Search Results

Episode Tinarah: Part 9
A Heart Repaired

Stamatis was pleased that, over time, Tinarah's mood had begun to improve. He would ask for stories of her homeworld, of happier times with her family, and he would give her details of his own struggles as a young student. Once more they had resumed playing together and music filled the halls of the castle. Tinarah's skills as a keyblade wielder had improved and with time he had taught her a spell to add to her repertoire. Over recent days they had begun sparing in earnest and though that meant more bruises for Tinarah it was a way for her to prove to herself that she could handle herself.

But with so much time having been spent here and not back at home, Stamatis worried about what Tinarah had been missing out all this time. Instead of a normal training session, that morning he told her to meet him at the dining room where not one, but three cakes were placed on the table. "I've heard that many worlds celebrate birthdays like this." Each cake, one vanilla, another chocolate, and the last strawberry, had a single bright yellow candle lit and placed in the center. "By my count, you would have had three or four birthdays during your time here. I went with three because the two of us are unlikely to finish all these pastries alone." He mused.

Tinarah came downstairs and looked a little puzzled as she observed the cakes that were sitting on the table. What were they celebrating? And why were they eating cake this early in the morning anyways? Puzzled Tinarah stepped further in the room and observed Stamatis as he began to speak again. Birthdays? Tinarah couldn't help but smile and giggle a little bit. "But my birthday was a few months back. We missed it." She told him, not seeming to concerned by it. "And it was four birthdays by this point." She informed him walking closer to the table before turning to Stamatis. "Thank you so much." She said hugging him.

Tinarah had been a lot happier over the past year and she felt like she had a real connection with Stamatis now, almost saw him a bit like a father figure since he had been the only one consistently there for her over the past four years. She then looked at the three cakes. "Well, I mean you could have always invited Fost. I am sure he could have helped us eat all of this food, and I am sure he wouldn't mind cake for breakfast." She pointed out how silly that was but then looked at the candle. "You must have also had a birthday in this time, or four, are you going to help me blow out the candle?"

Stamatis returned the embrace and pulled out a chair for Tinarah. "I am sorry we did not do this sooner. And as for Fost, I am not sure if-"

"I don't like cake, kid." Fost's gruff voice echoed. The man was alone when he approached. "Your master invited me knowing I don't eat that stuff but I came anyway. I'm not that easy to keep away."

"Glad you could make it. Here I was thinking you were the antisocial one." Stamatis motioned for the fellow master to take a seat at the table before returning his attention towards Tinarah. "My people never celebrated birthdays. I only found out it was a custom when I began traveling to other worlds."

"He used it as an excuse to forget mine every year." Fost grumbled as he walked over towards Tinarah. "That being said, I didn't have time to bring you a gift. But Stamatis told me he has something good enough for it to count for both of us." The man opened his arms expecting a hug of his own. Though he had seen less of Tinarah than he wished he was still fond of the girl. "You've grown since I last saw you."

"I didn't expect it at all after all it was me who never shared when my birthday was." Tinarah pointed out. The first three years she didn't want to acknowledge it. This past year however it just felt too late, too long of not bothering with it to actually bring it up.

As Stamatis spoke about Fost, a familiar gruff voice came from behind her, and Tinarah turned around beaming with joy. "How can you not like cake? Everyone likes cake." Tinarah pointed out as she took a step forward and gave Fost a big hug. "I missed you. You don't come visit often enough." she complained. Sure she liked Stamatis and he made good company, but sometimes it was nice to have someone else to talk to and share what had been happening in her life. Stamatis walked through it all with her, so she really couldn't share much exciting recent news with him. Fost on the other hand got months worth of rundowns and displays when he came to visit.

After giving Fost a big hug, Tinarah grabbed a seat, motioning for Fost to take the one next to her. She wondered if she could blow out the candle yet or if they could eat the cake, but Tinarah chose to be polite. "So you don't celebrate birthdays? Where is the fun of that? It is the one day that it is all about you. You are allowed to be a little selfish." Tinarah thought back on her birthdays with her father. It had been year 's since she celebrated but her father always made sure they were extra special.

" So when is your birthday Fost? I promise I will remind the old man this year if you allow us to celebrate it with you." Another excuse to visit him, and maybe this time they could go to him instead of him always coming to them.

"I prefer harder stuff." Fost looked over at Stamatis who shook his head at the man. "Stuff I'm not supposed drink in front of children." He added with a hint of annoyance in his tone as he glared at Stamatis. "Anyway, if I came to visit so often you probably wouldn't miss me so much, kid. I'd hate to see that." He headed over towards Tinarah and took the seat beside her as Stamatis moved to the other side of the table to sit opposite them.

"My people just never celebrated birthdays. I do not know why. It was just the way that it is."

"And you thought I was the killjoy." Fost smirked. "As for my own, I haven't kept track of it in a very long time. Never saw a point to celebrating it alone so I just kinda forgot when it was."

"It seems we have that in common then. Without a birthday to celebrate, I simply lost track of when mine was when I was still a child."

"Well you had a birthday. Your people were just too stuck up to enjoy it. Or too busy moseying around in the forest." Fost leaned back in his chair, now twirling a fork in his hand.

"Yes." At Stamatis's calm response Fost frowned since his attempt to irritate him had failed. "Now then, I believe gifts are meant to come after we blow out the candles."

"I thought it was food first then presents."

"I thought you did not like cake."

"What? Food's food." Fost shrugged. "Fine. We'll do it your way, old man."

