Kingdom Hearts: Kingdom Hearts: Light Chaser

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Chrono's voice broke her out of her thoughts of longing. "Hm? Oh, I'm thinking about my homeworld." She wasn't going to beat around the bush with this one. It was then Qamar ruffled her hair and the girl looked up at smiled a bit before returning back to being solemn. "I'm kind of missing it... I mean, I've gone straight from training with Master Choma to all this mess." She finally drank some of the hot chocolate, feeling instantly better as the warm liquid filled her soul. She lowered the mug and then rubbed at the whip cream that got on her nose. "And everything has been confusing lately... not to mention a little overwhelming. I mean from yesterday, this is like the second time I almost died this week? Once from the darkness taking over that one town we were in to find the Light Chaser, and then yesterday when Quietus sent that blast in mine and Torrin's way..." She half-laughed to herself, though it was forced. "I guess you can count three times I almost died with my nightmare trying to kill me... That, and processing this whole princess of heart thing. I mean, even though they said I'm not tracked with this thing," Aria raised up her wrist with the golden bracelet on it, "I don't trust it. He can come get me at any time, right? I mean, his apprentices popped out of no where yesterday and wanted to take me back. And the Light Chaser wanting to use said princesses to erase ALL darkness. I mean, if I have this nightmare inside of me... Does it count as darkness? And if the Light Chaser succeeds with his plan, am I going to be erased as well? I mean, I think everyone is going to be obliterated because darkness is in everyone's hearts and..."

She realized she was rambling and scrunched her knees up to her chest while holding her mug of hot chocolate in her hand. "Yeah, there's a lotta things on my mind... It's not very cheery, sorry..." She forced a smile and then drank some more hot chocolate, settling back on the couch.

 

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At first when Aria had said that she was missing her homeworld, Chrono nodded in understanding. Well to some degree he understood for it was less his homeworld that he was missing and more his father. He had to have been worried after he'd up and left to go train with Master Atmos without saying anything. Throw in the fact that Tinrah had both left and as aged five years in a single day, from his perspective anyway, The poor man was liable to have a heart attack if he knew what they were currently going through.

The real meat of the issue was something different entirely. "Maybe its not that he can, but he chooses not to. What I mean is after that Magicktech generator was turned on, we were sitting ducks to the villians of this world on top of the heartless. Given how we were at the time, that would have been a go time to try and capture you." He was glad that that hadn't happen. The Light Chasers apprentices seemed to have the upper hand against them even with their magic and such back. A face off against either of them or worse the Light Chaser himself would just be disastrous. Briefly thinking back to what had happened with both Scroop and Dentro, the black wisps that flowed off of them, and their respective fates before looking back to Aria. Both of which had been 'consumed' by darkness in a way. "Maybe its different. There's still a lot about that nightmare I don't know about so I can't give the best of advice regarding it. If the nightmare does cause you, a princess of heart, to get obliterated, then the Light Chasers students will also probably go given whatever small amount of darkness they have." If they could just stop his plans then they wouldn't have to worry about this happening. Still was a looming risk though.

"For now it'd be better to just worry about what we know instead of all the 'what-ifs'" It was easy for Chrono to say that, he's said it to himself numerous times after all.

 

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Ears were attentive to Chorno’s words as he gave his two-cents along with some advice. Aria finally smiled to herself and swished her warm beverage in the cup to melt the rest of the coolwhip. “There’s a lot of what-we-don’t-know’s... but I guess that’s okay. Our job right now is to focus on finding the other princesses of heart, and help the worlds not collapse into darkness...” She took a drink and laid her head back on the cushion. “You’re right, we need to focus on the present. Thanks for helping me get grounded again,” she said with a smile as she looked over at him.

 

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It was nice to see Aria smile again. She generally tended to be the more cheerful and upbeat one out of all of them, thus making it odd to see her not like that. "No problem. At least this much should be something I can do." Chrono said before yawning, rather abruptly at that. That particular yawn was one he was holding in since the start of Aria sharing her woes with him and it would've been rude to yawn right in the middle of it, despite how tired he still was.

 

He heard Thallasa's voice from the other side of the door saying she was done with her meditation anyways. He disliked that he had disturbed her perhaps it would have been better to wait anyways. Master Thallasa opened the door and complimented him on his work for stitching up Aria. He personally didn't think it was that great a job that he performed but since it held until magic could be used it sufficed. "Thank you, Master Thallasa." He simply stated with a slight bow of his head. He should have asked Aria how the wound was but judging from the way she was moving about the kitchen she had been fine now. He was probably among the last still beaten up from the previous day, with small tells in his gait and the fact his face still looked rather raw from his own fire, even after using the burn medicine from Take.

