Kingdom Hearts: Kingdom Hearts: Light Chaser

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Chrono was actually a bit surprised when Torrin had explained everything regarding Take being a prince of light, but glad that he did as it had confirmed his own speculations. Now that didn't mean he was any less surprised by said speculations becoming true or less confused as to what dictated it. Though neither of those was truly important right now. Take's reacting to the news was what had the higher priority. "This has to be a lot for you to take in all at once, but you don't have to go through it alone." Chrono chimed in. He didn't have much else that he could think to add besides those, hopefully helpful, words of comfort.

 

Qamar was going over what she'd even say to Aster when she saw her that when she heard her from behind, she jumped. Slowly, she turned her head towards Master Aster and she felt a lump in her throat. In her head, she was trying to figure out what she could even say to let her know that Qamar didn't want Adalric to die. She never meant for him to die and she didn't want Master Aster to think that she wanted that either. Master Aster noted that she was looking well and then she took notice of the state of Qamar's clothes. "Oh they uh....they're....in the courtyard right now." she stated, scratching her cheek. Upon feeling Master Aster's hand on her shoulder, Qamar looked into her eyes and saw the water threatening to escape. Amazingly, she kept her composure to tell Qamar that Adalric's death was not her fault.

A snap could almost be heard as Qamar's eyes filled with tears, spilling over as she stared at Master Aster. Her eyes were wide but there was a deep sadness in them. "But it IS my fault, Master Aster." she started off. "You don't know what I was doing, you don't know...how stupid I was. I thought...I thought I could take on anything. I thought I could take on one of the Light Chaser's students and he ended up trapping me." she was shaking as she tightened her hands into fists. Her knuckles were turning white as she continued to shake. "That student was telling me just how pathetic I was, rushing in like I always do. You know me, I've never been one to think things through...I'm trying, though. Because I learned my lesson now, I don't want anybody else to die because of me." she gulped and continued. "His name was Dentro...he trapped me and like I said he told me how pathetic I was. I was trying to save Adalric, the same way we always trained. I was trying to do what I did and that was be strong. But I'm not strong. Dentro ran at me and I closed my eyes, ready to get stabbed. Except I wasn't. I opened my eyes and saw Adalric with a keyblade through his chest. Stupid Adalric could only say sorry." she grit her teeth. "He was sorry he couldn't fulfill your orders, even after you had uplifted him from his old life...then, he died in my arms..."

Qamar raised her hands and stared at them. "I remember seeing his blood on my hands and the small specks of light that faded off of him. I didn't want them to go..." she felt her hands shake and she covered her face. "Now there's nothing left of him. I regret not being a better friend to him and trying to get to know him. I regret letting him take that blow for me. I regret ever going on this journey. I should have stayed here and he'd be alive right now. Adalric would be alive and I wouldn't be feeling this bad again. I thought I was over all my sadness but I'm not. I couldn't even save my own mother, of course I couldn't save Adalric. I wish I didn't feel this bad, I wish I was the one dead and he was the one that was alive. I don't deserve to live, after all I've done, I don't deserve to live at all. Master Aster, I'm sorry I couldn't keep him safe. That was the one thing I promised you and I failed you." she wept, her voice cracking from how much she was talking and how much crying she was doing. "I tried so hard to just move on and appreciate the fact he saved me. I can't do that. I can't move on, it's not fair. I don't deserve this second chance. All I do is make mistakes and then people get angry at me because I only know how to say the wrong things all the time. I'm a terrible person who can't take social cues and can only ever screw things up for people. I'll never have any more friends. I lost the one person I could call a friend for a selfish reason. What right do I have?!" For what seemed like minutes, Qamar was just standing there, sobbing and crying harder now and again.

Until she felt Master Aster wrap her arms around her, giving her a deep hug. For a moment, the tears stopped and Qamar just stared off in confusion before she hugged Master Aster back. She took in sharp breaths as she started to finally calm down. She hadn't cried this much since her mother died...

Spoiler: Impromptu Memory?

One afternoon, Qamar was playing with a toy while Ravana was making dinner. Eifa was sitting outside and stitching at a dress that Qamar had recently torn up from when she was fighting with some boys. Qamar stood up and looked over at Ravana as he slipped something powdery into one of the bowls for dinner. He then placed the spoon into the bowl, glaring at Qamar. She quickly turned her face away and played with her toy more.

"Go get your mother." Ravana ordered. Qamar nodded and got up, walking to Eifa. She pulled on her sleeve and smiled. "Dad says dinner is ready." she announced, running back inside. She sat down at the table and noticed her spoon wasn't in the bowl yet. Only the one she saw Ravana put the powdery stuff into. She looked at Ravana and saw him sit at the other bowl with no spoon. Eifa ended up at the spoon bowl.
"Dad, can you teach me a word I don't know? Like, a place word or something? One of the boys was making fun of me cuz I don't know how to say our cities' name yet...." she frowned.

"You do it, Eifa, I'm tired." he sighed, sipping his soup.

Eifa nodded, slurping on hers for a moment. "Well, why don't I start off by writing it?" she grabbed a pen and wrote down 'Orphic Coast' on a piece of paper. "How do you say this word?" she pointed.

