Kingdom Hearts: Kingdom Hearts: Light Chaser

Boreas had a good guess as to why Kaio sighed, as it was harder to kick someone when they already accepted their flaws. He had been subjected to a thorough verbal thrashing before and knew to take the criticism of instructors to heart as blunt as they could be it was a good way to make you remember the problems with the way one worked. Boreas listened to the advice that the master had to say and he had a good point, it made sense to use his toughness to draw the attention to him, he had tried to shield Illiana several times during their battle and failed so he had to think of other things, perhaps using his spells to bolster his comrades' resilience. He surpressed a smile at Kaio's remark about his throwing arm and took the advice regarding his focus to heart, it had been troubling him over the past day how his focus was so easily narrowed and drawn in. He had to remain focussed in battle, Qamar had mentioned meditation earlier but he wasn't sure how much use that was as meditating on the field of battle seemed impractical. He would work on it much like he would work on his lost control while directing his anger, he was glad that he kept it contained this time. "Makes sense, keep the tough ones up front so the enemy wastes resources trying to bring them down." Boreas said. "Very well, I shall see to it that I improve, Master Kaio."

He intended to get some rest and then perhaps do some research in the Library see what they held and if there was anything useful for him there. Before he would rest though he wanted to go for a walk, go over everything that had been said and learned. He went outside and took a stroll, it was nice enough outside. Soon enough he ran into Illiana who seemed to be staggering along holding a hand to her head, she had seemed rather insistent to get away quickly after they were done with the training session, he hadn't really paid much attention to her then but she seemed to not be doing so well. He knew she wasn't fond of considering other people as friends, he took a moment to consider whether to ask or not, Boreas decided to take the gamble and approached Illiana, he wasn't trying to sneak up on her or being particularly quiet so she shouldn't be too surprised of his appearance. "Are you okay? You don't seem to be doing very well..." Boreas asked Illiana. ​

 

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"I don't actually." Chrono answered. The last he had seen of him was before they had gone into their respective simulations and he hasn't seen any sign of him since. There weren't that many places that he could think Take would be, the kitchen was one of them. Though that was the only cause of when he had first met it had been in the kitchen back at Atmos's castle. "I can help look for him though."

 

The boy chuckled with glee when he heard that he was given permission. “Thank you master. I shall head you advice.” Lumen said as he gave a bow and headed back upstairs with Kosmo following behind. Once he reached his room that he picked by Qamar’s, he started to unpack from his satchel. Some things that were taken out were: a spare blanket, a notebook that his mother gave him, an old flute given by his father and last a picture of Lumen, his mother and father behind a cabin of some kind. The mother had a bright smile with auburn hair and sky blue eyes, while the father gave a smirk having black hair and brown eyes. Lumen seemed to be at the age of nine in this picture having those same dark blue eyes and that similar wavy brown hair with that same optimistic smile of his. Setting it on his bedside, Kosmo sat next to it as the boy then started to play his lute sitting at his bed with his eyes closed regaining that same peace once more.​

 

Chrys couldn't help but stare at the hand offered to her for a long moment. Despite her words to Thyella, Chrys was hardly comfortable being friendly with anyone just now. After all, a willingness to work with others and actually trusting them were two very different things. Qamar in particular was pretty close to the top of the list of people she wasn't all that fond of at the moment. Having seen the girl be particularly gleeful about the death of her former friend had hardly won her any brownie points. The complete 180 from that point in time helped her to trust the girl even less. Still, the girl wasn't being actively hostile, so there was no reason not to train. It seemed Lumen wouldn't be joining them though.