"You know I'm not stupid right? I have a pretty good idea what you are talking about. I may have never seen Stamatis with it, but my dad would often drink after he put me to bed after my mom died. I think it helped him cope." Talking about her family and what happened to her mom had slowly become easier.

Listening to the banter of the two men Tinarah smiled. "Are you two sure you aren't some old married couple?" She asked them. "We should do this again for both of you. Who cares if you don't know when your birthday is. We can still celebrate." Tinarah pointed out, liking the idea of celebrating them for once. "I can try and cook for it.." She even offered to sweeten the deal.

Stamatis mentioned blowing out the candle and the gift, and the curiosity of the gift started to get the better of the girl. "So I am guessing this is you telling me to hurry up so we can eat Fost? Fine fine, I'm on it." She said standing up so she could get closer to the candle and blow it out. "Happy now?"

Stamatis reached into his pocket and placed a small trinket onto the table. A yellow glow emitted from it and if Tinarah looked closer she would have seen it was a necklace with a small hourglass attached that was glowing yellow.

"A little plain don't you think?" Fost asked, eyeing the gift.

"I've spent a great deal of time working on this. A great deal of my magical power was poured into the sands of that hourglass. It will not be enough to take you home, Tinarah, but as your powers grow you will be able to use it to return to your own time." Stamatis smiled.

"And how far away is that time? We never discussed this." Fost sounded concerned.

"Do not worry. Both of us should still be around in her time. By my estimate she had come from twenty-three years in the future. Nineteen years in the future by now, I believe."

Fost relaxed and nodded. "Good. I'll still be alive and kicking by then."

"Perhaps not kicking so much."

"Just because you elves age more gracefully doesn't mean I'll be any less of a pain in your ass." Fost defiantly spoke, aiming his fork towards Stamatis.

"I would expect nothing less from you, old friend." Stamatis smiled and clasped his hands together.

"Who're you calling old?"

Tinarah looked at the necklace gasping slightly. She didn't care what Fost said, she thought it was beautiful. "It is do pretty. Thank you!"She said not letting all of what was being said set in quite yet.

Tinarah had become content living here, and as she got older the need to return to her old life lessened as she learned to be content with the life that Stamatis had offered her. Given the chance though she couldn't throw away everything he had done for her. All of this training had been about getting her home, and while it would hurt to leave she wouldn't throw the gift back at him. He spent so much time and effort for that, and there was more yet to come.

Taking the necklace off the table she fastened it around her neck, gingerly touching the hourglass. "When I do get back to my own time... How will I find you both again? Can you teach me to use those portals? I can't bare the thought of never seeing you two again when I eventually go home." She hoped they wouldn't forget about her when she got home. Who said her timeline here was the same as the one she grew up in. After all the first time she met Choma, from what she could tell he didn't recognize her or have any familiarity, but yet she met him here, in the past. In his past.

"And when I do get home and find you again.... Well there was something off going on in my timeline we were trying to deal with it when I was sent here... Would you help?"

"I am happy you like it, Tinarah." Stamatis smiled. "Portals are...a difficult lesson. But there is another, much more direct method to find us. When you are ready to leave, I will teach you how but for now we should enjoy the time we have here with each other." He paused for a moment and frowned when Tinarah brought up problems she was facing in her own time. "Of course. We'll help however we can."

"Just don't tell us what's going on. Don't want to mess with the timeline." Fost added in.

"We will meet again, Tinarah. Have faith in that."

Fost reminded her not to state what the problem was, and Tinarah nodded. She was aware there were thing that she shouldn't mention being from another time. "I don't even know if I would get it right. I was so scared and unsure, I didn't know what to think of it and just did as Choma asked of me. Doesn't make for good explaining." Tinarah admitted before sitting back thinking of something less depressing than having to leave.

"You know...." Tinarah mused. "If I am still 19 years outside of my own time line, my brother is just born, and here I am celebrating my 16th birthday. Which was on May 10th by the way." As she spoke her stomach growled and Tinarah blushed in embarrassment as she stood up and cut herself a piece of the strawberry cake. "Guess it is time to eat."

Stamatis saved the leftover cake after they each had their fill, with Fost having actually taken a slice of chocolate cake, and after some more time chatting amongst themselves Fost stood up to make his leave. "When we're all back together again we should do this once more." The man spoke. "Besides, kid, you'd owe us nineteen years worth of cake."

"So you do not hate sweets anymore?" Stamatis raised an eyebrow.

"Nineteen cakes can feed a man for a long time, old friend. A long time."

Stamatis chucked and nodded. "I agree. But when Tinarah does leave to her own time, do not be a stranger. I have missed our conversations and even I can grow weary of meditation alone."

"...You're not asking me to sit out in the trees with you to meditate, are you? Dropping by every now and then is fine but that's going a little too far."

"Of course not. Sparring would be a little more your speed, would it now?"

"Now you're talking." Fost responded with a grin. He turned towards Tinarah and took in a deep breath. "I know we haven't had a lot of time together, but I'm glad I met you, kid. You've really grown up since I first met you and you're really starting to grow into a real keyblade wielder. Hell, if your original master doesn't mind I'd be honored to get an invite to observe your Mark of Mastery exam when you're ready for it."

As the day past Tinarah was happy for the conversation, sharing everything she learned with Fost. She wished that they had more time, she wanted to spar with him and show him how much she grew in that, however instead she settled for bringing out her violin and preforming for them during their conversations.