Qamar tilted her head. "Oarpick?" she guessed. Eifa chuckled. "No dear. Oar-fihc." she corrected.

"Oar....fihc...?" Qamar repeated. "Orphic??"

"Yes....now this word?" she pointed at coast.

"Coats?" Qamar shrugged. Eifa laughed again.

"Halfway there. Coh-st." Eifa slurped her soup more, starting to cough a little.

"Orphic....Coast? There's this place? This dinky town thing is named something hard like THAT?" she looked upset.

"The King's ancestors chose the name. They don't give a rats ass about what we think about it." Ravana scoffed, finishing off his soup.

Qamar sat in silence as she finished her soup. Eifa managed to finish hers, but she started to cough more, turning to get up and rush to the bathroom. Ravana had an evil smile on his face. "It's working." he muttered.

"Dad, what'd you put in Mom's soup?" she asked. "Was it something tasty? Why couldn't I get any? Can I get some next time? Please?"

Ravana waved his hand at her. "No, it's only for adults. Stop asking questions."

Less than a week later, Qamar was crying at the side of her mother's bed, Eifa having died and leaving Qamar to her darkness.

Back in reality, Qamar had let go of Master Aster and was leaning against the door, gripping her head. The Master was looking concerned and Qamar shook her head. "I'll be okay...I just...my head's trying to figure out my memories..." she said. "I...I need to talk to my Master now..." she said, turning to try and walk away.​

 

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Take appreciated the support from all sides heavily, and looked at everyone who talked to him in thanks. Just as he was ready to start calming down the sudden appearance of Flammie occurred and he looked up at the sky immediately to make sure it didn't get followed. But then the boy jumped upon hearing Torrin yell. Take stared at Torrin with a look of scared confusion as he stood up from where he had been on the ground slowly as he grumbled,"Ugh. You again. He didn't end up killing you?" he looked over at Torrin with a bit of amusement before returning his attention to the Flammie and saying with clear reluctance and barely managing out, "T...th.... mmm...thanks for the save back there. I didn't think I'd ever be able to say a dragon saved my life." Take looked away briefly before his expression changed back to it's usual as he looked at the Flammie, "Don't think this makes us friends."

Flammie seemed to look at Take, his ears raised a bit as if it was paying attention. After a bit the fluffy dragon tilted its head to the side, then leaned forward just a bit. He breathed out of his nose with such a force that it knocked Take back. The boy landed back on the ground and looked up at it for a brief second with a little fear before he immediately knew to try and calm himself down. He shifted to stand up and said, "I'm... gonna go inside. Have fun with the Fluff."
"FLAMMIEEEEEEE"

Take smiled a little bit, still amused by Torrin's reactions before he headed inside the castle. Though as he walked in, he was going to head towards the kitchen and grab tea like Tinarah offered, but then he realized he should probably go and tell Atmos about Glyde. He wasn't entirely sure if she'd be in the same room or even if she was here, but he still went for it. He took a moment to compose himself before he knocked on the door. It took a moment before the door opened and Atmos looked out and saw Take and smiled saying, "You're back!"

"Yeah... um..." Take was quiet for a second before his face immediately broke from his usual composed and rather stoic face to one of concern and sadness. He kind of hoped she'd catch that at least, "A lot happened..." Atmos pulled Take in to have a seat and took a seat of her own to sit in front of him. "Tell me. Is everyone okay? Chrono? Illiana? Glyde?"
Take sat down and said, "Um... no... Glyde didn't make it..." he stopped a moment and continued, "And I think everyone right now isn't doing..." he raised his hands up to do air quotes and said, ""Okay"... we all just barely got out of there since... well, the Light Chaser showed up..." he paused a moment to look at Atmos just to see how she reacted before he asked, his voice breaking a little as he did, "How long have you known...?"

"What..?" Atmos lowered her head and sighed out. "We've already lost too many..." She spoke sadly. She only looked up when she heard Take mentioning an encounter with the Light Chaser. "What!? And you made it out in one piece?" She looked at the boy with concern but understood what he meant with his question. "So you've learned then. When I was sent for you I was told you were different but I wasn't sure how. When I met you, that's when I knew."

"Well... we were lucky to make it out at all, honestly. We got saved by..." Take stopped himself from saying anything regarding Torrin unleashing that much darkness. He had no idea how that would turn out for him if that got around and he wouldn't let it be from his lips, "...a dragon... believe it or not..." he was quiet a little bit after her explanation and he sighed, "Look... I know why people didn't want to tell the group... but why couldn't you tell me?" he felt his fists tighten and said, "After everything you were trying to teach me... I trusted that you wouldn't keep something that important from me... I don't..." he started looking more stressed, "I don't get it? Did you not trust me to make the right decision? The second we found out any of the princess... the seven were being taken you didn't think once that teaching me this information couldn't have been helpful? I don't know... I could have hidden myself somewhere or at least made a point to avoid the Light Chaser at all. But instead I was standing there seconds away from the man grabbing me because I didn't know and I couldn't protect myself ." Take found himself getting progressively angrier about it. He closed his eyes and said, "At least I was a one time distraction from him taking Aria... but if anything didn't go the way it did... you would have had to have Chrono be the one telling you that you lost two students..."

