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I managed to get Vulpes into second place. Now it is time to take my leave again, fading back into the shadows. It has been fun.

Aislinn was caught a little off guard when Hikaru answered the question meant for Kaida, that being said she chose not comment on it, not wanting to be the person pointing out that she wasn't talking to him. Aislinn simply gave him a nod and turned her attention back to Kaida. "Good, glad to hear it." She said softly as they continued on their journey.

Soon Nala seemed to small food and soon they saw it. Aislinn took a step back while Nala prepared for her hunt. Not everyone was okay with it though it seemed. Hikaru seemed mortified though Aux shrugged it off. "It is the circle of like, after all we did come with her to help her find food." Aislinn tried to point out the logic in that.

Soon however another smaller animal showed up, and hopped onto Kaida's back soon after Kaida had gotten off of her back. "Okay this is getting too much, we are going to draw too much attention at this rate." Half of them might have been predators, but the other half, like her were prey, they needed to be at least a little careful. ​

Lay low, stay hidden, with a group of people who blamed her for the incident with Krista, claiming her own past was going to bring them down? That was not an idea that Kiara was too fond of. She would rather get out and prove herself worth while, than sit around. She would rather not let her mind keep going down the path it was going while left in silence to think. "What you mean to say is before someone else from my past pops up again, right?" She couldn't actually remember if Lea knew anything about that, but Arctus sure did and his accusations on the subject had really gotten to her.

Before the conversation could continue any further there was pounding on the door. Kiara turned around, planting her feet in a fighting position in the process. She brought her hand down to her side, flicking her wrist on instinct. When the warm handle of her keyblade failed to come to her, she realized what she had done and reached for the whip coiled at her waist instead. As the door burst open she let the whip uncoil as she prepared for a fight, her eyes set on the man who walked through the door. However, Lea didn't move like she expected. He two was ready with weapons in hand however as the man walked through the door he greeted him with familiarity.

Flames flickered in her palm as she tried to shake them off. What sort of sick joke was this? Part of Kiara wanted to yell at the man for scaring them half to death, warn him next time she might act without thought and murder him, however just looking at this man... It had been a long time since someone made her feel small, and Kiara didn't like that one bit. It was an effort of will to stand and face the man without backing up at least some as he entered the room. Even as Lea tried to introduce them, the man had to step in and take over.

Well this man certainly didn't know how to shut up, but more he spoke the less frightening he seemed. His sheer size still called for some intimidation, however the names he gave Lea, well someone with that sense of humour couldn't be that scary. "Jalapeno Headed Firestarter. I like that." Kiara mumbled, however making sure it was loud enough for Lea to hear. Now that Fin's introduction was done, in theory it was there turn, however that was for someone friendly, someone Kiara was not. She didn't even know what to say after all that. It would have been easier if Fin let the old man finish his introductions, but that wasn't going to happen.

Looking to the ruined doorway Kiara ignored the formalities and just looked to Lea. "No hiding out in here now, your friend here just wrecked the door." She said with a tone of satisfaction. ​

Episode Tinarah: Part 5
A New Start?

"This should be it." Master Fost spoke as he folded his arms, staring up at the castle ahead.

"Yes, it is. Can I help you?" A warm and soft voice belonging to a man spoke from behind the two.

Fost jumped and spun around looking ready for a fight but he relaxed when he saw who it was. Before them stood a man looking to be roughly the same age as Fost, his features softer than Fost's but his white hair long and flowing. "Don't do that." Fost growled lowly.

"I thought you of all people would have known I'd have done that." The man mused. "Welcome to my castle, both of you. I am Master Stamatis at your service. What can I do for you?"

Fost's eyes stayed narrowed at the other master but he breathed out and finally spoke in response. "This young girl, Tinarah, might be displaced from her time period."

The instant the word "time" was spoken Stamatis looked at the girl with intrigue and knelt in front of her to get a closer look though kept some distance from her as to not make her too uncomfortable. He held out his hands, palms towards Tinarah, and closed his eyes without saying a word. Fost folded his arms and went quiet save for the tapping of his foot against the ground as he waited for whatever examination Stamatis was doing to be over. A minute passed. And then another.

