don't give up hope just because you won't be getting back home as soon as you expected. Just know that whoever's out there waiting for you hasn't forgotten about you and hold onto that."

The man seemed nice, making a point to show that he didn't mind teaching her, looking around for other students that weren't there and shrugging. It made Tinarah feel a little better. She giggled a little bit at the banter between the two masters. She didn't think they disliked each other completely. While they might have been going back and forth a bit but she hoped that it was because they were comfortable with each other, no hostility meant.

The attention was turned back to her once more as he confirmed that he would teach her. Tinarah nodded her thanks to him. But then he mentioned it might take a while, and while that should have been obvious, it was slightly worrisome. She didn't know who might be worried about her and waiting, certainly not her brother however. Perhaps Master Choma would notice her gone and be worried about her, or maybe Mika. She had run away from home over a month ago so any worry her father would have wasn't going to be over this. Perhaps no one would worry over her, maybe it didn't matter how long it took her to get back, either way though she would get back to her time.

Master Stamatis dismissed Fost after that, but the other master seemed a little hesitant to go quite yet. Stamatis took a step back so that they had room to talk and Tinarah stood there quietly waiting. She didn't know what to say anymore than he did. When he finally did speak Tinarah shifted awkwardly. "I will.... Though I don't think anyone is waiting for me." She said quietly before looking away. "I ran away from my dad, and... and my brother tried to kill me. My mom was murdered five years ago. I still want to get home, but no one is waiting." She stated to him, her voice quiet and a bit shaky as she looked up again to meet his eyes for a moment. "Thank you, for everything. Please, both you and Master Stamatis said I would be here a while, so come visit." She encourage, actually wanting him to come visit on occasion so maybe she wouldn't feel so alone.

"I'm sorry for what happened with your family. Sometimes things don't pan out the way we wanted them to but that can make us stronger." Fost looked over towards Stamatis and called out to him. "She's all yours now." He turned to make his exit and paused, turning his head to look over his shoulder. "I can't visit often, but I will visit."

"And bring some food when you do." Stamatis jumped in. "Even I get tired of growing my own food."

"Sure. Why not?" Fost waved at the two and in an instant he was gone in a flash of light.

Now that Fost was gone the remaining master turned towards the girl and clapped his hands together. "So then, shall we get started?"

Six days pass...

​

Tinarah couldn't tell what Fost was thinking after she told him what had happened with her family. He almost seemed to be avoiding it, giving vague apologies and advice before turning to Stamatis and passing her off. He did however stop before leaving turning to her and promising that he would visit. She had wished he would promise to visit often, but at least he would visit some, it was better than nothing. While she hadn't known Fost for long she still had to hold back tears as he watched him leave, especially after Stamatis approached touching her shoulder and advised they got started. She nodded before turning and following him towards the castle.

The next few days were filled with mostly chores. It wasn't her favourite thing to do, it wasn't necessary half the time, and Tinarah certainly didn't see the point in it, but she was too shy to ask about the purpose of it. Tinarah kept quiet and to her self as much as she could during those days. At least she was familiar with most of the chores that she was doing. She had done plenty of these kinds of chores for her dad after her mothers death. She liked trying to help when it was needed, but this didn't seem needed.

Stamatis also had her doing physical activities, including walking to a well to fetch water. Stamatis had only gone with her once, the first time, since then he insisted that she go on her own. Tinarah often tried to object to it, tried to ask him to join her again, but she always lost that battle. She always had to go, and she always had to do it by herself. Tinarah was jumpy every time that she had to go, and she had yet to get over it. At least she could walk with her back straight now, not hunched and shaking like she had the first time she went by herself. Still even on this trip, six days after coming here, she was looking over her shoulder, scanning the surrounding area for danger as she walked.

On the castle grounds there sat Master Stamatis, his legs crossed and his eyes closed. His keyblade was laid flat across his lap. The day had been calm, the sky was overcast and the air was growing thick with the humidity of the coming rain. In the distance the rumble of thunder echoed through the skies. He tilted his head when he heard the now-familiar sound of footsteps coming from the trail heading back towards the castle. Without opening his eyes or even turning his head he called out towards Tinarah.

"Come. Put those buckets down and sit with me." He spoke softly. The air was fresh and the grass was soft and now was as good as time as any for Tinarah to take a breather and let everything else fade away. Training was good for the body but mediation was good for the mind and soul.