"It...it was not my call to make." Atmos spoke quietly. "The Council's orders were strict and I cannot say I completely disagree with them. The less who knew of you, the safer you were. At least until now..."
"What, you didn't think to ever question orders?" Take immediately stopped and he relaxed more, "...I'm sorry."
"No. That's alright, Take. It's just that a chain of command exists for a reason. There was no reason for me to doubt their motives."
The boy was silent for quiet a bit of time before he admitted, "I'm scared."
"And you're not alone."

"But I feel alone..." Take replied as he finally looked up at Atmos, "I haven't felt this way since the first day they brought me to Jeral's Point... where they brought me after I got the keyblade. When my family looked at me the way they did.... and I just felt like everyone was in on something I don't know anything about. I feel like I'm being played like a game piece and I don't even know what game I'm in... I felt that way before I even knew I was a Prince of Heart ugh that sounds awful to say out loud but I felt that way before it and I most certainly do now..." he looked towards a window in Atmos' room and said, "It was freezing in my room that first night at the point... I didn't sleep. I didn't eat. And all I could feel was pain on my wrist and people telling me I'm not good enough..." he hadn't actually mentioned it that way before. He looked back at her and said, "That's how I feel now. But at that point I came out of it never wanting to feel again... I don't want to feel that way again. But every part of me is trying to make me... and now I just.... I don't know..." he chuckled a little and hid his face in his hands, "I don't know... I... I don't know..."

Takehiko had stayed the same way he was and felt himself suddenly pulled in for a hug. He stayed in the same position even with her hugging for a bit before he shifted to hug her back, hiding his face a bit in her shoulder.


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When the rush of air first hit her, Aria wasn't sure what to expect. Take had jumped up and Torrin was yelling about a Flammie? When she saw the big fluffy thing standing there on the grass not too far away from them, Aria's eyes went wide and she rubbed at them to make sure she wasn't seeing things. She heard Take mention something about it being a dragon of sorts, but Aria wondered how that could be with all the fluff. It looked like a super overgrown dog to her. She saw the dragon-thing blow back Take to the ground, and stifled a laugh with a snort behind her hand. She then saw the fear in his eyes, and remembered of Take's background with dragons, and felt bad for laughing. She watched him disappear inside, and Aria stood up, dusting herself off. Boreas stormed off, or rather jogged off in a bad mood, Qamar disappeared, Tinarah left... There was only a few people left out here.

Aria gradually approached the flammie, glancing at Torrin briefly to see that he buried himself in the fluff. Aria giggled quietly to herself and then looked up at the magnificent creature once more. "You're gorgeous," Aria breathed as she reached a hand out hesitantly to the large beast to touch it. This thing was huge, and she figured it could bite off her arm if it wanted to. But if it was tolerating Torrin, she didn't think it would suddenly turn feral.

It was as if everything hit Aria all at once. The loss of another teammate, dealing with a dysfunctional group and feeling like she couldn't really talk much or be herself, fighting a powerful foe, facing the Light Chaser, dealing with immense fear, finding out Take was a Prince of Heart... Her eyes looked tired as the adrenaline was beginning to wear off completely, and her smile wavered as well as her hand outstretched to the flammie. She felt a knot in her chest and blinked rapidly as tears threatened to spring forth. Now is not the time, she thought to herself. She felt overwhelmed with emotions, not knowing what to feel or do with herself now that everything important seemed to be addressed. She wanted to hug all of her friends tightly and tell them how much she missed them, but there were other urgent matters to deal with at that time. She was grateful almost all of them made it back in one piece from their journey. They lost only two, but it was still hard to fathom...

Aria's eyes darted to the friendship bracelet, right next to the bracelet the Light Chaser gave her, only to look away from it and lower her hand that was outstretched all together. There was a freaking, mythical beast right there in front of her, but Aria couldn't bring herself to enjoy this occasion. She held her wrist close to her chest, pulling thoughtlessly at the Light Chaser's band that seemed to stay on her no matter how hard or how persistent she pulled on the thing.

 

Boreas jogged down the dirt path away from the castle, downhill made it significantly easier. If he were in a better mood he might have appreciated the view of the rolling green plains, but his mind was still filled with anger at his blade being broken. It hadn't happened before at least not to him, his father never spoke of it happening. Torrin mentioned it'd take a few hours for it to come back, Tinarah mentioned something about his heart. A shadow passed over him and he looked up to see something big pass over him as he increased his speed as if running faster might somehow get either his blade back or get him closer to the Light Chaser to retaliate. He sprinted across the plains for a while until he started to feel tired from sprinting. He stopped for a moment to catch his breath he. He didn't know how long he had been going for, but the peace and quiet had settled in around him, just the sounds of nature and his own breathing. His heart was perfectly fine, in balance as it should be at least as far as he knew it was the case, Tinarah had been wrong about that, he'd have to wait to see if the advice of his friend held more merit or that he'd perhaps look to Master Thallasa for help on the matter. As he had caught his breath Boreas removed his helmet and went back to running feeling the wind against his face as more and more anger ebbed away.