"Ah yes...your suspicion is correct." Stamatis smiled.

"So what? Can you send her back?"

"Nope." He stated simply.

"Nope? What kind of answer is that?" Fost was clearly annoyed.

"I can't send her back. But she can send her back." Stamatis's voice remained calm and clear as if he was talking about something as trivial as sweeping or cutting grass.

Fost blinked in disbelief. "...What?"

"I meant exactly what I said. I cannot fling her into the future to a destination where I am not. But I can train her to take herself back." He spoke with optimism.

Fost grunted. "That'll be a problem. She can't use her keyblade."

Stamatis frowned. "I see...well then, back to the basics it is."

Tinarah jumped equally as much as Fost, if not more. She was on edge enough as it was given the entire situation, people sneaking up on her did not help in the slightest. At least turning around, the man looked nice enough, his features were softer than most the adults that she had met recently, so that was nice. The man seemed to be helpful too, welcoming them and asking what he could do for them, even as Fost was clearly a little put off by the surprise. And once more Fost took lead in talking to her, so Tinarah could stay back and quiet and not make a bigger fool of herself than she already had been.

The conversation was rather short before the man examined her then knelt in front of her. Tinarah was a little unsure of what to do with it. He held his hands out to her and went rather still. It felt like a life time of awkward silence and stillness while she waited for him to do something again, at least open his eyes, or speak. Finally he did however and told Fost that he was right, she was not from this time period. Tinarah didn't even know how that was possible, being sent to a time period that she didn't belong, but here she was, and seeing young Choma, she had a hard time arguing otherwise.

The problem with the situation turned out to be, this new master, he didn't have the ability to send her back. Tinarah looked at him rather disappointed. He offered to train her, but she didn't have a keyblade, and she had never thought herself a particularly good student. Fost brought up the keyblade point for her, but the man still seemed willing to train her. "A-are you sure it isn't too much trouble. I didn't.... I don't want to burden anyone anymore than I do." Though her head was still tilted down, she looked up at Stamatis through her long eyelashes. She honestly felt awful about how much everyone had to do to help her, and part of her was disappointed that it wasn't Fost offering to train her. He had helped her so far, brought her to such a beautiful world and just as she was starting to trust him, she was passed off again. She knew they were all only trying to help, but it hurt, just another small pain to add to the aching of her heart that had only grown since she tried to return to her brother from the sleeping world of Eventide.

Master Stamatis looked around as if searching for someone but there was no one around save the three of them standing there in front of the castle. "I don't see any students other than yourself. Do you?" Fost rolled his eyes and huffed clearly not amused with the other master's general attitude. "Don't mind him. He's always been like this and you, luckily, will not have to deal with him for much longer."

"Better than putting up with you." Fost muttered lowly.

"In any case, of course. I have no trouble teaching you, Tinarah. I would not have become a teacher if it was not for me. Though, considering your circumstance, I must warn you that it will take time before I can even begin teaching you the ways of, well, time." He smiled confidently. "Once you regain the use of your keyblade everything from there will fall into place." Stamatis glanced over at Fost and nodded at the man. "Thank you for bringing her to me. I can take it from here."

"You sure?" Fost looked from Stamatis towards Tinarah and, though they had only spent a very short time together, the concern he held for her was clear in his voice.

"Of course."

Fost grumbled and folded his arms then unfolded them looking uncomfortable. "I'm not...good at this."

Sensing that it was better to give the two some space, Stamatis stood back up and stepped away from the two until he was out of earshot. Fost coughed and shifted in the spot where he was standing as he tried to form the right words to say in this situation. Finally, after a long moment, he composed himself and began to speak with a lighter tone than he normally did. "Look kid, I hope you make it back in one piece. Just take care of yourself, okay? It looks like you've got a long road ahead of yourself so don't give up hope just because you won't be getting back home as soon as you expected. Just know that whoever's out there waiting for you hasn't forgotten about you and hold onto that."