Finally it was time to part ways, but the way that Fost spoke, Tinarah's heart had sunk. Stamatis still said she had to get stronger before she could get home and the necklace would just help. Did he not plan to come back and visit? He had to at least when she left. Instead of voicing her concerns, she tried to hide them from her face. "I already owe you a lot more than that." She wouldn't even try and guess at either of the Master's ages. While they seemed to be close to each other in age, she didn't want to overshoot it and offend anyone.

Tinarah stood up with Fost and looked at him for a moment. It looked like she wanted to say something but kept changing her mind. Finally he spoke up to her again and tears started to trail down her face. "Before I go you have to come say goodbye. Promise me you will come say goodbye, see me off." She said her voice trembling as she walked up and gave Fost a hug. "And Uncle Fost. I would be honoured to have you attend my Mark of Mastery." She said softly. She had toyed with the idea for a very long time of trying calling him Uncle. She had said it a thousand times in her head and never had the nerve to say it out loud. Tinarah never had an uncle in her life, but it just seemed right, felt right. Fost was that sort of man in her life, who was there sometimes but was as much family as Stamatis was, and at this point they were the only family that she had. "After I pass the exam we will have another celebration then too, since you seem to like cake so much." Tinarah joked, reluctantly letting go of him, but she didn't want him to go.

As Fost hugged Tinarah he nodded. "Of course. I'll be there to see you off. Besides, Stamatis and I still have to show you how to contact us once you're back in your time." He placed his hand on the girl's head and playfully ruffled her hair. He sighed and let a smile show when she called him "Uncle Fost". "You've made me too soft, kid."

"I think it's a good thing." Stamatis chimed in.

"Well...I've gotta be going." He spoke with a hint of sorrow in his voice. Fost turned towards Stamatis and crossed his arms. "You've done good training her. You really should take in more students."

"Perhaps but that would diminish the time I would be able to spend with the individuals. Such as I have done with Tinarah."

"Fancy way of saying you're too lazy to deal with more than one." Fost retorted.

"Come back soon. You're always welcome here."

Fost nodded and knelt down beside Tinarah, looking her in the eyes. "Even if I can't visit as often as I'd like, you have my word that I'll be there when you leave and I'll still be around on the other side. You hear me, kid?"

"I will hold you to that." Tinarah responded softly. She looked between Stamatis and Fost. Perhaps she had made Fost go soft, but she found this person he became a comfort to her, and she could see that he might have needed it too. From what she had heard over the years until she had arrived both these Masters seemed to have spent a lot of time alone. Now they both had students and more than that, a reason to visit with each other and have company that they could relate to more.

The thought of Stamatis having more students didn't sit well, and not because she thought she would be replaced, but the way that Stamatis taught her, she couldn't see him dealing with numerous students at once, the way he taught her was perfect, at least for her. That being said Tinarah was never inclined to look for friends like some student might have. It could be a reason for one to take in numerous students.

As Fost finally went to leave, he left with one more comment. Tinarah could only manage a nod before watching him go. Soon after he was gone however she couldn't hold back the tears any longer. It had been a while since the last time she cried when he left, but today had been a special day for her and there was a lot of emotion to it. She didn't want to think of leaving and she wished she had more time to visit with Fost and show him, perhaps, in the end, she was lonely here. Stamatis was good company but it might not always be enough.

Eighteen months pass...​

Never.

Hey look I played a game mostly honestly. Are people proud of me?

While I know Cstar cooking fails are funny, but no necrobumping. Tsk tsk. You have a discord call for watching that XD

Continuing on, they eventually managed to make it to a split in the path, it was Mora who decided which way to go. Following behind the girl they entered another room. Even with the dust and build up in the room, it made Cerdic want to rest, even though he knew that it wasn't really an option at that time. They needed to keep moving if they wanted to get through this. That didn't stop them from stopping momentarily though. In that moments rest, Cerdic walked up and admired the paintings on the wall. The amour was pretty cool, but not as good as his.

In the meantime Mora had gone over and started picking though the weapons for some sort of protection. Cerdic laughed a little at that. "Here kid, try this." He said walking over handing his keyblade over. "I will use the sword, I would say I have a bit more training in those kinds of things. You are less likely to hurt yourself on the keyblade. Besides, I can do this." Cerdic turned and hit a small button on his jacket.... nothing happened. "This....." He tried again and still nothing. "Awe come on! My keyblade amour is much cooler than his." Cerdic waved a hand at the paintings. He then let out a sigh. "Never the less I am still awesome without it. I can still manage with just a sword, just you watch!" He announced. ​

It is that time again! Time to vote for the song you would like to see done in January! Four new songs are up for you to vote for which one we do! The poll will be closed January 7th! Happy voting!

Songs:
Good Time
full song | instrumental
Be Prepared
Original | Karaoke
Rainbow Connection
Original | Karaoke
Twister
Original | Karaoke

Episode Tinarah: Part 8
The Next Level

The Realm of Darkness, sounded ominous. Tinarah took the coat and slowly put it on. She didn't bother questioning it, or anything that was going on. She didn't want to walk into a dangerous situation, but at least she felt more confident about it than she had when she arrived. If there was anything that she gained from over two years of training, it was the ability to defend herself enough that she didn't feel the need to always hide. Walking around outside of the familiar alone still bothered her. She was still sometimes paranoid when she went to fetch water from the well alone, however she had learned to deal with that fear, with the help of a practice sword on hand. She convinced Stamatis to let her take, at first one of the wooden ones with her so if anything did come she could at least wack them with it. It gave her some comfort.

