A Price Unpaid- Gavin, Zephyr, Thea As the guards shouted, Thea looked around and noticed a guy leading a child out. Gavin said they should go, but Thea looked around as Zephyr and Gavin headed straight for the man and child. "I'm going to cut him off." Thea mumbled to herself before rushing off to the side, pushing her way through the guards and trying to circle in the direction she assumed he might flee of he saw Zephyr and Gavin. In an instant, the child and the flutist vanished in a thick column of fog that swirled. The sound of the flute stopped, only to appear right by Thea. A melody like a lullaby began to play, luring Thea over to the hooded figure to come to them. The child that was with them earlier was no longer visible, and the guards were panicking in the thick fog. As Thea ran she couldn't hear the flute anymore, she didn't know where he would be going. Her own vision of him was obscured by the fog and Thea wasn't quite sure what to do. Bringing a flame to her hand she tried to burn away some of the fog near her, while making signal to her friends where she was. However before that could go too far, the flute started to play again, and suddenly she wasn't thinking too clearly. It was like the fog around her seeped into her mind as all she thought was "I found him." Thea made no moves to be combat ready, didn't seem to try to stop him as she couldn't help but follow the fog in her mind slowing her movements and making the reactions she wanted to do, impossible. The flute player had begun leading Thea away from the initial chaos that was happening, further from the Town Hall and farther to the edge of town. The fog finally lessened around the two boys once the flute player and Thea were far enough away, showing them where their comrade was heading off to. The other adults were lost in the fog, trying to find their way out and figure out what was going on. The flute player seemed to be floating on the fog, moving backwards to the thick tree line while drifting to and fro in front of Thea, making sure she followed along. Village in Peril- Conrad, Everette, Samuel Renza popped her head out of her cottage door when Everette called out to her. She had a wooden plate with three pieces of bread on it, recently warmed up and with honey slathered on each piece. "Oh! I can go with you. Sorry it took me so long. Here, one moment." She disappeared back into her house, only to reappear again with each piece of bread wrapped loosely in three separate cloths. "Here you go! And I'll tag along if you don't mind. The chief doesn't like me to spend the night all by myself here. Not until I get older anyways." Samuel was finished packing up the last of his equipment, placing a couple of lids over the water samples with poison and magic found in the well. He slipped his bag over his shoulders and accepted the bread from Renza with a smile. "Thanks... It smells really good, Renza. You're free to tag along with us if you want." With that, Samuel led the way back to the Town Hall. Chief Yolvun was sitting on the steps of the Town Hall, catching his breath and dabbing at his forehead. He looked more worn than earlier, and the splotchy rash was creeping up from under his shirt collar to just under his jawline. He looked up when he saw the young mages coming back and stood to his feet. "Welcome back," he greeted with a forced smile, a little out of breath. "Tell me you found something..." Samuel looked back to his friends and then to the Chief Yolvun. "We tested the water supply for the rain water and the well... We found that there's a trace of poison and magic within the main source of water." The chief's eyes widened. "Poison?!" "That's right... Which means something or someone is affecting the river water... Chief Yolvun, have you had any quarrels or contentions with anyone lately?" "N-no!" The man was genuinely shocked as he rubbed his forehead, pacing back and forth. "We've lived in peace for many years! We always helped out weary travelers and supplied the less fortunate with provisions and gave them a place to stay." He stopped pacing, his face full of perplexity. "I don't understand. Who would want to harm my people?!" Samuel was taken aback by the man's sudden panic and moved closer to him. "I don't know... But that's why we're here." He hesitantly placed a hand on the other man's shoulder, patting it in comfort. "We're going to find out what's going on, and we're going to do our best to make sure everyone is safe again." The chief looked at the young man for a moment and then sighed out. "Alright... Alright..." He shook his head and then looked up to the sky. "It is getting late. And you need a place to stay I imagine..." He pointed over to a building with a shaky hand. "That's our inn