The man seemed nice, making a point to show that he didn't mind teaching her, looking around for other students that weren't there and shrugging. It made Tinarah feel a little better. She giggled a little bit at the banter between the two masters. She didn't think they disliked each other completely. While they might have been going back and forth a bit but she hoped that it was because they were comfortable with each other, no hostility meant.

The attention was turned back to her once more as he confirmed that he would teach her. Tinarah nodded her thanks to him. But then he mentioned it might take a while, and while that should have been obvious, it was slightly worrisome. She didn't know who might be worried about her and waiting, certainly not her brother however. Perhaps Master Choma would notice her gone and be worried about her, or maybe Mika. She had run away from home over a month ago so any worry her father would have wasn't going to be over this. Perhaps no one would worry over her, maybe it didn't matter how long it took her to get back, either way though she would get back to her time.

Master Stamatis dismissed Fost after that, but the other master seemed a little hesitant to go quite yet. Stamatis took a step back so that they had room to talk and Tinarah stood there quietly waiting. She didn't know what to say anymore than he did. When he finally did speak Tinarah shifted awkwardly. "I will.... Though I don't think anyone is waiting for me." She said quietly before looking away. "I ran away from my dad, and... and my brother tried to kill me. My mom was murdered five years ago. I still want to get home, but no one is waiting." She stated to him, her voice quiet and a bit shaky as she looked up again to meet his eyes for a moment. "Thank you, for everything. Please, both you and Master Stamatis said I would be here a while, so come visit." She encourage, actually wanting him to come visit on occasion so maybe she wouldn't feel so alone.

"I'm sorry for what happened with your family. Sometimes things don't pan out the way we wanted them to but that can make us stronger." Fost looked over towards Stamatis and called out to him. "She's all yours now." He turned to make his exit and paused, turning his head to look over his shoulder. "I can't visit often, but I will visit."

"And bring some food when you do." Stamatis jumped in. "Even I get tired of growing my own food."

"Sure. Why not?" Fost waved at the two and in an instant he was gone in a flash of light.

Now that Fost was gone the remaining master turned towards the girl and clapped his hands together. "So then, shall we get started?"

Six days pass...

​

Tinarah couldn't tell what Fost was thinking after she told him what had happened with her family. He almost seemed to be avoiding it, giving vague apologies and advice before turning to Stamatis and passing her off. He did however stop before leaving turning to her and promising that he would visit. She had wished he would promise to visit often, but at least he would visit some, it was better than nothing. While she hadn't known Fost for long she still had to hold back tears as he watched him leave, especially after Stamatis approached touching her shoulder and advised they got started. She nodded before turning and following him towards the castle.

The next few days were filled with mostly chores. It wasn't her favourite thing to do, it wasn't necessary half the time, and Tinarah certainly didn't see the point in it, but she was too shy to ask about the purpose of it. Tinarah kept quiet and to her self as much as she could during those days. At least she was familiar with most of the chores that she was doing. She had done plenty of these kinds of chores for her dad after her mothers death. She liked trying to help when it was needed, but this didn't seem needed.

Stamatis also had her doing physical activities, including walking to a well to fetch water. Stamatis had only gone with her once, the first time, since then he insisted that she go on her own. Tinarah often tried to object to it, tried to ask him to join her again, but she always lost that battle. She always had to go, and she always had to do it by herself. Tinarah was jumpy every time that she had to go, and she had yet to get over it. At least she could walk with her back straight now, not hunched and shaking like she had the first time she went by herself. Still even on this trip, six days after coming here, she was looking over her shoulder, scanning the surrounding area for danger as she walked.

On the castle grounds there sat Master Stamatis, his legs crossed and his eyes closed. His keyblade was laid flat across his lap. The day had been calm, the sky was overcast and the air was growing thick with the humidity of the coming rain. In the distance the rumble of thunder echoed through the skies. He tilted his head when he heard the now-familiar sound of footsteps coming from the trail heading back towards the castle. Without opening his eyes or even turning his head he called out towards Tinarah.