Putting on the coat she took her sword. It still felt wrong, she still wished her keyblade was with her instead. She never truly understood what caused her to not be able to summon it anymore, but each day she couldn't summon it the harder she was on herself. Stamatis tried to take the blame on himself, but if his teaching was the problem she wouldn't have lost her ability to use it before she was brought here.

Taking her training to the next level was something Tinarah didn't view as necessary, not when she was failing as it was, however she never really did have the heart to say no. Before she was sent back in time or after, it was something that stayed the same, she would rather agree then cause conflict, it was easier for everyone that way.

The world they arrived to was dark, night had already fallen, and the air was heavy. Dead grass crunched underneath Stamatis's boots as he stepped forth and examined the valley that they stood in. They could not arrive via corridors of light so the only other way was through the Lanes Between which meant using a keyblade glider. The ride was a smooth one at least.

"Tinarah, there is a lesson here that no teacher can ever give to a student. A lesson that must always be learned on one's own." In the distance dozens of pairs of yellow eyes peered at them from the shadows. They were out in the open with nowhere to hide and Stamatis made no attempt to take Tinarah out of their line of sight. "Ready your sword." He instructed the girl despite not drawing his own keyblade. In fact, he stepped back further from Tinarah just as the eyes came closer. Shadows. "This is your next lesson."

Stepping into the world it made Tinarah a little uncomfortable, the dark being so close was not pleasant, it made her gut turn in fear of what awaited them ahead. They had already been forced to take a keyblade glider here, which made Tinarah a little nervous, though that was nothing she couldn't handle, she had just began to prefer using the corridors of light instead.

As they stood there Tinarah started seeing eyes appear as Stamatis spoke to her. His words did not sit well with her as he spoke of a lesson that she had to learn herself. They were out in the open as the eyes began to move closer. Tinarah took a step back while Stamatis told her to ready her sword, moving away from her. "I can't do this." She begged Stamatis quietly. She didn't have her keyblade anymore, she couldn't fight heartless. "Please." Tinarah tried to ask of him. However as the heartless moved closer and attacked her, Tinarah's instincts that she had learned from training began to kick in. When she had first come to Stamatis she was likely to have cowered and tried to run away, but she knew running was futile, so instead she lifted her short sword, slashing the heartless in front of her before bringing the sword back around in front in a defensive maneuver. Even if as she swiped for the next one out of self defense, it felt like it didn't really do much, Tinarah began to see a bit of how she had grown. For her it was small to see, though perhaps for Stamatis he saw more growth.

Stamatis stepped back farther away, refusing to answer Tinarah's pleas for help. It was tough love of a sort and not the kind of teaching Stamatis was particularly fond of. In fact, he knew that it was Fost who was accustomed to teaching in this manner but this was the only tool he had left to force Tinarah to realize her potential. As he watched her fight it was clear that she had learned her lessons well.

But the Heartless wouldn't be stopped by an ordinary sword. The continued to close in on Tinarah, leaping and scratching at her making the whole sight of the battle highly uncomfortable for Stamatis to watch but this had to be done. If she couldn't take it then he would step in but doing so right now would have only proved to Tinarah that she could not handle this and that would crush her completely.

Feeling alone in the situation, Tinarah was forced to bite back tears as the heartless kept coming at her. She was not fit to deal with this on her own, not like this, but she was being left to do it anyways. Tinarah wouldn't let herself just be overcome though. She might have been desperate and ready to give up on ever going home, but she was not ready to just die. Even alone she had to fight on the best she could, try to survive at least.

The more time she spent fighting the more grim the situation seemed. She glance for a moment over at Stamatis, her eyes pleading for help as blood streamed down her arms, and even a scratch on her face. The sword was not doing anything to help her cause as the heartless kept coming to the point Tinarah couldn't keep up. Eventually she collapsed to the ground, her tears finally flowing freely as darkness seemed to surround her. "No.... I am not ready yet. Please. I am sorry Chrono, I really tried to get stronger. I have this. Why can't I be more like you? Why can't I be strong?! I know you hate me, but please just lend me your strength and I will prove to you that I won't drag you down anymore."

As Tinarah was speaking a light lit up the darkness and there was a warmth in her hand, replacing the sword that she carried before was now a keyblade, it wasn't her keyblade though. In her hand was Chrono's Keyblade. More tears fell but this time not of pain, fear and loneliness, but instead of gratitude. "I won't let you down." She whispered as she stood up slowly, still struggling a little because of her injuries. She tried to straighten herself out as she prepared to fight again, this time with keyblade in hand, a weapon that would be effective, more so than her sword was at least.

Some time passed. When the fighting was done, Stamatis headed back over towards Tinarah and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Good. You have done well, Tinarah. I'm proud of you." Stamatis smiled and nodded his head towards Tinarah. He was genuinely glad for the girl and was clearly beaming at her as he looked down upon his student. "Your training can finally reach the next level." He spoke with great enthusiasm.