Tinarah was surprised as she neared the castle to have Master Stamatis call out for her to join him. Quietly she set the buckets down, moving them off to the side and out of the way before making her way over to the man. Sitting cross legged on the grass she took a moment to stretch her arms out. Tinarah wouldn't have said she was put of shape but she wasn't quite strong enough to carry the two buckets of water without problem.

Sitting there Tinarah gave Stamatis a glance waiting to hear what he had to say. Over the past days she had fell into silence for the most part, only speaking when she needed to. This wasn't uncommon for Tinarah, at home there was times that the sound of her violin was the only sound she made. This silence was different though because she didn't have her violin for company and that was killing her inside a little.

"Close your eyes, Tinarah. Inhale with your nose, exhale with your mouth. Continue to do so slowly and clear your mind. Do not fall asleep but simply take in what is around you with your other senses." Stamatis's tone was warm and soft. Once more thunder rumbled in the far distance. The man breathed out slowly. "Can you hear it?" The wind picked up ever so slightly creating the gentle sound of tree leaves swaying in the breeze. Birds chirped and flapped their wings as they fled to their homes upon sensing the coming rain.

"Just let go. Reality will still be here when you are ready." He inhaled deeply. Somewhere beyond the trees crickets chirped. He exhaled. "Let go."

Sitting down, Stamatis started instructing Tinarah to do something she knew as meditating. And while Tinarah had heard of it before, she had to admit she was not very good at it. While silence and sitting still were too things that she was quite comfortable doing, clearing her mind was a whole different ball park. The closest she usually got was distracting herself with her violin, playing music. When she really tried she couldn't think of anything but what she was doing with her fingers and her bow, that being said she still wasn't in a place of silent meditation, not in the way that Stamatis seemed to want.

As the thunder rumbled in the distance Tinara tensed for a moment before forcing herself to relax a bit while she focused on her breathing. She tried to listen to what was around her, but instead she found her mind flooding with music, songs she could play and songs she wished she was good enough to play alike. Slowly in the silence she found herself moving her fingers into the shape of various chords as her other hand slowly ran an invisible bow across invisible strings to match the tempo of the sounds around her. The sound of the crickets, or the beating of birds wings, all depending on what had a discernible pattern that she could pick up on at that time. She kept her eyes close while she let her mind drift to the silent music that she was creating. Perhaps it wasn't the meditation that Stamatis wanted, but it was the form of meditation that Tinarah took.

Stamatis went silent but opened a single eye to peek over at the young girl to ensure that she was doing well in her attempt to meditate. He wasn't a mind reader and could only make a judgment over how effective her meditation was once enough time passed but for now, this was good enough. He closed his eye and breathed in slowly as he resumed his own meditation. And then the rain came.

Thirty days pass...
​

The final Grimm was down and it was a bit of a relief. She knew that she was as guilty as anyone, but her team didn't seem very good at communicating or working together as it seemed. Auburn herself was too shy to speak with anyone about anything. She barely managed basic introductions to her team, going further than that was asking a lot of the girl so it seemed. Scanning the area one last time to make sure that none were missed, Auburn turned her attention to getting back to the others.

Waiting a moment for someone else to start walking first, Auburn soon found herself following towards the others where they were greeted by Glynda. Auburn turned her attention fully towards Glynda as she asked if everyone was alright. Auburn offered a nod as she glanced at the others, not thinking to watch her back as they had already dealt with the threat. It was a mistake that she was not willing to make again. A Grimm jumped over them and looked her dead in the eye. Auburn was reaching for her weapons when suddenly she was in it's grip and it was running. Unable to get her weapon again she was stuck at the mercy of the Ursa. At least the professionals were here, they would save her at any minute. Her father trusted Qrow, she needed to as well.

Auburn was still trying to struggle out of the Ursa's grip when she heard a gun shot, but not from the direction that Qrow was running. Instead someone else was shooting at it. Auburn tried to make herself small, terrified that the mysterious shooter would accidentally hit her. Suddenly in a blur of movement and then she was falling, but only for a moment before someone caught her. It was all a blur for those first few moments. However then she was on the ground and looking at the girl who saved who, who was staring down Qrow. Auburn shifted uncomfortably, eyes to the ground as she thought about all that was going on. She was so stupid. She should have been paying attention. It was the one thing she was good at, fighting, and she messed up that too. Everyone was staring at her now and Auburn hated it.