over there. No one is really running it right now I'm afraid..." "I'll take care of them!" Renza volunteered while raising her hand in the air. "If that's okay..." Chief Yolvun chuckled and patted Renza on the head while kneeling down to her level. "My dear child, you've already done so much for today." "I'm okay," Renza declared. "Really! I don't have much to do." Chief Yolvun smiled and ruffled Renza's hair and stood up slowly, groaning as his muscles ached him. "If you are okay with Renza sticking around with you longer, I don't mind. Do you have any more questions for me...?" Delivery of Cakes- Shawn, Yukyo, Lakoda "Right here." A wave of shadows suddenly appeared on the other side of the wagon, smirking as he grabbed the brim of his hat and tilted it to the group. "Mmm... not the type of mages I pictured that would be entrusted to delivering the artifact, You're all just children." The parrot-humanoid-bird thing landed on the other side of the wagon to make sure that nobody would try anything funny. The small group was completely surrounded, save for the very back of the wagon. The young man pressed the knife closer to Lakoda's throat, which made her wince and glare ahead. She wasn't liking being held hostage too much. "My bad, I forgot to introduce ourselves," the young man mocked. He then chuckled and adjusted his fingers on the handle of the knife. "I'm Reuben, the one with the weird top hat is Lytton, and the big bird over there is Jy." "We're all from Hydra's Claw, CAW-CAW!" "A powerful dark guild... And you have something we want." Lytton pointed to the wagon. "When we saw it was mages delivering the goods today, we knew the old lady was finally sending out the relic. So hand it over," he nodded over his head to where Lakoda and Reuben were. "And we'll let the girl go." Lakoda waited patiently for the three to get done boasting. For members of the dark guild, they were sure overconfident. Lakoda looked to Shawn and winked to him before her headphones suddenly glowed green. She lipped something and then pushed her hand under the guy's arm, making a Sound Pulse erupt from the palm of her hand. The knife was thrown out of the guy's hand and embedded itself in the wood of the wagon. "What the-?!" Before Reuben had time to react, Lakoda turned around and shoved the young man back hard with another Sound Pulse, sending him flying towards the river. "MOVE!" she commanded to the boys, quickly making a purplish magic circle in front of her as it let out another Sonic Scream towards Jy. The bird squawked loudly, suddenly overcome by the loud screeching as it confused him and made some feathers fly off of him. Lakoda dropped her hands and started to make a run back to the wagons. "We need to get out of here, now!" Shadows suddenly lunged out towards to the wagon, Lytton becoming desperate. "You're not going to get away from us!"
Everyone else was cuuuuute. XD good job
Aria was already up by the time everyone was straggling out of their rooms. She had gotten least one to two hours of sleep last night, which was something she could get away with once in a while without feeling like a zombie the next day. She had already showered after the training she had with Torrin. Their conversation still weighed on her mind, but she chose to push away those feelings and refocus. They still had current problems to deal with at the moment and they couldn’t afford to ignore it any longer. Aria was tying her ribbon in her long hair as the conversations went on outside. She heard what they were saying, but didn’t feel like interjecting any time soon. She’s slipped the strap of her bag over her shoulders and then walked out of the room just as the others were saying their piece. She didn’t feel like she had anything to add, so she’s stayed quiet and observered the rest of the group to figuring out what they were doing next.
She was taken aback with the sudden urgency in Torrin’s voice. “Uh, s-sure, hold on.” Aria looked at the mess of beads on the floor and realized it would probably take two or three long minutes to find all of them and put them back into her bag. She pressed her lips in a thin line and then closed the door softly behind her. “Never mind, it can wait.” She smiled a bit and then nodded to Torrin, seeing the small crowd had already dispersed. “Alright, let’s head out.” With that, Aria led the way to the door, venturing outside in the cool night air. It was still somewhat warm though, which made it perfect to be out in. Aria inhaled deeply through her nose and hugged herself as she turned to Torrin. “Alright, what’s up?” She asked while her lips turned upward enough to give off a friendly appearance. She was strained, but being outside was relaxing enough for her to feel a little at ease.