He jogged far from the castle and he wasn't entirely sure how much time had gone by when he decided to loop back around. Torrin had been right and Qamar had only wanted to help him calm down and she too meant to protect him from himself, he too knew that if he had gone back there and then he would have died, he had been prepared to do it before the Light Chaser had interfered, he had been prepared to sacrifice himself for Torrin. His mother would have been distraught, he imagined that by now someone had informed him he had been sent away per his own request. He hadn't had the time to tell her, and with the power the Light Chaser wielded the chance of him not making it was very real even more so than when he lead the Emerald Company to battle. The Castle was visible in the distance again but Boreas wasn't quite ready to face his friend again even if most of the anger had subsided. He found a small stream running across the plains and sat down in the grass beside it to rest up for a bit. He owed him an apology, same with Qamar and felt guilty for the words he had uttered in anger, but that could wait he wasn't back at the castle yet and that was fine with him.​

 

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Aria watched as the Flammie took off and then looked to Torrin when he addressed her. She quickly rubbed at her eyes to hide any signs she was about to cry. "Okay...?" she asked with a raise of her eyebrow. She didn't know why Torrin was being so vague about what he needed to do and why she needed to tag along. "But afterwards, we really need to look at that," she said, pointing to the gash on his side. That was far worse than what she had to endure in the dream realm with Quietus, or it seemed like it anyways.

 

Boreas was rather surprised to see one of the masters out here or even someone else out here he hadn't really run into anyone else during his run. What the master said was even stranger things. "Yes I am the Prince's friend, the name is Boreas." Boreas answered getting up and holding out a hand. "Pleased to make you acquaintence, Master Skia." He looked back at the stream and thought about what the Master had said. "So you're saying there's invisible fish in that stream over there?" Boreas asked. She was serious about fishing here by the looks of things. "I have had significantly worse than a simple fish hooks but thank you for your concern." Boreas added, he didn't know this master and she was on the Council of Light so he had to be careful as to what he was going to say and let her know and perhaps get to know more about what the Council has been up to, not that he figured she would tell him much at all. "So I take it you come out here to fish to help break the monotony of Council meetings and being cooped up inside for the better part of the day or do I have the wrong idea of what being on the Council is like?" Boreas asked the Master.​

 

Chrys didn't respond to Zeno. She wasn't really registering anything at the moment; anything other than the stone that she was slowly drawing closer to. Before she quite realized what was happening, she had reached out for the stone, and the world around her changed.

Zeno and the flowers were all gone, but in their place their was a man with black hair, face to indistinct to recognize, and a girl whose on hair was long and red. She was younger than Chrys, and the two seemed to be talking animatedly about something. Unfortunately for her, no sound was emanating from their mouths, and so she was forced to watch them interact like cheerful mimes or a television program on mute. She tried desperately to see if she could find some feature to identify the man, or hear what they were saying, but she couldn't really do anything but strain her eyes and ears for visual and auditory information that wasn't being given. But then, she did hear something. A voice barely above a whisper. Her Master's Voice.

"Chryssa."

So this was Chryssa.

Chrys thought on this momentarily. Was his relationship with this woman romantic as Zeno had implied? Or was it something else? Lantana had mentioned Chryssa's father had loved flowers, and it would be no stretch to assume someone who had brought so many might be quite fond of them as well. Then again, one would assume Lantana wouldn't be entirely dense to the fact that she was talking to her own son, unless he used a special way of hiding it. They also did not share the same colored hair, though that was easily explained away. It was something worth thinking on.

Then the whole world vanished, and what she saw was an entirely different scene altogether. It was quite a bit more violent.

Her Master was fighting against another person with a keyblade. Sparks leap from the blades at each clash, and the two fight with ferocious intensity. However, it is only a matter of time before her Master disarms the other, and her heart fills with a sense of dread at the hate filled words he speaks.

"You deserve this."

The words seemed so matter of fact that it was unsettling and when a dark portal appeared from seemingly nowhere, her master was very quick to pick up the other man and shove him into it. All the while the faintest of whispers could be heard. An ethereal voice calling out to say something. Yet she could not hear what its message was.

Once again, her surrounding melted into nothingness, only for a new scene to take form.

Her Master the Light Chaser was now standing over the form of a bloodied man and a broken keyblade, with several other bodies scattered around him in a barely conscious state. The Light Chaser spoke: "Your students will pay the price for your stubbornness. All you had to do was tell me where the Princesses were and we could have avoided this. I don't have to kill you, this world is falling, but I don't need to save you either." Of course, Chrys was appalled at this. Yet she wasn't really sure she was surprised. However, the string of events continued ceaselessly, and in this instance with a fireball to the master's back. Both she and the Master turned to face his challenger. She was met with the frightened and enraged eyes of a younger Torrin.

The scene fades away. The whispering grows in intensity. A clear and soft woman's voice echoes in a heartbroken plea.

"Please. Stop him. Save him from himself."

Chrys returns to the present and sees that the stone is engraved with a single word.

It all happened so suddenly, it was far too much for her to take in, for her to process in such a single instance. Yet she knew she had little choice in the matter.