"Hmmm... We'd better get started then." Chrys turned away from her new training partners outstretched hand and headed for the terminal to punch in whatever scenario the two would choose. All the while she mentally filed Qamar's comment, the one about having been misled before, away for later analysis.​

 

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"Maybe she eats fish?" Aria suggested. She then pulled out an apple which the Flammie eyed curiously and then opened her mouth as if on cue which made Aria giggle and toss it in. "Alright, no more treats. See?" Aria showed her pockets were empty and then was sniffed one last time by the dragon before being nudged playfully behind her back and then the Flammie nuzzled her. Aria stroked the fluffy fur and then gazed across the lake. "I came out here to think," she answered Torrin. "We didn't do too great with our simulation and Master Kaio didn't say the kindest things... I know he means well." She scratched the Flammie under the chin, smiling a bit though there was sadness in her eyes.

 

Feeling the melodies in the air, Lumen hummed softly to the tune of his own lute. He was shocked by a flash of light that just occurred outside and checked it out for a second. “Wonder what that was about...” The boy spoke aloud as he went back to his room and set his lute by his dresser. After that he walked back downstairs to join Qamar and Chrys on their training.​

 

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Takehiko was trying to make the most of his morning before he knew it'd become heavily reading focused. He wasn't going to pretend that learning to read wasn't useful it was just... not fun for the kid. He was catching on fairly quickly but it didn't make it any less of a headache. He preferred hearing the books read to him than actually reading them himself and god forbid he himself try to read out loud. The boy went to stand outside and saw how cloudy it was and how low to the ground some of it was cause of the fog. He loved it, it reminded him so much of home since his village was so high up some clouds were at theoretical ground level. After a moment or two it began to rain and he remembered that Flammie was still outside.

There were a couple times it had rained and they let Flammie in but Take knew he was being pretty difficult about letting her stay in an area he'd actively see her. But as the rain seemed to get heavier the boy let out a bit of a sigh in defeat and whistled out his familiar 3 note tune. It sounding a lot more practiced now, like he'd done it a few times. He looked for the fluffy dragon and saw her head stick out across the way and just kind of stare straight at Take. And Take stared straight back at it before asking, "Did you wanna come inside?"

The white dragon let out a puff of air as it's feather's ruffled slightly as it went to go hide back in the trees. His face visibly went from curiosity to annoyance as he kept the door open and walked over towards the kitchen. When he came back a minute or two later he popped his head outside and whistled. The dragon popped out at him looking towards him again as he said, "Selene will kill me but..." he held out a bit of chocolate as their eyes lit up and they bounded straight towards Take who backed away in reaction a moment before saying, "A-Um... Alright. Come on in." he held the chocolate out and backed further into the hall and while he seemed to be trying to go steady Flammie was trying to walk at her usual pace following him until they were in the hall. The wind gusted a moment and caused the doors to shut which was slightly convenient and he held the chocolate towards her again for her to eat and said, "Here ya go." and he tossed it in the air for her to catch in her mouth.

The dragon stretched out her wings a bit as she munched almost as if in a bit of excitement before she walked up towards him and nuzzled at him which made Take a little uncomfortable and he tried to walk away before suddenly and very inconveniently, Flammie decided to sit down. But because Take hadn't fully been out of the way, he ended up getting pinned down under her with both his arms free and most of his upper body, but not his lower body as he tried to squirm but to no avail. The boy took deep breathes to keep himself from freaking out and said, "Please get off of me." he was trying to be polite the first time but she didn't seem to respond before he said more assertively, "Get off of me." she seemed to look at him that time but almost like the dragon just didn't understand him or was looking at him but also zoned out before the boy squirmed his voice sounding a lot more panicked and on the verge of tears as he said, "GET OFF OF ME."

Flammie stared at him and tilted her head before nuzzling Take again and this time keeping their jaw down so he couldn't really move his arms either. He really didn't like that, but at this point it was a fruitless endeavor. He laid his face straight down on the floor and listened to the ominously silent castle with the occasional sound of a shutting door in the distance. The downpour outside really starting to kick in loudly. After about five minutes or so Take at least tried to shift to be more comfortable before he asked, "So do you actually understand me and are intentionally being like this? Or do you not understand me and therefore do not understand this question?"