"Come. Put those buckets down and sit with me." He spoke softly. The air was fresh and the grass was soft and now was as good as time as any for Tinarah to take a breather and let everything else fade away. Training was good for the body but mediation was good for the mind and soul.

Tinarah was surprised as she neared the castle to have Master Stamatis call out for her to join him. Quietly she set the buckets down, moving them off to the side and out of the way before making her way over to the man. Sitting cross legged on the grass she took a moment to stretch her arms out. Tinarah wouldn't have said she was put of shape but she wasn't quite strong enough to carry the two buckets of water without problem.

Sitting there Tinarah gave Stamatis a glance waiting to hear what he had to say. Over the past days she had fell into silence for the most part, only speaking when she needed to. This wasn't uncommon for Tinarah, at home there was times that the sound of her violin was the only sound she made. This silence was different though because she didn't have her violin for company and that was killing her inside a little.

"Close your eyes, Tinarah. Inhale with your nose, exhale with your mouth. Continue to do so slowly and clear your mind. Do not fall asleep but simply take in what is around you with your other senses." Stamatis's tone was warm and soft. Once more thunder rumbled in the far distance. The man breathed out slowly. "Can you hear it?" The wind picked up ever so slightly creating the gentle sound of tree leaves swaying in the breeze. Birds chirped and flapped their wings as they fled to their homes upon sensing the coming rain.

"Just let go. Reality will still be here when you are ready." He inhaled deeply. Somewhere beyond the trees crickets chirped. He exhaled. "Let go."

Sitting down, Stamatis started instructing Tinarah to do something she knew as meditating. And while Tinarah had heard of it before, she had to admit she was not very good at it. While silence and sitting still were too things that she was quite comfortable doing, clearing her mind was a whole different ball park. The closest she usually got was distracting herself with her violin, playing music. When she really tried she couldn't think of anything but what she was doing with her fingers and her bow, that being said she still wasn't in a place of silent meditation, not in the way that Stamatis seemed to want.

As the thunder rumbled in the distance Tinara tensed for a moment before forcing herself to relax a bit while she focused on her breathing. She tried to listen to what was around her, but instead she found her mind flooding with music, songs she could play and songs she wished she was good enough to play alike. Slowly in the silence she found herself moving her fingers into the shape of various chords as her other hand slowly ran an invisible bow across invisible strings to match the tempo of the sounds around her. The sound of the crickets, or the beating of birds wings, all depending on what had a discernible pattern that she could pick up on at that time. She kept her eyes close while she let her mind drift to the silent music that she was creating. Perhaps it wasn't the meditation that Stamatis wanted, but it was the form of meditation that Tinarah took.

Stamatis went silent but opened a single eye to peek over at the young girl to ensure that she was doing well in her attempt to meditate. He wasn't a mind reader and could only make a judgment over how effective her meditation was once enough time passed but for now, this was good enough. He closed his eye and breathed in slowly as he resumed his own meditation. And then the rain came.

Thirty days pass...
​

The final Grimm was down and it was a bit of a relief. She knew that she was as guilty as anyone, but her team didn't seem very good at communicating or working together as it seemed. Auburn herself was too shy to speak with anyone about anything. She barely managed basic introductions to her team, going further than that was asking a lot of the girl so it seemed. Scanning the area one last time to make sure that none were missed, Auburn turned her attention to getting back to the others.

Waiting a moment for someone else to start walking first, Auburn soon found herself following towards the others where they were greeted by Glynda. Auburn turned her attention fully towards Glynda as she asked if everyone was alright. Auburn offered a nod as she glanced at the others, not thinking to watch her back as they had already dealt with the threat. It was a mistake that she was not willing to make again. A Grimm jumped over them and looked her dead in the eye. Auburn was reaching for her weapons when suddenly she was in it's grip and it was running. Unable to get her weapon again she was stuck at the mercy of the Ursa. At least the professionals were here, they would save her at any minute. Her father trusted Qrow, she needed to as well.