Aria was concentrating deeply on her bracelet making when she heard the rustle of paper behind her. She stopped and looked up, seeing a note on the floor. “Hm?” She stood up to go retrieve it, only to bump the desk and tip over a bag of beads. Colorful jewelry pieces rolled out, bouncing everywhere on the floor. “Agh!” Aria snatched up the bag before more spilled out. She was about to shout to whoever was at the door she’d be a minute, but then heard voices outside. She scratched her head and stayed still, listening to the voices outside. She fell silent as she listened to the banter going back and forth as she subconsciously gripped the pouch in her hand. Why did she have to cause so much contention? Why did she have to make everyone worry about her so much? She wanted so badly to prove she could take care of things and help everyone else, that she wasn’t going to be dead weight. Spoiler: Tales of a Princes: Children Can Be Cruel, Part 1 Age 10 The months seemed to have been stretched for an eternity. Yet the world still changed, and time went on as it should. Aria was now ten. She had grown taller, almost stocky even. No matter how much her aunt tried to feed her, it seemed to evaporate in her stomach. Her light colored hair had grown longer, and almost changed to an odd purplish, pink color. She had grown more quiet than usual, but she was still friendly and kind to those she came in contact with and accept her friendship. Which seemed as though very few did lately. She was sitting on the edge of her bed, dangling her legs. It was around daybreak, but Aria had been up earlier than that. Her nightmares had almost been the same, forcing her to wake up and stay up. She felt she was too grown up now to go to her aunt and uncle about the monster that haunted her in her sleep. She was dressed in light brown leather riding chaps, dark denim pants, a dark purple flannel shirt with fingerless black gloves on her hands, her hair done in a single braid with a flat cap resting on top of her head, and brown work boots on her feet. There was the sound of floorboards creaking in the house, and Aria brought her head up from looking at the floor. She could hear the familiar heavy, miseven footsteps walking down the halls, and then the shuffling, slow steps down the steps. Aria sucked in a breath of air and then stood up, hurrying to her bedroom door with quiet feet. Though they were a bit noisy still with the boots. The girl slipped out and glanced down the hallway, seeing that the bedroom door was closed part way and knew her aunt was not up just yet. Aria smiled to herself and then tiptoed down the steps to the kitchen. There was her uncle, still the large man that she remembered. He was currently adding fire to the stove to heat it back up and went to the ice box to grab some fresh eggs and butter out. He turned to place the butter on the table, only to look up and see his niece there. “Aria…” He smiled at her and then folded his arms over his chest. “What are you doing up so early?” he asked with a raised brow. “I couldn’t sleep,” Aria answered honestly as her eyes darted to Lanar’s arms. One was mechanic with working limbs while the other one was still the normal one. His face had old scratch mark scars on them running down his face, and he stood a little bit uneven on his feet. It would’ve been hardly noticeable save if anyone saw what was under his pant leg on one side. He was spared from death that horrible day, yet it was a long road to recovery and many painful procedures to get her uncle back on his feet. “Mmm…” Lanar went back to making breakfast as Aria sheepishly stood in the doorway. “You’re dressed as if you’re ready for adventure…” Aria cleared her throat and rubbed the back of her neck. “I’ve been getting better with the bow and arrow, and my spear throwing has been improving…” Lanar kept his back to his niece as she talked, and she felt as if he was already shutting her out. “I really want to help, and I can keep up. There’s only three farms left out of the nine, including ours, and the boys of the other workers get to-” Hands were placed on Aria’s shoulders, stopping her from talking. Lanar knelt down to her height, looking into his niece’s eyes from under her flat cap. “Aria, how many times have I told you? You need to stay here… It’s not safe out there anymore-” “Which is why I want to help!” Aria protested as she stopped one foot on the ground. “It’s not fair that I am the only kid who can’t help out on the fields somehow!” “Aria, listen to me.” Uncle Lanar shook his niece a little, grabbing her full attention now. He sighed out as he loosened his grip on her shoulders and looked intently into her eyes. “We were chosen to protect you even before you came to us. If something was to happen to you like it did with me, I’d… I’d never forgive myself.” The ten year old felt her neck become hot with shame. She could feel her uncle’s sincerity in his voice and see how badly he wanted to protect her. Her eyes glanced to the mechanical arm that had replaced the one he lost to the wrenfel. She remembered when he was first fitted with it how he yelled and screamed in pain. Her aunt had to take her out of the house while the older woman tried not to cry. “I just want to help,” Aria whispered softly. She closed the gap between her and her uncle, hugging him tight. “I feel like… I’m not doing enough. And there’s been talk that all of this happening lately is my fault. I want to fix it-” “Shh, shh.” Uncle Lanar hugged his niece close, his heart nearly breaking for the girl. “You do enough, I promise…” There had been rumors going around that because Aria was an outsider, she was attracting the wrenfel lately. The monsters had been acting out of character of late, and his mind went to the day when Aria was just an infant and was almost bitten by that snake. There had to be