"Zeno... We shouldn't be here..."

A single tear tracked down the side of her face as she stared forlornly at that single, haunting word.

"Chryssa."​

 

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Seeing the Flammie appear behind them was a welcomed surprise and Torrin's reaction to seeing it was an amusing surprise to which he couldn't help but snicker at. His snickering was brief as Enzo had spoken to him. Well, fired off a bunch of questions was the more accurate way of describing the interaction. "Okay, I'm Chrono, yes I can use a keyblade and neither of us are princesses." Technically he didn't know that for certain about Illiana, but given how she was in general, Chrono figured it was safe to assume so.

 

"His memories..." she repeated, looking down at her own chest. She placed her hand there and held it for a long pause. She looked back up to Aster and nodded. "I'll stay as long as you need me to, Master Aster. I kind of...think of the council as my family now. All of you are precious to me and I'll never mind keeping any of you company." She smiled, sliding over and planting her butt in a nearby chair.

Staring at the wall, she opened her mouth and then closed it. Qamar managed to speak once she had a second. "Remember how I told all the other Master's I was from Moluk? I was....lying." she scratched her head. She looked down at her clothes and then the jewelry she wore. She was reminded of her mother, seeing as the rings were all hers. "Only Master Stamatis knew where I was truly from. Master Stamatis knew since my previous Master...." she stopped, her speech slurring a little and she started to just stare off into space. A great pain came to her head and she realized more memories had came back.

Spoiler: The Old Master

Cold, dark, and scared. A plain dark dress that reached just down to above her knees and a maroon jacket keeping her somewhat warm. Her feet were covered by boots and she was looking like she had to get out of there. Her eyes darted back to where she was walking from. Her hands were in her pockets and she was holding tightly onto jewelry. She turned around in time to see herself run into an elderly woman. This woman looked Qamar up and down and tilted her head. "Child, are you alright? You look frightened..." she commented.

Qamar shook her head. "Need to get away..." she murmured. The woman nodded and put a hand on Qamar's arm, gripping it tightly. "Child, I can tell you're scared. Come with me to my home. It's a little outside of town, but I can get you away from here for sure." she offered. Qamar nodded and ended up following this old woman. She had no idea why she was doing this. This woman could be taking her into a trap and Qamar could be as good as dead. Yet, somehow, deep down, she felt a small light flickering in this woman that gave her a sense of ease.

They walked for what seemed like forever until a small house could be seen. Qamar was happy to see someplace that wasn't the town and dark wilderness. Dark creatures started to pop up, stalking and skulking towards Qamar. Utter terror came over her as she backed away from the creatures. The old woman put her hand forward and a keyblade appeared in her hand. The dark creatures were dispatched of quickly and Qamar stared at the old woman. "You have one too?!" she exclaimed, summoning her keyblade and showing it to the woman.

The woman was surprised but she chuckled. "Oh yes, child, I knew I could sense the keyblade within you. Come, I'll explain everything inside." she said, urging Qamar inside. For the next week, Qamar listened to the old Master tell stories and tales of her journies. Qamar was curious and wanted to go on her own journey with people she'd call great friends some day. At the end of the week, the woman chuckled at Qamar wanting to call her Granny. She obliged and finally caved in and decided to take Qamar with her to a world to sort of check things out and train.

Upon landing on the world, Qamar looked around at the lush forest they were dropped onto. She had a grand smile on her face after finally seeing a sunrise different than she had ever dreamed of. She fell backwards and laid on the ground as Granny spoke to somebody on a communication device. "Hello, I know this is an old device, but I hope it still connects to you, Master Gero? Or is it Master Stamatis now?" Granny chuckled. "This is Master Raka, if you do not know." Granny began, not wanting to overload whomever of the Council would pick up the communicator first. It'd been such a long time since she had used it, was worried it didn't actually work.

"Master...Raka?" There was a pause. "Hm. Yes. Indeed. Why would a master from the Realm of Darkness be contacting us. Surely King Joch would be better suited for assisting you." The man spoke in a calm and polite tone. Granny hummed a moment and shrugged to herself. "Apologies, but I don't think he'd like to hear about how my student gained her keyblade. He'd possibly imprison her for it. Sparing the details, the girl murdered her father after he abused her for all of her life. Now, she is trying to heal on her own time." Granny paused a long moment. "I know it makes her out to be dangerous, but the girl is far from that. It's like she's trying to forget the pain, but also trying to remember the good parts. Her mind is clouded and I felt that a foray into the Realm of Light would do her heart a great deal of good." Granny looked over to see Qamar was quite enjoying the sunlight on her skin and the small butterflies that landed on her, taking a rest.

"Hm...grim circumstances for a child. Be sure to keep a watchful eye on the child and take care to not disturb the world order. If any damage is done to this realm by you or the child, we will have no choice but to place you under your king's judgment, whatever that may be." Granny listened closely and nodded. "I've been a Master for most of my life, I can assure you I've never disturbed world order. However, I must ask, who am I speaking with? It's been so long, I don't recognize the voice." she glanced back to Qamar. "And I can assure you, this girl is a great choice. In fact, I may just end up sending her to your Council to receive further training. Did you not take upon a student recently?" she questioned.