Tinarah didn't know if she should be grateful or mad at Stamatis. When he placed a hand on her shoulder he spoke with enthusiasm but Tinarah looked at him still feeling a little betrayed. "You left me, you watched me as they knocked me down and nearly killed me. How much further would you have let it go before stopping it? What if Chrono hadn't lent me his power.... This... this isn't even mine." Tinarah held up the keyblade. "This wasn't the one I originally had, this is my brothers. I don't know how be he lent me this power, he helped me because you wouldn't." It was the most Tinarah had said in a long time, certainly the most she had expressed her emotions. He was proud of her but she couldn't feel as proud. She wished at least it was her own keyblade, but staring at her brothers after he too betrayed her, it hurt, it was a hurt that she could, would have to face. She asked Chrono for help so she could be stronger, and this was part of learning to be stronger. Facing the pain that she had been avoiding for so long.

"I would have never let it get that far. If you hadn't summoned the keyblade I would have stepped in. My method of teaching you had failed and so I chose to emulate Master Fost. I suppose his methods have merit as, after all, I cannot be at your side at all times. You must have the strength to defend yourself when the time comes to face challenges alone." When she mentioned her brother's name he raised an eyebrow curiously and looked closer at the keyblade. "This was not your original keyblade?" He scratched his chin thoughtfully and called his own keyblade to prepare to get them out of there. "You would not have been able to borrow that power if there was not the potential already within you. Do not sell yourself short, Tinarah. The keyblade chose you for a reason and part of your training is realizing why."

Tinarah looked away for a moment as he spoke of defending herself. "I have never been able to, I don't know why, I try. Just leaving me like that.... I felt like a scared child again. I-I am sorry." Tears started down Tinarah's face as she tried to voice what was going on in her own head this entire time. "Before Chrono threw me off the bridge and said I was too weak and would hold him back, he had to protect me too much. This... is just another way of him protecting me. I hate it. I will never be able to do things on my own at this pace." She went on. It was like this step forwards opened a floodgate of everything she had been thinking for the last while and it was suddenly all out in the open. At the very least she was attempting to talk about what happened before she got there and everything that had been festering for the last two and a half years as she slowly had been withdrawing into herself more than she ever had before, after her mothers death.

"I believe in you, Tinarah." He squeezed her shoulder. "You must believe in yourself as well. Remind yourself that you have power because I know you truly are capable of achieving great things." Stamatis knelt beside her and looked the girl in the eye. "This frustration you feel is normal. I once felt it as well. I was not what you would call a good student in my younger years, nor was I a particularly talented one. Everything I learned took me much longer than it did other students but, in time, I was able to look back and see that my failures taught me more than if I had just learned sooner. Determination is more important than ability, Tinarah. If you learn nothing else from me, remember that as it will carry you further than any other lesson I may teach you."

"I just want to be strong and brave like Chrono was. I want to be worth while. It is hard when you don't see improvement the way you want to see it. I am sorry. You are a fine teacher and I have learned a lot from you...." Tinarah tried to reassure him. "Would you um.... Do you want to play music when we get back? It has been a while."

"You are strong and you are brave to have made it so far. You may not see progress, but I do." He stood back up. "And yes. Of course. I would be happy to play with you again."



Another year passes...​

Username: Aelin Fireheart
Name: Thea Strive
Age: 12
Appearance: Bleep
Personality:Thea is a fun loving child. Despite the struggles of her everyday life, and the sorrows of the past, Thea faces each day like something new. She loves to play games and simply be around other people. Being the child that she is Thea is naive and easy to trust. She doesn't often question those in charge, taking whatever is told as truth, even if she doesn't know the person. Thea also is a little spoiled, she often seeks out luxuries, even if her new found life doesn't allow for it as much.
Brief History:

Spoiler

Since birth, Thea was gifted, or cursed with very powerful magic running through her blood, fire magic to be exact. At a very young age, the magic often hurt Thea. When she got upset, the fire running through her blood would try to escape. Since Thea was so small it would start to burn her up from the inside out. It was a miracle that she made it through the early stages of her life, though as she got older it got no better. The older she got the more her magic found a way out of her body, causing damage to things around her, as well as still burning her internally. Thanks to Thea's families wealth, they got her the best doctors and teachers, however most wouldn't stick around long.

At the age of 10 Thea's family got attacked in their own home. Due to their wealth and power in the area, they had been targeted and attacked at night. Tinarah awoke to a battle and crept out of the room to see what was happening. She saw a man holding a sword to her father, and another one cornering her mother. Scared, Thea stepped out trying to use her magic, but the moment the intruders saw her, Thea panicked and accidentally set off her magic in a large fit of fire. It was the last thing she saw before the world went black.

When Thea awoke, she was not at home, instead in a small medical room. There was a woman hovering over her, trying to cool her off. There was a pulsing heat running through her, and murmurs of other voices. Eventually those voices faded and Thea also fell unconscious for a while longer. Over the next few days Thea was nursed back to health, and eventually told what had happened. They didn't however specify if it was her fire that was the cause of her parents death. And after Thea was up and around again, they started to figure out what to do with a child. The magic council had taken Thea in after the incident with her magic, keeping the dangerous child away from the general populous. The problem with taking a child in was, what to do with said child. Without much of an answer for the question they chose to ship the girl of to a magical guild who might be able to train and control the girl, Divine Rose.

It was about a month after the incident when Thea was brought to Divine Rose and left under the watchful eye of Midarah. That didn't mean that the magic council didn't keep a close eye on her as well however. Having a child with such wild, strong magic was worrisome to the magic council and it demanded that they kept tabs on her. Thea however didn't seem to mind eventually. As soon as she found friends in the guild, Thea felt at home and was able to be happy again, running around playing with the members, occasionally going on missions, and most importantly, chasing the cute bunny.