another reason for it though. After the day Aria came to his rescue three years ago, there had been hardly any monsters spotted on the property. It couldn’t be Aria attracting the beasts, could it? No, he refused to believe it. “None of this is your fault,” Uncle Lanar concluded as he pulled away from Aria. “Grandfather Gero said so the last time he was here.” He smiled at Aria and pulled her cap down over her eyes playfully. “And Grandfather Gero is always right, you know. Don’t listen to them… they’re, scared, confused and upset while trying to find blame for their situation… because that’s all they feel like they can do. What’s been happening… it’s just a strange happening. Okay?” Aria chewed on her bottom lip and shrugged her shoulder. She felt like if she started to protect the farm too like the older boys of the other farmers working for them, she wouldn’t be seen as such a nuisance. She shrugged her shoulders, which prompted her uncle to rub Aria’s hat on her head all messily. “Come on, I bet some hot chocolate and breakfast will cheer you up,” Lanar said with a small smile. The voice of Take sounding off in the hallway and hushing everyone made Aria come out of her thoughts. She felt herself breathe out in relief when he defused the situation, or at least tried to. Aria looked at the beads scattered on the floor, and then to the door. She saw the little note and picked it up, seeing the picture on it and the single word. She carefully folded it up and put it in her pocket before opening the door slightly. “We’re... all good, right?” She asked, sticking her head out slightly. “No one’s heads are going to pop off?” She chuckled nervously and then her smile faded after a moment. “Take’s right... I don’t like it when you guys fight, especially when it involves me. This why I was really hesitant to tell anyone what was going on.” She stepped in the hallway a bit, closing the door partway behind her. “I’m not expecting instant fixes with this nightmare problem. It just happened today. And I don’t want to be treated like I’m... fragile. Maybe that’s not the right word. But just cause I’m happy and into rainbows and whatnot doesn’t mean I had a sheltered, completely carefree life. I’ve dealt with things. Things I had to face on my own and had to grow through them. I had to take care of myself sometimes and not rely on other people. So please, like Take said... just... don’t fight.” She sighed out and pinched the bridge of her nose. “I know we’re all on edge right now. Everything is confusing and seems really hopeless... and maybe it’s the optimism in me, but one way or another, we’re going to get through this. I’m going to be okay. We’re all going to be just fine so long as we work together and stop trying to hiss and to claw each other’s eyes out.” She looked right at Qamar and Torrin, directing that last statement to the two of them. “Okay...? Let’s just go get a drink of water, take some deep breaths, and try to get some rest...”
Aria worriedly watched Take heading out of the room. She sensed he was hiding something, but didn’t make a big deal of it. After all, she was trying to hide her nightmare thing all morning until she was ready to talk. So when he would be willing to talk, she would be there to listen. She looked over to Chrono and grinned a bit. “Glad you like it.” He then too was gone, which left Aria alone to finish up the last bit of the dishes. Once that was done, she put the remaining hot chocolate in a thermos, cleaned up the pan, and then finally poured herself a cup. She sprayed some whipping cream on the top, and then took a small thing of rainbow sprinkles and sprinkled some on top of the foam. Smiling a little to herself, she picked up her mug and nodded to Boreas. “Good night, sleep well.” She then glanced in the living room to see the others talking amongst themselves and decided to stay out of it. She was getting kind of groggy. Taking a small sip of hot chocolate, she waved quietly to the group before heading towards her own room for the night. Once she arrived there, she slipped in and quietly closed the door. The girl let out a long, heavy sigh and then threw her bag by the bed before setting the mug on the desk. Despite Qamar and Tinarah wanting to help, Aria was having second thoughts on the matter. Two nights in a row she had a nightmare, and the last one took a turn for the worst. Aria frowned and shook her head slightly as she changed into a T-shirt and some baggy pants for the night. No, she’d have to tough the night out. She didn’t have anything she thought would be a good idol carrier on her. Mika’s bracelet still brought her heartache, and the Light Chaser bracelet was something she was having a love-hate relationship with at the moment. Aria sat down at the desk, sipping some more hot chocolate as she thought about what she could do instead. Remembering the crafts she acquired in the previous world, Aria pulled out the beads and jewelry tools. She was going to spend most of the night crafting. It was relaxing to her, and she would be able to stay up.
“So, how are you liking your hot chocolate?” Aria asked Chrono as she headed to the sink to start washing some mugs. It wasn’t long before Take seemed to appear out of no where, very quiet and somewhat distracted. “H-Hey Take,” Aria greeted while she rinsed out a mug. She then saw him struggling with the canister of whipping cream and smiled a bit. “Here.” She dried her hands on a towel and then carefully took the canister from him. “Lemme help.” She then made a nest peak of foam and smiled at Take. “There. Do you want more...?” She offered. She was about to open her mouth that he looked stressed, and then memories of when it was pointed out he was smiling flashed in her mind. She held back the observation and thought of a different approach. “Do you... need to talk?” She offered.