There was a pause before he could hear the dragon yawn and snuggle up on him as he stared straight forward and said, "I'll ask again later."
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In the days that Chrono had spent training, he found himself pushing himself further and further to try and keep up with the new abilities he had learned. It had been more of a physical matter than a magical one, though his magic skills were something that was becoming actual helpful to him. The occasional training sessions from Atmos did help, as did Torrin's assistance though admittedly he was very confused by some of the transformations his keyblade was able to do and in some cases he had no idea how he would use them, but that was something that could be thought about later. His time had not been spent purely training though as there were times in which he interacted with his sister, Take and Aria (and trained with them as well, but that wasn't the point). The point was that he had actually taken time to interact with some of his other comrades.

Now however he had chosen to tag along with Tinarah as she was bringing Master Stamatis breakfast. He didn't do much to help out with Stamatis's healing, but there were moments in which he did offer to help her help the recovering master, such as now. "The rain certainly isn't helping." Chrono had said with glance outside. The clouds completely covered the sky and the rain had just started to fall. It left a gloomy vibe overall that didn't sit well with him. "Hopefully it's just the weather and nothing else."

 

Qamar knew that Chrys wouldn't shake her hand, but she could at least try. She ended up in front of a training room and reading each selection. In the time it took for her to consider what to choose, Lumen returned and that gave her hope that this interaction wouldn't have been as awkward as she thought it'd be.

Though, before she went inside, saw turned to see the Masters with a concerned look on her face. In her stomach, she got a weird feeling that something was wrong, but she wasn'te quite sure. She stepped into the training room and continued into the fight, emerging once they were done. She ended up leaving and soon found out about what happened. She ended up waiting by the medical area, hoping to hear what happened soon.....

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The two weeks passed pretty quickly and Qamar felt more confident in her abilities. She trained extensively to control her darkness and by the end of it all, she came out more disciplined. At least by the end of it, she felt like she was a little more on friendly terms with Boreas. She hoped he would consider her a more valuable ally by now. When she wasn't training with him, she found herself hanging out with other wielders, becoming closer with them, though she ended up spending the most of her time with Lumen. She also kept checking up on Varos and Stamatis, being quite worried about the former. Not a day passed that she wasn't checking up on Stamatis, bringing him a different book to read. Qamar tried to keep his mind off of what happened and often got advice on a few things that were troubling her. Stamatis' advice helped her training and she felt as if she was able to keep herself protected and not be so reliant on her comrades.

After finishing a quick training session, Qamar made her way to the roof of the castle. She ended up starting to meditate, not noticing the rain clouds encroaching upon the castle. By the time Qamar came out of her meditation, she was throughly soaked by the rain. She sighed heavily and ended up sliding off the castle and landing below. She turned and walked into the castle. Standing within the entrance, she tried to dry off a little bit with help from air magic. She wasn't too good with magic, however, so she ended up just stopping her from dripping everywhere. Behind her, she had heard Take talking to the dragon, but she didn't take much notice. Not until she heard him being frantic did she look and watched the dragon just casually sitting on the boy. "Oh gosh." she said, walking over and getting on her knees. "I'll help, but I dunno how much Flammie will listen...uh..." she looked at the dragon. "Hey, move!" she called out.

The dragon looked upon Qamar for a moment before moving her head and kind of shifting off of Take...but it was still mostly on him. "I'll...I'll try to pull you out." she said, standing up. She grabbed Take's arms and started to pull. He kind of moved, but the dragon was still way heavier than she really imagined it to be. Qamar stopped, not wanting to hurt him and grumbled. "Flammie, what do you want?!" she yelled at the dragon, clearly frustrated. "What do I gotta do, get some damn chocolate or something?" she tapped her foot impatiently.​

 

Illiana kept walking nearby the trees feeling a bit more light headed than she was in the simulation. She could smell the scent coming from the lake nearby. Her vision was getting fuzzy and fuzzy with each step. She dropped to her knees as she started to breath heavily. Illiana then heard a voice call out to her. "Are you okay? You don't seem to be doing well." She turned her around to could barely make out who it was. She started swaying a bit from side to side. "K-Koa....?" She leaned back against the tree she was near and tried to steady herself. With her hand still on her head, she tried to steady her vision. Once her vision wasn't as fuzzy, she saw the owner of the voice was Boreas. "Oh...It's just you....damn..."' Illiana got back up slowly but dropped to her knee again. "I'm doing fine just a little under the weather if you're gonna be a curious cat." She knew it was more than 'a little under the weather'......................