Auburn was still trying to struggle out of the Ursa's grip when she heard a gun shot, but not from the direction that Qrow was running. Instead someone else was shooting at it. Auburn tried to make herself small, terrified that the mysterious shooter would accidentally hit her. Suddenly in a blur of movement and then she was falling, but only for a moment before someone caught her. It was all a blur for those first few moments. However then she was on the ground and looking at the girl who saved who, who was staring down Qrow. Auburn shifted uncomfortably, eyes to the ground as she thought about all that was going on. She was so stupid. She should have been paying attention. It was the one thing she was good at, fighting, and she messed up that too. Everyone was staring at her now and Auburn hated it.

After an awkward silence Qrow started to talk with the woman and things felt more tense. She seemed almost hostile and Auburn reached for her weapons, drawing them slowly, silently, in case things went bad. She was closest to the woman after all, and while it was clear her skills were greater than Auburns own, it would still give others more of a chance to react. As they spoke though, it seemed as if Qrow was expecting the woman in the end. Auburn was still confused who she was or what she had to do with anything, but loosened her grip on her weapons and quickly glanced between the two before taking a step back and out of everyone's way. Trying to fade into the background and forget her mistake.

​

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»Of course he had to make a mistake and miss one. Anything to make him look back. There was a slight anger but it was more at himself but he still didn't like being shown up. "Yeah yeah, I got it. I knew it was there, it was fine." Arian tried to cover for himself, but it was a piss poor attempt given how proud he was just moments before. He tried to shrug it off though not wanting to face the embarrassment. "Come on, we should join the others so we can keep going." Arian encouraged heading back and taking up a place next to the rather pretty but shy girl from the other team.

»As the groups joined together one more grimm popped out of nowhere. Apparently Glynda and Qrow didn't do their job properly, they must have missed one on their side. Arian was too busy mentally blaming them to stop the Ursa before it grabbed him and the girl who was standing beside him. Arian for once was speechless, maybe because he was too busy panicking in his own mind to form words. Unable to reach for his bow due to his arms being pinned, Arian was really left with few options of what to do now. He could scream and curse at the thing, but that would look uncool. Arian's ears bent down as he worried though his tail whipped around trying to hit the Ursa, though it couldn't do much damage. Thankfully help soon arrived in the form of a very attractive woman. She managed to defeat the Ursa, but he fell flat on his face.

»Swiftly getting to his feet he brushed himself off before smiling. "Nailed it!" Arian claimed as he looked over at the woman and winked at her. He opened her mouth to say something else but shut it as she addressed Qrow. Well this was going to be something wasn't it. Arian didn't know how to deal with the situation, so instead he stood there looking pretty, since that was what he did best.​

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Happy Birthday Marushi. Hope you have a great day and don't share the cake with a snowman. ​

Listening to her friend Dayla hesitated, scanning the bar for a moment. "I can't just leave unattended.... but I won't let Teliana get herself in trouble. After the bar is closed for the night I will go. Until then, unless you planned to stay here and watch the bar, then there is only so much I can do." Dayla knew better than to expect Alyse to sit around pretending to be civil when her sister would be in trouble. "But first this is going to be a long night here. Keep your eye out just in case." Dayla whispering watching as a new guy tried to flag a wall for a drink.

There was a long sigh before she turned back to Alyse. "Tell Teli to meet me behind the bar after closing. I have some work to deal with." She sighed before turning to the man who looked like he was about to pass out at the bar despite just arriving. "Coming right up." She said cheerfully as she turned around to get the man a mug of ale. However seeing his state already Dayla decided to try something. Slipping an herb into the Ale that was good for relaxing someone, helping them fall asleep, something she herself often took. Hopefully he would pass out before he hurt himself or others. ​

Due to lack of sign ups we will not be doing the Christmas Special. We will be resuming Chorus in January with a regular chorus. If you would like to suggest songs for that you may go here and submit your suggestions. Merry Christmas and See you all in the New Year.