Aria was caught off guard by Qamar's outpouring of words. She wasn't exactly sure what happened between her and Tinarah, but based on how her friend was acting, she figured there was a misunderstanding when Aria wasn't around. Qamar seemed like the person who didn't have much people skills, which Aria picked up on based on what Qamar told her and how she acted around others. "It takes time," she said with a small smile. "Not everyone will be your friend instantly. You just... kinda gotta see their point of view on things and work with that. I mean, I try to get to know others first before I talk about myself. And if the opportunity does pop up, then I will say a little bit about me, then let them talk about them... And if they're not the type of person to open up, then... Don't push them to talk, and just... Yeah. Like I said, it takes time, and a little bit of work." She then looked to Tinarah, smiling gently at the girl in understanding. "... I guess it's time to get settled in for the night. I'm going to head back to the kitchen and clean up." She nodded to Tinarah and Qamar, and then picked up the tray with some of the empty mugs, heading back into the kitchen.
A Price Unpaid- Gavin, Zephyr, Thea Town Hall The figure seemed to flinch when Zephyr landed so hard on the ground. Seeing that he was fine though, the figure continued to play, not mind Zephyr coming closer and closer to them. Until they looked to their left and caught something in the distance. Suddenly, it seemed like they evaporated in smoke. There was silence for a moment, and then flute sounded farther away, closer to the Town Hall. "We can't let you in here!" The Guard spluttered at Thea. "As far as I know, there isn't another entrance-" That was when the fog became thicker, and then guards became uneasy. The flute music suddenly sounded off as if it was around them and some guards who took off their ear protectors fell straight down into sleep. "Over there! It's Necos! He has a child!" Sure enough, the fog parted for a moment to show a cloaked figure carefully leading a child with bright blonde away before they were blanketed in fog once more.
Aria was now getting suggestions from all over, which was overwhelming, but they we’re all helpful. She then quickly waved her hands to Tinarah when she was apologizing for not picking things up sooner with her. “No, no! It’s okay! Really.” She laughed nervously and rubbed the back of her head. “I didn’t let on what was going on with me anyways. I wanted to try to figure stuff out before I talked to anyone, but... music would probably help,” Aria said with a little smile. She then looked to Qamar who was excited to share her ideas. “No, I hadn’t tried meditating before,” she said with a small shrug. “I guess that’s worth a try as well.” Aria then grinned and nodded her head. “Yeah, there’s more hot chocolate on the stove.”
“My aunt and uncle used to make me Valerian Tea, but that was to get me to sleep... it didn’t help keep the nightmares away.” Aria listened to idol carrying tradition that Take practiced in his home world. She never heard anything like it, and it sounded interesting to her. “No, it’s not confusing at all,” Aria assured her friend with a smile. “It actually sounds kind of nice... the idol carrying I mean.” She shifted in place and glanced down at her bracelets. “Honestly, I’m willing to try anything at this point. I used to stay up late as a kid and just sleep two to five hours... I mean, it’s not ideal, but the nightmares can’t usually happen if I get little amount of sleep. Idol carrying might help out... I think it’ll take some practice, and I have to find something... but maybe it’ll work.”
Boreas was right about not telling others wouldn't make it magically disappear. Still, it was hard to accept the help from others. She always helped out, even when her help wasn't needed or wanted. As for herself, she would mentally beat herself up if there was something she could do about the situation and make others needlessly worry about here. However, this nightmare thing she could make an exception for. Aria smiled when Take took the hot chocolate happily. "You're welcome," she said with a smile and a giggle. She then saw the fluffy whip cream sticking to the boy's nose and tried to hold back a laugh. "Uh, you got a little something," she said, pointing to her own nose where it was at on his, "...right there." She was then approached by Tinarah, who seemed to be coming down from her state of panic and wanting, or at least trying to, socialize again. "Nah, I don't mind if you have some too," Aria said with a smile. She then handed her young, yet older friend, a cup of warm hot chocolate and then stood back a moment. The friends she wanted to really talk about the whole situation were right here in front of her. Already at least three people knew about it, Aria noticing Qamar on her way out to the living room. She didn't know where to start though since Take seemed to be in the middle of a conversation and Tinarah wasn't doing too well. She cleared her throat and set down the tray that had five mugs of hot chocolate left on it; each being for Illiana, Aldaric, Master Thallasa, Miss Edna, and Boreas. "It's been a... long day," Aria started out. She looked at her two friends and chewed on the inside of her cheek nervously. "I need to talk to you guys about something," she said, dropping her voice. "I wanted to talk to you guys earlier, but things kept popping up. S-Stay here, I'll be right back." With that, she quickly took two mugs of hot chocolate off the tray, handing