Magic Type Used: Fire Magic
Main Spells/Abilities for Said Magic:
>Red Flames: Thea can control red flames. Those flames she can control easily, creating into small shapes, no larger than 3ft x 3ft area, if spread thin
>Blue Flames: Blue Flames signify wild fire. This fire is very destructive and comes in short, widespread bursts.
>White Flames: Thea can cover large area's with white flames, however these flames don't cause damage, instead burning very brightly, blinding and creating the illusion of a blocked path, for those who don't know that those flames don't cause harm.
>Gold Flames: Thea's gold flames are a desperation move. The gold flames have the destructive nature of the blue flames, the control of the red, and the spread of the white flames. These flames only come to her however when she is the most desperate and has managed to keep control of her magic, not letting it control her.
Taboos/Weakness for Said Magic:
>When Thea gets too upset or can't control her emotions, her flames often take control of her. Wild fire blue flames will spread from her, all the while the magic can start burning her up from the inside out, often acting like a fever might. Her skin can also become unbearable to touch during this state, it taking the heat of the flames running in her blood
>After using Gold flames, Thea has never managed to keep consciousness. It takes all of her remaining magic out of her, and she can sleep for hours after that.
>Because of the nature of her powers and how it harms her, Thea has a physically weak body. She is small for her age and can handle much in the way of physical attack, she can easily be injured
Magic Item(s)?: N/A
Other: Guild mark located on her upper arm
If you are ever that bored, here have an over detailed version of Thea's younger years:

Spoiler

“Fireheart! Come here please. “
“Yes mother. I am coming!” Thea danced across the floor to the kitchen where her mother was talking to their chef who was preparing dinner.

“How did your lesson go today?” Thea’s mother asked her as she sat on a chair off to the side and lifted her eight year old daughter into her lap.

“It was good mama. I trained really hard!” Thea said with quite a bit of excitement.

“Good. I am glad to hear it. You think you can control it now?” Thea’s mother asked with some concern.

“Hmmmm…. Yep! I think so! Wanna see what I can do now?!”

“Not in here little Fireheart. You can show me in the training room later.” Thea’s mother ruffled the girls hair as she put her down on the ground. “Now run along and play for a bit until dinner. Oh and your father has something for you in his office. Go visit him if you want but remember to knock.”

“I know mom. I will. Thanks. Bye” Thea skipped off towards her dads office. Thea loves her surprises, her dad always gave her the best things. The small taps on a large door later and the permission to come in Thea stepped foot in her father’s grand office. A giant Oak desk sat near the middle of the room closer to the back window which covered nearly the entire span of the back wall. Book cases covered both side walls and couches where set up as a seating area not far in front of the desk. Thea strolled right over in front of the desk.

“Hi daddy.” She said happily. “Oh dad, look what I can do now. My teacher taught me this today.” Thea summoned a small orb of white fire and started twirling it between her fingers giggling as she did so. Soon she stopped and the fire faded.

“Very good Thea. He has been teaching you well. You where even able to chose the fire you summoned.” Thea’s father complemented her as he gave a small clap and a chuckle.

“Yep. He has been helping me with that for a long time now. I am finally creating it into things but it is hard. I can only make this stupid ball and control it slightly.” Thea pouted as she spoke about it. Thea had been working on her magic for two years now, since it started to be a danger to those around her, and yet that was as far as her control had brought her.

“Well here I might have something to cheer you up. Close your eyes.” Thea did as she was told and closed her eyes tight. Her father reached under her desk and pulled something out from a plastic bag. “Okay, open your eyes.” He instructed.

Upon opening her eyes Thea laid eyes on a beautiful white dress with an ornate golden flower pattern on the skirt. The entire dress shimmered in the light. “Oh daddy it is beautiful! Thank you so much. Where did you find it?” Thea asked with wide eyed excitement.

“You’re welcome sweetie. I got it on my last business trip at a little boutique on the water. I thought you would like it. Now then.” Her dad became a little more serious. “I am having some very important people over for dinner tomorrow night. I would like you to wear that dress to the dinner, I am trying to impress them and I would like my favourite daughter looking her best. Also you must watch your temper Thea, we don’t want you to get upset and have well an accident.” Thea’s father of course spoke of the flames she was cursed with and the lack of control that she tended to have when she got upset. As Thea rushed over gave her dad a big hug and took the dress he addressed her one more time. “You may go ahead and try it on Thea but please do not get it dirty, we won’t have time to get it cleaned before dinner tomorrow.”

“Okay daddy. I love you!” Thea then turned and skipped out of the office, dress in hand and heading straight for her room to try it on.

“Thea. Dinner.” The call came before Thea had gotten a chance to try her new dress on. It was kind of a disappointment but Thea went anyways happy to be able to tell her mom about her new dress.

It wasn’t until the next day that Thea got a chance to wear her dress to dinner. By the time she made it down to the table her father and the important men he spoke of where already seated.

“Thea, I would like you to meet Mr. Souke and Mr. Fly, they are some very important investors. Gentlemen this is my only daughter Thea Strive.” Her father introduced before Thea sat at the table.

“It is nice to meet you.” Thea said with a polite bow at the end. She then proceeded to make her way down to her seat at the far end of the table. Thea did as expected of her and sat politely waiting for dinner and doing as her parents had asked of her the night before. She wanted to help her dad make a good impression.