So the reason that Kaida was being the most hostile towards Aux was because she was once best friends with him. Aislinn took the words to heart as she listened to everything that Kaida had to say about the subject. "You are blocking him out scared to be hurt, but we don't know what comes after the exam. What if he stays the same? What if something changed and your friend really is back? Would you still be okay with shutting him out and possibly hurting him? I won't tell you what to do, but consider both best and worst case scenario for this exam. What happens if he remains like this, what happens if he doesn't. I am not saying you have to be best friends again, but consider not totally blocking him out." Aislinn suggested softly looking at Aux who seemed to actually be trying to interact with her partners. Kaida flew up to her back and Aislinn smiled to herself. It was nice that the girl was starting to trust her enough to do such things. "No matter what you decide, I am here for you." She assured Kaida.

As they walked forward she caught Nala say something about the area they were in. The place her best friend and their last king had died. Aislinn looked down a little sad. "I am sorry to hear that, I know it is hard. I don't think you will ever stop missing him. But as long as you honour their memory." Aislinn knew it sounded sappy, but it was a truth she had learned for herself. "Lets go find you some food." She said softly to Nala before looking to Hikaru then back at Kaida on her back. "So you okay?" She asked again to double check. ​

I'm in

Episode Tinarah: Part 4
It Can't Be
​

The man spoke and Tinarahs heart shattered. Here she thought she had hope of things being right again. "No he was a keyblade master and he took me and two other students to meet another Master Atmos. We were helping them. Can you at least take me to her?" Tinarah sounded frantic, nothing had been going right and she was getting very scared of the situation. She didn't understand it at all.

The man shook his head once more. "There isn't a master by that name either. There's one by the name of Aster but she hasn't taken in any students of her own in a while. There's no student by the name Atmos either." He unfolded his arms and softened his tone seeing that this wasn't helping the girl and was only making her feel worse about her situation. "If you would like, I could accompany you to visit the one named Choma. That's the only name that's familiar to me so that might clear some things up."

There was no Atmos either. Tinarah sat there for a minute, slightly shocked. She didn't know what to say to the man now. He offered to take her to meet the wielder named Choma, but Tinarah knee it wasn't him. She knew she wasn't mistaken about that. Still Tinarah nodded. It was the only idea they had and she was getting desperate. "Okay..." She said quietly. At least he wasn't looking at her like she was spouting nonsense.


"Alright well...here we go." Fost placed his hand on Tinarah's shoulder gently and created a portal around the two of them immediately transporting them to another world. When the light faded they were standing at the steps of a large castle similar to the one Tinarah had once trained at. "Would you rather wait here for me to have Choma sent to you or come with me?"

Tinarah tensed at first at this man's touch. She wasn't find if people touching her. In fact it made her highly uncomfortable. However soon a portal forned around them and Tinarah found herself moved from the beautiful rolling hills to in front of a castle. Perhaps it wasn't so special training at a castle of you were going to wield a keyblade.

Tinarah carefully considered her two options. The first was to wait out there. While it gave Fost a moment to explain in case it wasn't Choma, it also meant being alone. Just the thought of it made her heart squeeze tighter. "I will come." She told him, feeling better having someone she deemed safe around, compared to sitting around waiting by herself.

"Alright. The master of the castle is more than a little strict. More than me to say the least. Not...that you'd know how strict I am. All I'm saying, kid, is to not take anything too personally if he's around." He cleared his throat and pushed through the large double doors to the entrance of the castle. His heavy footsteps echoed through the empty halls when he entered. He looked around and raised an eyebrow, finding it strange to have not heard anyone approach the moment they came inside. Perhaps the master was teaching a lesson.

He walked forward intending to search the chambers when he heard another set of footsteps come closer followed by the sound of a door from the side of the hall closing.
"Who are you guys looking for?" Came a gruff male's voice. His keyblade was out though not pointed at them and instead hung over his shoulder.