one to Ms. Edna, and the other to Boreas before hurrying back to the Living Room to where her friends were. "I kind of already told some others... Well, more like I was trying to tell one, and others overhead it, but I need you guys to know about it too," she began again. "And I know you've been through so much already," she said glancing at Tinarah, "And you are still getting better," she said, glancing at Take and his arm, "and there's so many other things to worry about right now, but I trust you two more than everyone else here." Aria paused and took a deep breath in before sighing out. "So I've been having these nightmares since I was little, and it's always the same. A strange creature in a tattered robe that almost looks human but its not with sharp teeth and claws. It always attacked others I don't know and takes their heart and eats it, or it tries to come after me, taunting me and hurting me. It never says anything, it just makes weird noises and it's creepy." She twiddled with her bracelet on her wrist, feeling anxiety creep up again as she pushed on quickly. "Everyone said I would grow out of it, but I didn't. And I still have nightmares of that thing up to this day, and they keep getting scarier and creepier. And this morning..." She stopped as she swallowed a lump in her throat. You already explained it before, it shouldn't be hard, she mentally scolded herself. "th-this morning I had that same nightmare. Except I pushed myself to wake up. And I thought I was awake, only the room I was staying in was dark, and there was no light at all... And that thing was on my bed, staring at me a moment before it smiled, and then it attacked me." She held her hand to stop herself from fidgeting and forced herself to look up at her two friends. "And then Torrin heard me scream and woke me up. I was still dreaming... But when I came to, I had actual scratches on my arms, and nasty bruises on my shoulders... Like the nightmare actually caused me physical harm. I told Grand- I mean, Master Gero about it, but he didn't know what was going on either... So... If I seem out of it in the next few days, I'm going to try to force myself to stay awake. I'll still get sleep, just not the usual healthy dose of eight hours," she said with a nervous chuckle. "I just... needed to let you guys know what was going on. Cause like I said, I trust you two..."
“Games?” Aria questioned with a wrinkle of her brow. Before she could really answer Torrin though, Chrono chimed in with his own question. She glanced at Torrin as if to look for confirmation at first, and then looked to Chrono. She stopped stirring the pot as the remaining ingredients melted away into a creamy liquid and turned around to face the other. “The nightmares have always been the same; there’s some kind of person dressed in a tattered cloak. Except, it’s not a person. It has sharp teeth and claws... and it’s eyes are always covered. Sometimes it’ll attack people I don’t recognize, taking their heart from them and eating it...” Aria hugged herself as shivers went down her spine. “At first, it used to just point at me and smile creepily... and gradually it’s gotten closer... and closer... until finally it’s finally face to face with me. It grabs me with darkness, and sometimes I actually feel the pain. It always makes a move to seriously hurt me, but I wake up before that. But this morning, I thought I woke up. I was still asleep and I was still dreaming. It was on my bed, smiling creepily like it did when the dreams first started. And it attacked me.” Aria took in a shuddering breath and looked down at her arms. “Except this time, I was actually hurt. Torrin heard me screaming and woke me up. When he did, there were bruises on my shoulders and nasty scratches on my arms.” The girl was actually shaking a little at this point. Talking about it out loud sounded crazy to her, and she wondered if anyone besides Grandpa Gero and Torrin would believe her with the proof that something happened was gone away. She lowered her arms and kept her head down as she moved around Torrin to find some mugs, and look in the fridge for some cool whip. Lucky for her, it was already in a can and she didn’t have to make it. “That’s why I’m scared to fall asleep... I really don’t know why I’m dreaming about this thing. I mean, if I’m a true princess’s of heart, shouldn’t I be dreaming of sunshine and rainbows instead of having these messed up nightmares?” She bit her lower lip as she paused in front of a cupboard that had rows of mugs in it and took some out at a time before looking for a tray to put the rest on. “And that’s why I haven’t really brought it up, because I don’t know what’s wrong with me. And I didn’t want to worry anybody with things that we don’t understand yet. We already have enough to deal with the Light Chaser, what happened with Tinarah, and saving the worlds from the darkness thats been spreading around and all.” Aria still didn’t make direct eye contact with either of the boys as she found a laddle and started to serve up the hot chocolate. She made sure to top each cup with a generous peak of cool whip before dusting it lightly with cocoa powder. She trailed off to silence, not sure what else to add on the manner anymore. She handed Torrin and Chrono a cup of hot chocolate instead. “Here... I’m, um, going to serve up the others. Be right back.” With that, she picked up the tray that mug of hot chocolate in them and walked towards the living room. “Hot chocolate is ready!” She called out to everyone. “Come and get it before it gets cold!”