At the other end of the table the men started talking. “Isn’t she the one with the curse?” Mr. Souke asked only for Mr. Fly at add on. “How much do you spend on the girl? Training, clothes, keeping her happy?”

“However much it takes. She is my only daughter after all.” Thea’s father .

“She is not you daughter. She is a demon in human skin out to suck you dry and destroy you. That curse of hers is there for a reason.” Mr. Souke stated.

“I have had quite enough of this talk gentlemen. Perhaps it is best you leave my house.” Thea’s father stood up seeing the upset look on Thea’s face ready to lead them out.

“You can forget about the investment as well. We will not give money to a man who wastes all his on a demon child.” Mr. Fly stated as he got ready to leave. Soon enough the men where lead out and Thea was on her feet running, trying to hide the tears in her eyes.

“Fireheart?” Thea’s mother said knocking on the metal door that lead to Thea’s training room. The rest of the room was made of white granite just the door was metal so it wasn’t as heavy to open. A completely fire proof room. Thea’s mother slowly entered the room to see her daughter crying in the middle of the floor. The room was warm, far warmer than it normally was, she could only guess that Thea had run down here and let her fire go wild.

“Am I really a demon child? Are my powers a curse?” Thea asked not looking over at her mother, clearly rather upset by the men’s words.
“No of course not Fireheart. You where blessed with powers but powers that are a little too strong for your small frail body. When you are older and can control them better they will be a blessing and can help you save many people if you so desire. Or they can just stay dormant and you don’t have to worry about them. People fear what they don’t understand, that being you.” Thea’s mother held her daughter, rocking her and stroking her long golden hair.

“I am sorry I ruined daddies deal.” Thea said to her mother feeling ashamed that she was the cause of the important men leaving even though she had behaved herself.

“Don’t worry about it dear. Your father had no idea they would be like that, if he did he wouldn’t have even tried for this deal. We are not mad at you, it will be fine.” Thea’s mother proceeded to kiss her on the head before helping the girl to her feet. “Come on let’s get you ready for bed. It has been a long day.”

On their way upstairs Thea had to stop and ask. “Momma, magic is common here everyone uses it, so why are they scared of mine? Why is mine so different?”

“It is not so much that it is different but stronger than it should be. Most people your age don’t know magic much less have one they can’t control. Your magic is special, powerful and strange. You can use different fires but you never learned the ability, you just had it. People aren’t used to that and it is scary. I know you are working hard to control it, but it still isn’t completely under your control yet, you showed that when you had to hide so not to hurt anyone. You do the best you can and that is good, we do not blame you or love you less because of it, but it does scare people. You are eight Thea, and if you tried you could probably kick both their butts in a battle so it is scary for them.”

“Now that would be a fight I would pay to see.” Thea’s father chuckled. He was waiting for them at the top of the stairs. He picked Thea up to carry her to her bedroom as she started to giggle at the comment. It wasn’t long before she was changed and curled in bed with her parents tucking her in.

“Goodnight Fireheart.” Thea’s mom said as she kissed her head and backed out the door.

“I will make this up to you tomorrow Thea. How about we have a father daughter day? No work for me. I will spend all day with you?” He offered knowing he didn’t do that as often as he should since work tended to keep him occupied.

“Alright daddy. I look forward to it. Goodnight. Love you!” Thea said with excitement in her voice.

“I love you too. Goodnight.” With that he turned off the lights and left his daughter to sleep.

Thea was awoken later that night by a scream echoing through her house, her mother. Thea crept out of her room, down the stairs and towards the source of the scream. Thea was not dumb however. She kept her distance and hid the best she could. From around the corner she could see three males and a female. Her parents and two others she didn’t know how they were. They seemed to be fighting.

“Look we weren’t hired to kill you, only the girl. Now stand back and we will let you live.” The first man said in a deep gruff voice.

“I will not let you hurt my baby! Stay away from her!” Thea’s mother screamed out, but just as she did was punched and fell to the ground. From behind the wall Thea started to whimper and shake and she felt a deep warmth bubble in her stomach. She had to keep it buried though, if she tried to use her magic who knew who she would hit or what she could destroy. She couldn’t do it… But then the next thing she saw put an end to any self control the young girl had. Her dad stumbled back clutching his chest. A knife was tightly gripped in the second man’s hand. That was the last straw, what made Thea crack. A cry of anger and sadness echoed through the house as blue flames engulfed the girl. The two assailants started around the corner. A pillar of blue flames shot up out of the roof for everyone to see for miles to come. The flames shot out in every direction engulfing everything they touched burning, leaving mere piles of ash in its wake. Thea couldn’t control the path of the flames or their intensity. Though the flames licked her skin they did not burn her. Flames she created could not hurt her, controlled or not.

As the blue flames extinguished themselves there was very little left of Thea’s house. It had been less than a minute and the house had been leveled leaving nothing but a crying eight year old curled up on the ground in tears. As she looked up in hopes to see her parent’s safe she saw nothing. Everything was gone, there was no sign of them, there was no sign of anything familiar except for four stone walls with a metal door mounted in one side. Her training room, build fire proof with no chance of her flames finding an escape. Thea crawled over to it and curled up with her back pressed against one of the walls. “What have I done? Oh god what have I done?” She sobbed and shook.