"We're looking for a wielder named Choma, have you seen him? This girl, Tinarah, claims he is her master but I assured her that this could not be the case. Do you know where he is?"

​

"You're looking at him. Honestly, I've never seen her before. Musta got the wrong name."

Tinarah stuck close to Fost if this master here was as strict as Fost made it seem, Tinarah didn't want to risk doing anything wrong. The halls were silent when. They entered, but soon there was another set of footsteps, and then a young man asking who they were looking for. Tinarah shrunk back as Fost spoke, letting him take lead. However as she listened and the man claimed to be Choma she took a good look at him. Younger but possibly..... No this wasn't possible. Tinarah took another step back, then another. "This is impossible." Her hands shook violently and she looked as though she had seen a ghost. Her face had gone pale as she just stared unable to properly speak.

"What's impossible? I don't get it. What's going on here?" Choma blinked, unsure of what to make of the situation before him. He tilted his head and looked curiously at Tinarah.

"A misunderstanding I'm sure. Thank you for your time, Choma."

"Wait, who are you anyway?"

"I am Master Fost." He looked back over at Tinarah who looked as if she had seen a...well, it was obvious by her expression. Without any other leads and the trail at a dead end he had no choice but to start at square one. Fost whispered towards the frightened girl, "It'll be okay. I won't be abandoning you just because we couldn't find who you were looking for." He assured her.

Clearly everyone else was just as confused as she was, but not for the same reason. The two males in the room looked confused at how she seemed to be freaking out, but they didn't understand what was happening. Fost at least attempted to calm her down, but what he was saying weren't the right words. "This isn't right." She whispered as she stared at Choma. "It is him, but he is too young....No that isn't possible though, maybe he just looks like him." The young girl tried to process it all in her head to no avail.

"What do you mean?" Fost questioned though Choma, standing behind Fost, continued to stare at Tinarah like a curious item. "Why do you make it sound like you've seen him before?" He paused, feeling that questioning her would make matters worse. "Let's leave, okay?"

Both their eyes on her was making Tinarah uncomfortable, and though Fost suggested they leave she tried to defend herself first. Defend what she was saying, try and not sound completely crazy. She looked back to Choma then to Fost. "I-I think that is him... my master. But he isn't. My master was older. Master Choma was a full keyblade master, he had a scar across his nose, but he looked like him... Like you. But that is impossible. There is no way that you have the same name and look so similar but are different people. But it is also not possible for you to grow younger. I don't understand what is happening to me. First I survive a fall that should have killed me, then I can't summon my keyblade, now this. I don't understand. I don't understand at all." Tinarah ranted as tears started to stream down her face once more. She wasn't making anything better for herself, even though at first she thought she was going to try. She still sounded crazy, perhaps more so than before. She tried to make herself as small as possible, hide from them even though she was standing in front of them. She knew she was sounding like a lunatic and probably sounded stupid but it was all the truth and she didn't know how to make them understand it.

Fost looked at Choma giving him a quizzical stare and received a nonchalant shrug in response followed by a grunt. He scratched his chin decided to take what this girl said to heart. If she was not crazy then something must have happened to her. "There is...one thing that might have happened to you but I do not possess the skill to be sure of it myself. There is a master who I would like you to see. He would have the answers you seek. Master Stamatis. He is our expert on temporal mech-" He cleared his throat and chose words that the young girl would better understand. "Time magic."

"What? Are you saying she's from another point in time?"

"Possibly but only Master Stamatis can tell and, if she is, only he can help her return."

Tinarah was nervous when Fost started talking again, she thought he might think her too much or too crazy and just leave her for someone else to deal with. It wouldn't surprise her after all, everyone seemed to leave her. She couldn't stand it, it didn't matter that she barely knew him, barely knew A, they were nice to her and she didn't like the thought of being alone. However Fost did not say any such things, instead continued to try and help her. Bring her to another master that might be able to help. Tinarah listened quietly trying to dry the tears from her eyes. If she was going to meet someone else, she didn't want to do it looking like a mess. She was a mess, in all aspects of the word but she would rather at least attempt to look composed.