Aria turned down the heat and then added in the rest of the ingredients. She paused a moment when Chrono mentioned nightmares, and she held back an exasperated sigh. Was she really that bad at hiding it? She pressed her lips in a thin line as she stirred in the ingredients, being patient in letting the chocolate melt. This was Tinarah’s older brother though. Maybe she could open up to him easier. They hadn’t talked much at this point, but it was worth a shot. “I... used to have really bad nightmares as long as I could remember. It’d be almost the same one over and over again, but with little twists and spins that would scare me out of my mind as a kid. Everyone kept telling me I’d grow out of it, but... they’re still here. And last night’s nightmare was really... really bad.” She paused a moment and then ducked her head a little lower. “I hadn’t had the best start today. And I don’t want to go to sleep tonight... I don’t want it to happen again.” She debated on whether to tell Chrono that the nightmare had physically manifested itself, but she didn’t want to scare him. Or anyone else for that matter. Yet she felt herself being urged on to speak. “Something different happened last night... or I guess early this morning since that’s when I woke up. And it scared me badly. I don’t want to worry the others though, because I don’t even know what I’m dealing with. I talked to Master Gero, and he didn’t know either... So, I’m a little lost right now. Plus after that meeting, every time’s been a bad time to bring it up anyways.”
Aria jumped a little when she heard a voice behind her and glanced over to see Chrono there. She hadn't really gotten to speak to him much since the beginning of the adventure, only once maybe when she was apologizing for not keeping a better eye on Tinarah. She smiled a little and shook her head. "Nah, I don't mind. I'm hoping this keeps me awake," she mumbled as she poured in the coco powder in the pan and began to whisk it. "But I heard warm milk makes you sleepy... Eh. Chocolate also will perk you up though, so it's a toss-up." She chuckled and continued to whisk until she got all of the lumps out and then added the milk. "Today's been one really, reaaaaaally long day... We deserve a hot chocolate break to finish it off."
"Don't worry," Aria said to Edna. "He broke my door too this morning. He just wanted to make sure everyone was safe." Aria giggled a little and then watched and listened to the exchange between Torrin and Master Thallasa. She noticed that Torrin seemed a little anxious and fidgety, and she looked over to see the crowd of the group all in one spot, and he seemed tired and worn out on top of that. Her eyes softened, and then she sighed out softly. "I have to make it, but you're more than welcomed to sit and watch if you don't mind." With that silent invitation, Aria nodded her head to the others and excused herself from the crowd of people. She found the kitchen which wasn't... too hard to find. After shuffling around the cupboards and whatnot, Aria picked out some coco powder, semi-sweet chocolate chips, sugar, and whole milk. Soon she had a pot with water in it sitting over a burner that was turned on and then waited patiently for it to warm up to a simmer. She stared down at the pot, gently rubbing her forehead to try to ease away the headache and the exhaustion that was overcoming her gradually. There were still people who needed her, but she was wearing thin at the moment. It was a miracle she hadn't collapsed yet, or broke down and cried about what was going on. She was determined not to fall asleep tonight either. Or at least fall asleep very, veeeery late so the nightmares didn't have a chance to come into play.
Village in Peril- Conrad, Everette, Samuel Samuel listened to both of the theories as he pulled out the water samples that Everette corrected. "Something polluting the water, maybe... Perhaps some kind of parasite? I don't know about magic though," he said to Everette as he rubbed his forehead. "I mean... There would have to be some things to considered... Like if they made any enemies recently, a relic somehow was unearthed, or so forth..." He pulled out another little container that was labeled "Test Kit" and opened it to reveal a couple of viles with eyedroppers sitting in clear liquid, each of them clearly labeled and color coded. "Alright, since it seems to be something in the water, this kit will hopefully help us determine if it is something in the there or not. Each vile contains a liquid that will only change colors if there's something to react to; orange is disease, purple is magic, blue is polluted with other foreign substances, and green is poison. If there's none of those in there, none of the colors will react..." Samuel chuckled nervously as he fiddled with his glasses and then laid out four petri-dishes, labeling them with a ripped piece of paper as "Well Water". "I kind of came up with this system after studying some potion books. Alright, I'm going to test for diseases first..." One drop in one dish filled with a little bit of the well water, nothing happened. Samuel took his notebook and quickly jotted down the results. "Pollution..." The same result, nothing. "... Magic." One drop, and the water slightly reacted, forming a swirl of purple before fading out to a light pink. Samuel blinked at it and then looked up at the boys. "Magic then..." Samuel mumbled. He then picked up the last vile and held it over the other petri dish, afraid of what was to come. "Poison..." A drop fell in. And like the magic vile, a hint of green suddenly appeared, only to fade out to a lime-green color. Samuel paled a bit and sat back on the bench a moment. "Possibly Magic... and poison...? Seems like very little of it since the reaction wasn't strong or stayed around, but still..." He quickly set up the petri dishes for the rain water, feeling some anxiety swell within him. After testing for all four substances, nothing showed up in the rain water. Everything was clear. He sighed out in relief and wiped his forehead, looking at the other two. "... I guess the river will be the next best option to look..." He looked up at the sky to see that the sun was going to set soon and pressed his lips in a thin line. "I don't know if we'll make it in time to inspect it thoroughly... unless one of us can see in the dark," he half-joked.