After an awkward silence Qrow started to talk with the woman and things felt more tense. She seemed almost hostile and Auburn reached for her weapons, drawing them slowly, silently, in case things went bad. She was closest to the woman after all, and while it was clear her skills were greater than Auburns own, it would still give others more of a chance to react. As they spoke though, it seemed as if Qrow was expecting the woman in the end. Auburn was still confused who she was or what she had to do with anything, but loosened her grip on her weapons and quickly glanced between the two before taking a step back and out of everyone's way. Trying to fade into the background and forget her mistake.

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»Of course he had to make a mistake and miss one. Anything to make him look back. There was a slight anger but it was more at himself but he still didn't like being shown up. "Yeah yeah, I got it. I knew it was there, it was fine." Arian tried to cover for himself, but it was a piss poor attempt given how proud he was just moments before. He tried to shrug it off though not wanting to face the embarrassment. "Come on, we should join the others so we can keep going." Arian encouraged heading back and taking up a place next to the rather pretty but shy girl from the other team.

»As the groups joined together one more grimm popped out of nowhere. Apparently Glynda and Qrow didn't do their job properly, they must have missed one on their side. Arian was too busy mentally blaming them to stop the Ursa before it grabbed him and the girl who was standing beside him. Arian for once was speechless, maybe because he was too busy panicking in his own mind to form words. Unable to reach for his bow due to his arms being pinned, Arian was really left with few options of what to do now. He could scream and curse at the thing, but that would look uncool. Arian's ears bent down as he worried though his tail whipped around trying to hit the Ursa, though it couldn't do much damage. Thankfully help soon arrived in the form of a very attractive woman. She managed to defeat the Ursa, but he fell flat on his face.

»Swiftly getting to his feet he brushed himself off before smiling. "Nailed it!" Arian claimed as he looked over at the woman and winked at her. He opened her mouth to say something else but shut it as she addressed Qrow. Well this was going to be something wasn't it. Arian didn't know how to deal with the situation, so instead he stood there looking pretty, since that was what he did best.​

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Happy Birthday Marushi. Hope you have a great day and don't share the cake with a snowman. ​

Listening to her friend Dayla hesitated, scanning the bar for a moment. "I can't just leave unattended.... but I won't let Teliana get herself in trouble. After the bar is closed for the night I will go. Until then, unless you planned to stay here and watch the bar, then there is only so much I can do." Dayla knew better than to expect Alyse to sit around pretending to be civil when her sister would be in trouble. "But first this is going to be a long night here. Keep your eye out just in case." Dayla whispering watching as a new guy tried to flag a wall for a drink.

There was a long sigh before she turned back to Alyse. "Tell Teli to meet me behind the bar after closing. I have some work to deal with." She sighed before turning to the man who looked like he was about to pass out at the bar despite just arriving. "Coming right up." She said cheerfully as she turned around to get the man a mug of ale. However seeing his state already Dayla decided to try something. Slipping an herb into the Ale that was good for relaxing someone, helping them fall asleep, something she herself often took. Hopefully he would pass out before he hurt himself or others. ​

Due to lack of sign ups we will not be doing the Christmas Special. We will be resuming Chorus in January with a regular chorus. If you would like to suggest songs for that you may go here and submit your suggestions. Merry Christmas and See you all in the New Year.

So the reason that Kaida was being the most hostile towards Aux was because she was once best friends with him. Aislinn took the words to heart as she listened to everything that Kaida had to say about the subject. "You are blocking him out scared to be hurt, but we don't know what comes after the exam. What if he stays the same? What if something changed and your friend really is back? Would you still be okay with shutting him out and possibly hurting him? I won't tell you what to do, but consider both best and worst case scenario for this exam. What happens if he remains like this, what happens if he doesn't. I am not saying you have to be best friends again, but consider not totally blocking him out." Aislinn suggested softly looking at Aux who seemed to actually be trying to interact with her partners. Kaida flew up to her back and Aislinn smiled to herself. It was nice that the girl was starting to trust her enough to do such things. "No matter what you decide, I am here for you." She assured Kaida.

As they walked forward she caught Nala say something about the area they were in. The place her best friend and their last king had died. Aislinn looked down a little sad. "I am sorry to hear that, I know it is hard. I don't think you will ever stop missing him. But as long as you honour their memory." Aislinn knew it sounded sappy, but it was a truth she had learned for herself. "Lets go find you some food." She said softly to Nala before looking to Hikaru then back at Kaida on her back. "So you okay?" She asked again to double check. ​

I'm in