"This is Master Stamatis. Unfortunately...unfortunately, Master Gero is no longer with us as of last year. I am now the current Master of Masters." Though he tried not to show it there was pain in his voice. "But yes. The last student to receive Master Gero's blessing, Adalric, has shown great promise." Granny grimaced upon the news and looked at Qamar. "Master Stamatis, I must apologize for the loss of Master Gero. I only ever knew the man to be just and wise...yet human." she closed her eyes. "The pain in your voice....tells me it hit hard." She took a long pause and nodded to herself. "Perhaps Qamar may join young Adalric in training? I know being a student can get awfully sad if you do not have a friend." Granny nodded once more and decided to wrap things up. "I shall let you go and continue to train her. I will contact you if anything of importance is discovered here on Moluk." she concluded.

"Thank you... As for your student, we will look into it but currently the Council is not accepting new students. I appreciate you contacting me. This new position is...new for me. Good luck on your journey, Master Raka, and may your heart be your guiding key."

Training went smoothly for the next four months. Qamar was nearly 15 when she noticed the world they had traveled to started to grow darker. More and more heartless were appearing and it was making it hard for the locals to even survive. As Qamar dispatched a group of heartless, she looked to the ground to see large cracks begin to form. Granny came running to Qamar, grabbing her hand. "Qamar, stay here. I will return, but I need you to stay here." she instructed her. "Master, I don't underst-" she was cut short by Granny putting a hand over her face. "I must speak to the Council about an important matter, I will return."

Granny ran from Qamar, leaving her beside their small home they had been given. Qamar watched heartless pour out of a few of the cracks. She fought what she could, but she ended up inside the house, scared to death. Granny found a relatively safe spot and fiddled with her communicator once more. "Master Stamatis, please respond, I have an emergency. And a favor." she said, leaning against a wall. Her hand covered her stomach where blood was seeping.

"Raka? What is it? What's wrong?"

Granny breathed a little shakily, taking a deep breath. "I've failed as a Master. Report to King Joch for me and let him know Moluk has fallen." she grabbed the wall. "And my favor is that you let that young Master Kidemonas be the child's new Master. She won't stop asking about the boy, I feel like she's attached." Granny gave a light-hearted chuckle.

Qamar breathed sharply, looking around disoriented. The pain in her head was beginning to be too much. She looked around, seeing Master Aster looking quite worried with her. It was then that Qamar noticed Master Kidemonas beside Master Aster. Qamar shot up and gave a bow to him and tried to keep the pain from being noticeable. "H-Hello Master Kide. I'm back and uh....a lot of memories are back too." she tacked on, scratching her head.

"Do either of you know where Orphic Coast is?" she asked. "For some reason, I had a memory that...I lived there."​

 

Aria's eyes fluttered open as she stared down at the chocolatey mixture. "You're right," she mumbled. "I'm sorry. I'm being selfish." She let go of the spoon, letting it rest in the mixture against the pan as she waited for it to warm up gradually. "I hadn't felt much like myself after Quietus," Aria mused. "I feel... more tired. I'm trying to stay optimistic, I'm trying to stay strong to fight for everyone. I dreamed of being able to protect the ones I loved since I can remember. Even went against wishes for me to stay put and put myself out there at the front line. Now with everything with the worlds hanging in balance with me and others like me... I don't feel the same. I feel like... tch. I don't mean to be dramatic and gloomy, but I feel like... I'm dying in a way. I feel like I can't be trusted or contribute much. My strength is weaker than I thought it was. I can't be relied on when I'm out there trying to defend the worlds. I'm a moving target... I can't protect everyone like I wanted to."

Torrin couldn't help himself but and laughed out loud at Aria's last words. "And now you're getting into my frame of mind!" He exclaimed in an amused tone. "I try to be everywhere at once, I force myself to go days without sleeping, and I've failed so many times trying to stay ahead of the Light Chaser. Like every action I take might as well be leading me into a never-ending chain of traps set by him." As frustrating as it sounded he still smiled. "I get how you feel. I hate it. I feel powerless too and sometimes all you can do is just keep trying anyway and reminding yourself that it's not your fault."

Aria was startled with the laugh and turned to face Torrin. She listened carefully to him, and then hummed out. "I guess we're starting to switch mindsets," Aria joked. Hopefully it wasn't her fault as Torrin stated. "Thank you," she said quietly. She then turned back to the hot chocolate and stirred it some more before she tested it with a spare spoon. "Alright, it's ready." She poured some out for them and plopped in a few marshmallows before handing it to Torrin.

"Mm...yum." Torrin eagerly took the cup in his hands, the warmth surging through his palms as he took a quick sip. "Ooo...that hits the spot." He leaned against the counter and watched Aria intently. Torrin took in a deep breath and tilted his head back as he started to relax, exhaling loudly. "This is nice."

"Glad you like it." Aria forced a smile and turned off the stove, then took the mug in her hands. She felt the warmth through her bones and then averted her eyes to the liquid. She took just a little sip and then moved to lean against the wall. "Do we need to report to the masters?" she asked, not looking up at Torrin.