"As for my request, I apologise for disturbing you this early for this, last night you offered to heal everyone that needed it. I wanted to request it as well, but in my tired mind I couldn't really find the words and thus headed for my bed. In hindsight there were those worse off than me that needed it more, but if it isn't too much to ask would you be able to heal me? My opponent did more of a number on me than I realised, not to mention what happened from my own doing... All the others are already healed right?" Boreas asked, his own healing magic was rather weak and while he had been given a crash course treating wounds without magic he didn't have the luxury of time to simply rest more as they were to set out again today. Not to mention that he didn't know much more than the crash course had taught him and wasn't well-practiced.​

 

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When Torrin spoke about Iwao in present tense, he realized his message didn't exactly come across and he didn't feel the need to clarify it. He poured three more of the mix for chocolate chip pancakes and left the bacon pancakes aside for himself and started dishing out pancakes for others to grab, leaving them on the counter and letting people know to, "Grab 'em while they're hot."

After a minute or two the boy shook his head and said, "I don't have any of that art anymore. We lost it in one of the attacks... though. Um." Take reached into his pocket and pulled out the rock Iwao made for him and he stared at it with it's outline and traced over it before he nervously held it out towards Torrin, though he tried not to show how nervous he was as he did, "I still have this one. You can hold it to get a better look at it."

The swirling design on the stone his brother made wasn't an extremely fluffy or overly detailed dragon. It couldn't be because of how small the rock was. But it had the general four winged shape of the Flammie, though it was definitely more abstract here. Take flipped the pancakes on the pan and said, "Don't take too long with it. I'd like that back."
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"No! I just got-!" Aria was interrupted with yet another yawn and then narrowed her eyes at Chrono. "Curse yooooou!" She playfully shook her fist at Chrono and then yawned once more to get all of the tiredness out of her body. "Ah man. Hopefully we get moving soon. Otherwise I'm going to probably nap some more." She finished all of her drink and then heard the call for pancakes. "Ooo, pancakes! Wanna join me?" With that, Aria stood up and shuffled back into the kitchen, a little more peppy and upbeat than earlier. "Morning Qamar," she called out to the girl. She then took her serving of pancakes, spread some cool whip on them after syrup, and pulled out some rainbow sprinkles to add to it on top.

She smiled to herself and realized she had an empty mug of hot chocolate to clean. Turning to the sink, she saw that Tinarah was there and was talking to Qamar. She went on the other side of Tinarah, smiling at her. "I'm gonna wash out my mug for a quick minute." She was careful not to get in the other girl's way as she washed it with warm soap and water, and then placed it on a drying rack. Aria then could see Tinarah was feeling kind of uncomfortable and thought for a moment as she looked outside. "Hey, um, do you want to eat outside with me?" she asked Tinarah first quietly, though the invitation was extended to Qamar as well. "Get some fresh air and sunshine? Or even sit with me."

 

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"Nope, not an option anymore," Aria said with a grin as she took the dishes and the brush out of Tinarah's hands. She took a rag and dried off Tinarah's hands and then gently took the girl by the wrist and dragged her towards the front door, with her plate of pancakes in hand. "I wanna hang out with you. We hadn't hanged out in like... two days. You coming?" she asked Qamar as she paused a moment and looked over her shoulder with a smile. She then moved with Tinarah through the living room and to the door. "You can join us too if you want Chrono!" she called to him and then balanced the plate of pancakes on her head as she opened the door so she didn't have to let go of Tinarah's wrist. "We can do the dishes after breakfast. Let's go smell the fresh air and enjoy ourselves! Oops-" The pancakes almost fell off of her head and Aria quickly caught the plate before it tumbled down on the ground. "THANK YOU FOR THE PANCAKES, TAKE!" And with that, she tugged on Tinarah to follow her out, leaving the door open for others to follow if they wanted to.

 

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Aria giggled and glanced at Tinarah. "You're right, you aren't a broken doll. You're a tough cookie. Like I said, I missed you, and I want to hang out with you. And I knew you would say no unless I dragged you along with me."

Once they were in a spot where they could sit, Aria set her plate down on an end table while sitting on a porch swing of sorts. She then let go of Tinarah's hand and patted the seat beside her. "Come on, the sun hasn't completely risen yet. Birds are still singing... Ooo! We can cloud watch if you want. Or just stay quiet. I just want to spend time in your company, and give you a place to breathe." She criss-crossed her legs under her and then brought her plate on her lap, starting to dig into her pancakes. Really Aria was craving some sort of familiarity and the only thing really familiar to her at this point was Tinarah. Mika was gone, and Master Choma was back at the castle. Although she was making new friends rather well, she still had a special place for the ones she made friends with first.

 

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Aria listened while chewing her food, being careful not to keep stuffing her face while Tinarah spilled out what was going on in that head of hers. So Aria was right; Tinarah needed to be outside for a moment. She then heard about the nightmare and she stopped eating all together, wiping the stickiness with a napkin she swiped. "Mmm... That's troubling..." Aria placed her elbows on her knees and rested her chin on her hands over her plate as she stared out into the grass. "I don't mind you talking a lot, Tinarah," Aria gently assured. "It's good to say everything that's on your mind."