Username: Aelin Fireheart
Name: Everette
Age: 23
Appearance: Bloop
Personality: Everette is protective of the guild, as it is the only family he knows. Due to a brain injury when he was a child he can be forgetful at times, often misplacing his stuff. Besides that Everette is a strong fighter and puts a lot of his time into training, or training the younger members of the guild. He tries to help out where he can when he can for the sake of the guild, not caring what the task is.
Brief History:

Spoiler

As a baby Everette was left at an orphanage, no one really understanding why, or what happened to his parents. At age eleven, Everette was a little bit of a trouble maker. He would start wandering and out of nothing but boredom, try and get into locked areas of the orphanage. Over time he managed to get into one of the storage rooms that they children where not allowed in. The storage room seemed to be full of things that children were left with but were not needed at the orphanage at the time.

Poking through the room Everette found a baby basket with a blanket and a note, with a rose symbol on it. It was the symbol that caught his eye, but as he picked up the note he noticed his name in it.

Please care for this boy. His name is Everette, his mother told me to take him somewhere safe.
If there is any fees that need paid for you taking him in, send the bill to Divine Rose.

Everette stared at the note, shoving it in his pocket for later. Who were the people who brought him there? Who was his mother? Was she even still alive? Everette had never cared about such things, but after read the note he couldn't help but wonder about it.

Over the next year he hatched a plan to leave the orphanage. He stored away extra clothes that he could get his hands on, and figured out the best way to get himself food. He asked around outside the orphanage about Divine Rose, until he eventually got an idea of where he was going, then he set out. Getting outside the city was a trivial matter it seemed, however what they boy was not prepared for what the wilderness beyond, between towns. He had chosen to leave during the early hours of the morning, so for most of the day his travels were safe, however as night fell, with no town in sight, Everette started to regret his decision. Gripping the note tight in hand, he traveled into a forest looking for a sheltered place to sleep when he was attacked by a creature. Unable to defend himself the creature beat him back and caused a brutal head injury, that left him unconscious in the woods.

It wasn't until the next afternoon that he was discovered by a member of the same guild that he held the note for. The note was still in his limp hand when the man found him. Worried about the boy and a little curious about the note, the man chose to bring Everette back to the guild with him, where he could get healing from their Guild Master. And while the healing came and Everette awoke later that day, something was a little off. Confusion was normal when you wake up in a strange place, however when the boy was unable to answer basic questions about his name and where he came from, worry set in. They tried to heal Everette more, however this was something that they couldn't heal. It was only thanks to the note that his name was salvaged and given back to him.

Not knowing who the boy was, where he came from, or what the note he was found with meant, the Guild Master decided to let the boy stay. There was no use sending him away, it would not turn out for him, she knew. Instead they helped Everette build a new life, without his old memories it wasn't hard to do, and he was happy to have people supporting him. Some of the older members trained him in the ways of magic and he picked up on it rather quickly, not waiting long before he started joining them on missions and proving his own strength. From then on out having only the guild to back him, Everette poured everything into the guild, eventually rising to S class, where he turned around and started to repay the kindness shown to him when he had first entered the guild, taking time to train younger members and even join them on missions at times, just for the fun of it, even if he was to be taking on more challenging missions.

Magic Type Used: Mirror Magic
Main Spells/Abilities for Said Magic:
>Everette can create a number of mirror in his area in order to create confusion
>Everette can create mirrored copies of himself that act exactly as he acts but vanish when damage is taken
>Everette can mirror the exact movements of another, helping him learn another person's combat style.
> Everette can make a small Mirror that will reflect one spell
Taboos/Weakness for Said Magic:
>Every time a mirror or copy is broken through it weakens his magic a little bit, making it harder to summon more each time, until such time that he rests
> If the shield Mirror is broken before it is desummoned it physically causes pain to Everette
>Everette can be caught in a trance when copying movement, focusing enough on that he can be blind to what is around him.
Magic Item(s)?: Since Everette focus' more on using his magic to confuse his enemy rather than offense, he also carries a sword on him that channels his magic to make his swings slightly more powerful.
Other:
Guild mark is located on his chest, often partly visible over the top of his collars
Everette doesn't have a last name simply because no one knows what it is. While Everette doesn't know what brought him to the guild, Midarah still is helping search for answers of the content of the note at the very least.

"You taught a lion to eat bugs and he didn't get sick?" Aislinn had to question. There was no way that was natural. Simba shouldn't have survived to adult hood eating only bugs, however somehow he managed it. Aislinn accepted the weird laws of reality that were in this world and moved on as they continued to talk.They spoke of a motto about not worrying and moving on, but while Aux seemed to prefer not to worry about any of this, Hikaru was more curious. Always taking the lead and talking, while Aux seemed to want nothing of it, claiming it wasn't their problem. until it became their problem.

Aislinn couldn't help but let out a chuckle as the mission popped up for them. "Guess you can't escape being helpful kid. Too bad, guess we have to..." Nala appeared again interrupting the conversation, seeming rather upset, ready to leave. Timon however just caught onto the fact that Simba was supposed to be a king.

"Well what did you expect Nala? You haven't seen Simba for years after all, he grew up with these two, he won't be the king you want him to be, not right away... but maybe he can still help. Come, let me help you talk to him, maybe we can convince him to at least help a bit. If not, then we will help you in whatever way we can. I would like to see your land at peace once more." Aislinn encouraged, offering for Nala to take the lead and bring her to Simba.​

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

Episode Tinarah: Part 7
And Time Goes On

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Two years pass...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

@KHGrl15

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

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

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

Episode Tinarah: Part 6
Music of the Heart

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



One day passes...

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


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

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

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

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

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


One hundred and fifty days pass...​

​