During the next two weeks, Boreas had advised Illiana to rest for a couple of days. She decided to go against the advice but with some convincing from Taran, she finally got the rest she needed. After she was up and raring to go, Atmos had requested for Chrono and herself to train with her for a bit. She ran into Boreas along the way and made sure they weren't in public. He asked her if she was feeling any better. She nodded and kept walking. After her training with Atmos, she ran into Taran and he walked with her to a room she was using to practice her acrobatic skills. She and Taran talked for a bit as she practiced, Eilonwy had then found the two and joined in on their conversation. Once she was done, the two wanted to follow her to the piano room. The three walked into the piano room and Illiana walked to the piano bench. She closed her eyes as she placed her fingers on the keys. Illiana reached back in her memories and let those memories take over her fingers as they played.

The piano playing went on into the night. At one point she had told the two to head off to sleep as she decided to stay. She grabbed her locket and opened it up. She began to play that same song once again to keep her mind at ease but still remember her resolve in this mission.

 

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The two weeks seem to go by in the blur for Aria. Whilst worrying about the critical condition of the two masters, she was also preoccupied with her friends and training as well. True to her word to Master Kaio, she proved herself to not be the helpless weakling that was coddled and who others deemed to be soft on. She trained with Torrin, Boreas, Master Gero, anyone that would be willing to take it up with her to the point where she was told to slow down a little. Not only was she training to be stronger in the physical realm, but Master Gero and Torrin both decided to train her how to meditate to try to conquer the dark entity that seemed to dwell within her. It seemed to be working, for when the entity began its assault, Aria was able to rouse herself from sleep before anyone was alerted something was the matter.

She was able to mend her relationship with Tinarah, teaching her how to making tying Friendship Bracelets and trying to keep the girl occupied while she worried about Master Stamatis. It was fun showing someone else the art, and it was a great way to pass the time. Between training, Aria would hang out with Take too, chat about anything, made food together, and even tried to get him used to the Flammie (which Aria now fondly named Faye). She showed Torrin, Chrono and Take both how to make her famous hot chocolate in case she wasn't there to make it for them and so they could always have something delicious to drink. With Boreas, she would go for morning runs with him and chat with him a bit, and she would hang out with Lumen, Chrono, Qamar, and anyone else really.

Aria was tucked in her bed in the early morning, sleeping soundly or so it seemed.

I am in control.

The window was partially opened, letting in a slight breeze that rippled the curtains.

I am stronger.

The girl's breathing was slow and steady.

You will be defeated.

Foolish girl.

Aria's eyebrows scrunched in her sleep as her fingers barely twitched, trying to move.

I am the one in control here.

Come on... Aria struggled, doing her best to recall all the training she had put herself under.

A hideous shadow creature suddenly popped up in front of her, bearing its sharp teeth and gnarly fingers at her. I WILL TAKE OVER AND RIP YOU TO SHREDS!

Aria gasped above the shrieking as she sat up in bed, scooting until she fell off in a tumble onto the floor. She scrambled to her feet and summoned her keyblade, but nothing was there anymore. Her chest heaved up and down and then she felt a sting on her collar bone. Looking down, she saw ribbons of crimson on her chest. Scratches. Aria sighed out heavily and unsummoned her blade, gathering herself as she walked to the bathroom. "You're fine. It's just a scratch... you're okay..." She washed her face and mended herself the best she could before changing into some clothes for the day, glancing outside the castle window. "Such a gloomy day..."