"Nah...let them come to us. We deserve some time off. Or maybe Thallasa is giving them the rundown on what's been going on. I'm sure they've noticed that we're back by now. I mean a big white dragon just landed and took off in their courtyard." He took a large gulp of the hot chocolate, ignoring all instinct to show some manners, and wondered for a moment what his mother would have thought about him having been face to face with a real Flammie. He looked down at the black coat hanging off his arm and frowned. "Guess it's time for a change of wardrobe...I wonder if the Council has anything to spare...uh...but I guess that isn't so important to really think about. Sorry. I just...I'm gonna miss this coat. It's what I had when I left my home and it's taken six years worth of a beating. Even when my armor failed me that coat's been through it all. But...it's just a coat. It can be replaced."

"I understand," Aria said. She took another small sip and then placed the mug on the counter all together. "Sorry about your coat." She then stretched out and rolled her shoulders. "Okay, chocolate time's over, let's get this wound dressed up. Don't want it to get infected now." For once, she didn't finish her hot chocolate. She barely even took a few sips. She placed her magical bag on the counter, digging around in it and pulled out a first aid kit. "Sit," she told Torrin as she opened it and laid out what she needed. She then went to the sink and fetched a bowl of warm water and some clean cloths. "Is your shirt stuck to you, or can you take it off?"

Torrin blinked at Aria and looked over at the kitchen entrance. "U-um..." He scratched the back of his head. "Here?" He shook his head nervously. "I think I'm good thanks!"

"Pft. Well, this place has clean water, and its an easy clean up. But we can go somewhere else if you want to."

"Hm..." Torrin wished to go back to the privacy of one of their rooms but he wasn't stupid enough to think that it would have looked good for either of them if anyone saw them. At least this way if someone walked in, they would be able to see why he didn't have a shirt on. "I think we can stay here. A bit better for our image if someone walks in...ironically enough..."

"Okay then, let's get started." As soon as Torrin took of his shirt, Aria got to work on the gash. "Someone really did a number on you," Aria muttered. She took a cloth gently began to clean the cut, trying not to aggravate it while cleaning off the dry blood by dabbing the cloth on the more sensitive parts very carefully. She was drained, she was still hurting internally, but that didn't stop her from helping out others. She would get her rest soon enough. When the gash was cleaned out properly, Aria took out another small bag that had an herbal smell to it. "I'm going to put some Queen's Avens on your cut. It'll sting for a bit, but it's suppose to numb the pain once it takes effect. Kind of gives this pleasant cooling and heating sensation." She pulled out a jar with some light blue salve in it, opening the lid and taking some of the ointment before carefully putting it around the cut. Soon she finished, and there would be a cooling effect around the wounded area to help ease the pain and the discomfort it would normally cause. She wrapped his torso in gauze, and then soft bandages that stayed in place firmly. "There... all done." Aria began to collect her materials, making sure to thoroughly clean the bloodied cloths and everything else that was used to take care of Torrin. "Just don't push yourself too much, okay?"

Torrin remained still as he allowed Aria to do her work, nervously checking on the kitchen entrance every couple of second. He scrunched his nose upon smelling the strong odor of the herbs Aria pulled out but after a moment he realized that it wasn't so bad. "Feels ticklish." He muttered as a slight complaint. "But thanks..." He touched the bandaged and rolled his shoulders, twisting from side to side. "Almost good as new." He smirked. "I could go for another round against the Horned King. Hah...kidding. I can't promise I won't get hurt like this again, but I definitely won't try to block another magic sword with my body." He scratched his cheek and looked away. Torrin cleared his throat as he folded his arms across his chest. "Thanks though. I appreciate it. I'd um...well you know I can't exactly do the same for you. Wouldn't be proper for me to...uh....you know." Torrin turned away from Aria. "I mean if you were bleeding out that'd be different but...you know what? I'll shut up now."

As Aria was cleaning up, Torrin was stumbling over his words. She pressed her lips together as she snorted a tad through her nose, trying to hold back a laugh. The subject of the conversation caught her off guard, and for a moment she forgot what was bothering her. “You’re really not good around girls are you?” Aria asked with a giggle. She was finished cleaning everything up and disposing things properly. She thought about her own cut on her stomach, knowing it was reduced now to a small, silver sliver already. It was hardly comparable to Torrin’s own wound. “I’m glad you’re safe and in one piece... instead of two. Or nearly two.” She rocked on her heels a bit and clapped her hands softly in front of her. “Well... I’m getting close to being worn out completely. I’m gonna start getting ready for bed... talk to Master Choma and everyone else in the morning.”

"I'm good at girls! I mean with! Gah..." He pulled on his old black shirt, torn but now clean, and sighed. "I'm not used to this kind of stuff. Talking." He ran a hand through his hair. "Um...yeah...I'm glad too. That you're safe I mean. Oh and, not to worry you or anything, but if you have any night trouble, I'll try to be around in case anything goes wrong. Alright? Get your rest. If the Council asks about you I'll them them you're indisposed. For now, have a good night. At least...I think it's night. The light around here is odd."