Aria was startled with the suddenly noise coming from the front door, only to see the door falling to the floor and Torrin standing there with his keyblade in his hand. Aria stood there in shock, blinking a moment before Edna suddenly charged forth and started to whack Torrin's shin to death. Take tried to come in and explain things away, which made the situation all the more hilarious. She tried to hold back a laugh, which came out as a snort. She quickly covered her mouth, but her laughs were escaping in raspberry sounds by now, and giggles were eruptingom the girl. She calmed down and cleared her throat, smiling as she raised her hands up towards the small woman. "It's okay, Edna. This is our friend Torrin... And Take. And Adalric. And Boreas." When Take asked if everything was okay, Aria shrugged her shoulders. "Less and... less. I mean, we're all okay. For the most part... Most of us are running low on strength. Mr. Incredible got hypnotized or something by some kind of villain lady called Mozzer... I mean, Mezmerella. He was made to turn against us and beat us pretty bad... And that guy in the armor was here too... But they got away with Mr. Incredible. Which... yeah. That's bad." She rolled her shoulders and then massaged one of them. "Everyone is in the living room... Kinda recovering. I was going to make some hot chocolate, until the door needlessly died..."
The girl stiffened when this morning's incidents were clearly addressed this time. Aria felt a lump form in her throat and her eyes shifted to the side, only to look ahead again over the city, now being covered in shadows of the night. Her fingers instinctively started to play with the charms on Mika's friendship bracelet, and then they tightened around one of the charms as she forced herself to be grounded again. She wasn't going to be caught up in her own panic. She was glad Qamar wasn't going to force her to talk about it, she wasn't even sure herself what was happening to her yet. She wanted to talk to Tinarah or even Take about it first before she opened up to anyone else about it, the people who she bonded with the most lately. The sound of the violin rang out, and Aria looked over to see that Tinarah was in her own little world right now, distraught with something. Well, that was one person she couldn't go to at the moment... And with what Tinarah went through just recently, Aria didn't think it was fair for her to place this on the girl's shoulders either. Not with her current state. Take wasn't back yet, and even then she wondered if he would want to listen to her. He did back on the ship when she was grieving for Mika, but what about this? Would he be even up for it? They had a long day... Aria was lost in thought for a moment and glanced down at her forearms. They were smudged with ash, and a little banged up, but the scratches that were there this morning from that thing had all been erased by Torrin way earlier. She was expecting them to appear again any moment for some reason. She was then brought back to reality when Qamar said she too suffered from nightmares. Aria looked away from her arms and tucked her hands behind her back. "I'm sorry, Qamar... That you have nightmares, too." Aria sighed out a little and kicked at the floor lightly. "I... appreciate your offer with wanting to room with me, but uh, I'm going to be staying up late... Really late... And I don't want to be a bother." She smiled and shrugged her shoulders. "Again, thank you though, but I'm gonna say no so you can have a, uh, good night's sleep." Realizing the blunder of her words, she cringed and stepped away awkwardly from Qamar in long strides. "I, uh, I'm going to find Miss Edna... Ask her about, er, making some hot chocolate." She pointed with both fingers to the hallway and smiled sheepishly before she hurried off and away from the others. Sighing out, she didn't have to go far before she saw the short lady not too far away from her. It seemed she was done with a very important phone call, and Aria cleared her throat. "Um, excuse me, Miss Edna? We cleaned up the living room the best we could. Are we, uh, still staying the night with you? If we are, I was wondering if I could make some hot chocolate? For everyone, and you of course if you want some too."
I just picture someone trying to kick this cat down the stairs, and then the cat just sinks its claws into the assailant's foot and makes its way up the leg... with claws...