The princess of heart ventured forth to the kitchen getting breakfast ready. It was a little ritual she had going with Torrin to have breakfast everyday with him. Today she decided to make some bacon, eggs, and pancakes and her usual drink of hot chocolate but with a little kick of cinnamon in it. Seeing the day wasn't getting any better outside, she decided to arrange breakfast a little goofily and smiled at her handy work.

Seconds passed on to minutes, and minutes were passing on to... well not hours yet, but it felt like it. Aria glanced at the time and frowned a bit. She ended up covering breakfast with tinfoil and putting it in the oven so it wouldn't get cold and wondered where in the world where Torrin was.

"GET OFF OF ME."

Aria raised an eyebrow and went out of the kitchen to see what was going on.

"Flammie, what do you want?!"

"O-oh... Oh bother," Aria mumbled under her breath as she realized there was a patter of rain and put two and two together. They had been letting the dragon come in because of the weather sometime, but something was the matter this morning and it sounded like Take was in distress. Aria rounded the corner to see a frustrated Qamar trying to pull Take out from under the enormous beast. If Take didn't sound distressed, Aria probably would have smiled and laughed. "Faye!" The dragon lifted her head to look at the girl, tilting her head at the princess. "I know we're trying to get Take more comfortable with you, but this isn't the way to do it. Come on girl, off of him." Aria whistled a familiar tune, a command of sorts to get the dragon on the move so Take could be free.

 

Boreas spoke a little with Illiana, she had mistaken him to be her brother, the disappointment of that fact was ather telltale, between that and how unstable she was on her feet he figured it was more than just a little under the weather, he offered his help but she didn't want it so he left her to her own devices with the advice to get some rest in the coming days, while the opportunity was there. In the two weeks that followed Boreas rose early every morning to do his normal training exercises regardless of the weather, Aria tagging along once or twice, he finally made up his mind whether he would help train Qamar controlling her darkness and mercilessly taught her the discipline required, paying no heed to her complaints and accepting nothing less than perfection, much like had been demanded of him during his own training. In his free time he studied in the library particularly looking into field medicine and expanding his understanding of it, theoretical knowledge was one thing and applying a different one entirely, but it was a worst case preparation, after they had faced Quietus and everyone had been drained the little knowledge he had, had been helpful and if he was to support the team more it was good to know. When he ran into Illiana he'd ask how she was doing, making sure not to put her on the spot in front of others.

Where others trained under their respective masters, Boreas' master was far from here, however he accompanied master Skia on her little fishing trips, they were nice moments of tranquility in the hectic days of training and studying, they spoke of his training and what problems Boreas ran into during his studies and training and gave advice on how to hone his skills and improve his team work. It amused Boreas that Skia tried to get him slapped by an invisible fish again, but he had learned from the last time. When they'd get back Boreas usually went back to training and under Torrin's tutelage improved his transformations and practiced with almost every single one, the last one he was unsure what to do with as it wasn't useful as an infantry weapon, he had let the Keyblade guide him in it's formation and wasn't sure what to make of it. The days flew by and Boreas worked on his concentration in combat, his magnet spell and field medicine. He took note of what had happened to the masters sent to retrieve the Warrior of Light, but didn't pay too much attention to it, it had already happened nothing could change that.

That morning Boreas had woken up early like any other morning the weather was miserable outside but that wasn't going to stop him, after doing his exercises he put on his armour and headed out, he put a black woolen cloak over his armour before heading out, paying a little attention to the Flammie before going about his usual morning routine running down the dirt paths in the Illusian Hinterlands, the rain didn't help too much but Boreas continued, ignoring the puddles as he went about it. Before returning to the castle Boreas headed out to the shore and went for a quick swim in the cold waters, had it been warmer he would have swum more but he quickly returned inside finding Qamar, Take and the Flammie now inside the Castle with the Flammie playing with Take, he put the woolen cloak away greeted them good morning and went to the kitchen, passing Aria on his way there and greeting her as well. Having arrived in the kitchen he intendedto make some breakfast that would help him warm up a bit, Boreas decided to just make warm porridge to serve as breakfast, making more than just for himself.​