Aria giggled again, and then slipped her bag over her shoulder. She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, smiling at Torrin. “Thank you... I really mean it.” She hesitated for a moment as if debating something, and then cleared her throat as she walked past. “Thanks again. Have a good night, Torrin. Try to get some rest yourself.” With a small wave, she walked out of the kitchen and made her way up to her room. Normally she would have rushed to Master Choma, or even Grandpa Gero. But this time, she wanted to be alone. She could speak with them when she had time to think to herself and process a few things.

Torrin smiled to himself and nodded at Aria, returning the wave as she walked out of sight. For now, the only things he wanted to do were to get cleaned up, and find a fresh set of clothes for the next day. Even with all that happened and with everyone they lost along the way, the day's end still left him feeling better inside.

 

Qamar watched Kidemonas kind of stand there and try to play off the fact he slept only five minutes in five whole days. She blinked and looked between Aster and Kidemonas for a moment and just kind of listened. She was amused when she heard him heard her say toast instead of coast. Though he did correct himself and she raised an eyebrow. "The Night Sovereign?" she repeated, looking at Aster. He then tried to talk about a nephew and then Boreas. "Wait, nephew? Torrin? And Boreas?" She was confused, but luckily Aster interjected, musing at his behavior. "I wish Master Varos could see this, he'd actually laugh I bet." Qamar added in. She pretended to put her arms up in defense of Kidemonas' threats to cut Aster and his wanting to crash.

"Master, you can get some sleep in a little bit. I'll even make sure you get there if you can't walk." she offered. When he mentioned how she looked like she had been crying, Qamar touched her eyes and realized how puffy they must look to Kidemonas. She shok her head when he asked Aster if she had broken him. "No, she...she helped me, actually so..." she shifted a little. "I was able to vent my pent up feelings and just cry it out. I feel a lot better now and things more sense. My mind isn't clouded anymore. I can remember everything I thought was lost. I am from the Realm of Darkness. As was my old Master before I was sent here. She died as...a quietness came over the world we were on." Qamar looked at Aster and then Kidemonas. "I want to know more about Orphic Coast, but clearly I should be asking Torrin or Boreas." Thinking about the fact Kidemonas said toast instead of coast reminded her of the hunger eating at her stomach.

"I want to talk more, Master, but as it is, I am quite hungry. I'll go make something to eat and bring it to your room, okay? Just like old times. Except Skia won't be there making fun of you for not sleeping or being delirious." she looked down at herself and sighed. "I promise we can talk later. I've got a few things to ask of you. Do you want any food Master Aster?" she asked. Aster simply shook her head and Qamar nodded. "See ya in a bit." she waved to the two Masters. Qamar quickly walked away, trying to will the headache away. Her head never hurt this bad before, but she could feel a deep down relief. Her head was a sink that was clogged, but now it was finally unclogged. Skipping down the stairs, Qamar saw Aria was leaving the kitchen area. She figured the girl was tired, so she continued on to the kitchen.

Stepping through the doorway, she spotted Torrin in just his shirt. "Hey you got a bandage now. Don't tell me you had to beg Aria to fix you up." she joked, looking in the fridge and pulling out eggs and butter and bacon. She sat the items down and pulled a skillet out, grabbing a spatula. "I can make you some food, too. I'm already making myself and Master Kidemonas something. Don't worry, I won't mind. Besides, I want to chew your ear off a moment in a sense." she said, warming the skillet. "I know we haven't really talked much before about anything. But I really need to ask a couple of things. You probably won't wanna talk about those things because..you're you." she chuckled, adding butter to the pan. "For the longest time, I couldn't remember much about my past. Just some stuff here and there and that's about it. Now, I can remember growing up on a world that was called Orphic Coast. You know of that place, yes? Can you tell me more about it? Perhaps tell me who the Night Sovereign is? And are you really his nephew?" she shot the questions out, starting to crack the eggs into the skillet, a curious look about her face.​

 

Qamar fiddled with the eggs and listened to Torrin explain things. He spoke about a civil war that Qamar wasn't entirely aware of. She knew there was some kind of strife in Orphic Coast, but Ravana never bothered to inform her of the goings on. "I think you mean our world." she corrected, flipping the bacon that was totally cooking in another skillet this whole time. She moved the bacon over to the three plates and soon transfered the eggs. Toast popped up and now the plates were all set, just as Torrin finished answering her questions.

She handed him a plate and noticed the hot chocolate. "Oh you have some hot chocolate? Aria's specialty?" she smiled. "I'm jealous now!" she laughed. Grabbing the skillets and taking the dirty dishes to wash them, she thought about any other questions. "I wish you could tell me who my real dad is. It probably seems dumb to you...sorry." she sighed, setting the dishes to dry. Qamar leaned against the counter and held her plate to eat. "If you're the King's nephew, does that mean you're a prince?" she wasn't entirely sure if she was right, she never understood that kind of thing after all. "Eh, probably. Doesn't mean I'd start bowing to you or anything." she spoke, eating on her toast. "You certainly don't act like a prince though. Though I gotta ask, if they don't like people like us from the Realm of Darkness, why are you here? Shouldn't you be in the castle enjoying getting fed fat pigs or something?" she glanced over to Torrin. "I mean, come on, you're a priiince." she teased him.​