She breathed out softly through her nose and then sat back in the porch swing chair, making it sway slightly. "You haven't held us back as far as I've seen. I heard you were really helpful yesterday when things were getting crazy. You were standing better than me yesterday when we all met up." She nudged Tinarah in the shoulder affectionately and then chuckled to herself before growing serious again. She placed her hands behind her head and rested it there for a moment. "From what you told us back at the Council, I bet it's going to take a while to get used to the Torrin and Boreas here. And no one is going to get mad at you for that. You'll come to your own solid terms of how you feel about them on your own time. That could take a few days to much longer, but we all understand. Even the Torrin here. And Boreas seems like he'd do the same... You know, if possible, maybe it's not a bad idea to try to hang out with the Stamatis here... Just so you can feel at home away from home. Maybe he can help you process everything that's happened, you know? I mean, once we get that chance and can actually be at the castle again."

Aria took another bite of food and ate thoughtfully. She then pulled out the communicator in her pocket and stared at it a moment. "Hm... Torrin gave me this to communicate with you guys while I go on to the next world. Maybe Master Thallasa has a few spares? If so, maybe you don't have to wait to hang out with Stamatis in person. Maybe you can, I don't know, talk to him through the communicator thingies. That is, if that's possible and if you want to. It's just a suggestion."

 

Illiana smiled a bit as she got her chocolate chip pancakes. She had then turned to Torrin as he spoke. "Wait you mean you can make pancakes out of chocolate too? Sign me up for three." She giggled a little bit before taking a bite of the pancakes. Her eyes widen for a moment before speaking. "Wow. This is actually pretty good. You're not too bad of a cook Take. I'm actually a little impressed." She took another bite of another of her pancakes and then took a small sip of wine. She then heard another voice walk into the kitchen. She sighed as the girl spoke. "Oh, wine? Didn't take you for the kind who drank. How's your side doing? Did the bandages hold up well?" Illiana immediately stood up from her chair as a small scowl appeared on her face. She placed both hands on the table as she stood. "I just remembered I left something in my room. I'm going to finish breakfast in my room." She picked up her plate and glass and started to make her way out of the room. She stopped in the door way and spoke to Take. "Thanks for the pancakes. I'll wash my dishes later." With that, Illiana left the kitchen and made her way to her room. As she walked, she took another tiny sip of wine. "Not dealing with this. Not this early in the morning." She whispered to herself as she walked. She opened the door to her room and walked into the room, closing the door behind her.

 

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Everything that was said was rebutted. Which was to be expected. Aria listened actively while finishing up her breakfast and enjoying the sunshine on her skin. Soon breakfast was done, and she quietly sat back on the swing. “I can’t guarantee you anything at this point cause I’m not a seer... but I was told this morning to just focus on the now and let everything else fall back into place.” She sighed contently and closed her eyes as she leaned her head back. “I’m going to miss you when we head out.”

 

Qamar was going to comment and talk to Tinarah, but of course she was unable to as Aria had already came and was dragging Tinarah away. Qamar followed suit, feeling like she was completely interrupted. She stood there as Tinarah spoke and Aria tried to be as bubbly as she could. She listened about the way she spoke about Torrin and Boreas. That rose a chuckle out of Qamar, wondering if Tinarah ever noticed Qamar was the same as those two. A person who used darkness for many a bad thing. Tinarah spoke on about her troubles, to which Qamar was lost in thought, but listening to Tinarah. She had brought the plate of food Tinarah had made as well as some pancakes for herself. She handed Tinarah's food to the girl and she ended up scarfing her pancakes down, leaving nothing but one chocolate chip.

Tinarah spoke of her troubles with everyone and everything and that caused a sigh to erupt from Qamar. She turned around and looked down at Tinarah. "I've been listening this whole time and I do honestly have a few things to say to this." Qamar started off. "First, you may as well group me with Torrin and Boreas, Tinarah. I'm not a good person. I really am the most opposite of good there ever was!" she stated, laughing awkwardly as she rose her arms to her side, a dark aura surrounding her. Her now golden eyes staring straight at Tinarah. "I killed a man yesterday and I don't even feel anything because of it. No, I only feel bad that Adalric had to sacrifice himself for me to accomplish that. You may as well make me a bad guy, too, since I probably am as capable as that Torrin from your era. But you see, you didn't know that, so you got to see me for who I am. Now that you know my darkness, what will you think of me now?" she asked, leaning down with her hands on her knees. The dark aura was disappearing a little bit, but was still there. Her eyes were still golden as she leaned closer to Tinarah.

"My whole point is, Tinarah, is that you need to differentiate between the two things. You know Torrin and Boreas' alternate future forms, but you aren't there. You're here in the past with them as their natural, old selves. So you know what you do? You get to know them as they are now and hope to prevent that future from ever coming. Just like you know me as the girl who's weird and has no friends before this, don't think that just because I can control darkness that I'm a bad person and I'll end up like future prince and guard dog." she said, standing back up. She scratched her head as the darkness was completely gone and her eyes returned to normal. "I probably make no sense, but that's just how I feel about it. Besides, you need to also know something else. No matter how annoying you think you are when talking to somebody you care about, if they truly love you, they will never be annoyed by you." she smiled, sighing. "I learned this myself."

"Tinarah, if you have any questions about me or my past, just ask and I'll speak to you about them. Just know that any actions committed in the past or future does not define their past or their future selves." she said, sitting down on the porch swing finally, sitting close to the arm with Aria and Tinarah on the other side. "Ah I've rambled again..." she sighed, leaning against the arm. "I always do that...."​