As she did this Choma clarified things a little more and Tinarah looked at them quizzically for a moment. Could it really be true that she was in the past? Perhaps, and if that was true then she really needed their help to get back... unless she could get back to her home. Maybe she could stop her mom from dying. "If... if that is true, if it turns out I am from the future, could you possibly help me with something?" Tinarah asked Fost quietly. It seemed like a stupid thing to request from a keyblade master, ask him to help her change the past, but she wanted it more than anything, for her mom to be alive, and for them to be one big happy family again.

"That's for Master Stamatis to say. I'm no expert on the whole time...business." He looked over at Choma and waved at the young man. "Thank you for your time. Give your master my regards."

"Yeah. Sure thing. Good luck. I hope you find what you're looking for." Choma spoke towards Tinarah, offering her a wave and a slight smile as Master Fost extended his hand and opened yet another portal.

"Let's go." Without waiting for Tinarah he stepped through first and into another world. There was yet another castle and it appeared to be similar in design to the last one. The difference was more in the location of its placement. While the castle Choma was training at was situated on a mountain this one looked to be in a valley surrounded by a thick forest and encircled by a mountain range. There didn't seem to be any paths that led from the castle as if someone had just plopped it down in the middle of a forest clearing with no civilization to be seen in any direction.

Tinarah knew what the answer would be. She had read enough books to know that you weren't supposed to mess with time, but she wanted to try anyways. Perhaps she would ask this other master.

As they got ready to go Choma offered some nice words and Tinarah did her best to offer a smile back trying to be polite, though through her tear stained face it didn't look as nice as she would have liked even still she at least tried. She then followed Master Fost through another portal to another castle. This time she stayed silent just ready to follow.

My goal is complete. Vulpes was dragged out of last place for at least one week. Can we beat Anguis? Find out next time on Unchained-X

People were around talking a bit but Kiara stayed in the background. Moping seemed to be her specialty after all. It was something that wasn't good for her trying to be a leader, but Kiara never asked for that spot in the first place. She wasn't a leader, she didn't know how to lead. She had wanted freedom but when she got it she started to just go along with whatever was happening. Kiara looked down at the Key chains in her hands. Her eyes rested on a small dragon shape pendant key chain. A small smile hit Kiara's lips as she remembered Glen smacking a mouse out of a cave with his keyblade, and the wrath of the bird on their group. She then flipped over to the next key chain. It was a small gem shaped one. She studied that remember how odd her entry into the group was. She had tried so hard to fit in only to be attacked by another member of their team. For a very long time Kiara was convinced that the girl knew something about her and was attacking for that reason. To this day it wasn't clear why Luna had attacked her, but since then they had gotten along better. They still never spoken that much to each other, but there was no hostility towards the other girl, no more than normal at least. They hadn't been in many worlds together either however.

Flipping over to the next key chain, it was in the shape of a rose. That world was insane. Eon was around at that point, trying to flirt with her despite the difference in age. Then there was Kross, though he barely seemed present half the time. They had also met someone who she never heard the end of. A rather handsome man by the name of Vincent.... the same one that gave his life for a loosing battle in her home world. All his sacrifice is here she was without her keyblade still and stuck moping in a corner yet again. Tucking away her key chains, she stood up.

"Old man! What are we doing now? Give me something to do I can't sit around anymore." She called out knowing thinking back like this was only going to make things worse. She needed something to do, something to think about other than the death of Vincent and the fact she couldn't fight. Kiara held out her hand, as to test out if she could summon it yet, even though she knew she couldn't. She tried once before giving up hope and pacing. ​

Glancing back Aislinn noticed that AJ decided to walk with them. Aislinn didn't mind but she had tried to steer her and Kaida a little away from the group so that they could talk without worry of who might hear, that wasn't going to happen though. She guessed she probably wouldn't say anything to her that she wouldn't say around anyone else. Aislinn knew that she still wasn't the most trusted around so she just had to do her best with whatever other people were willing to offer in terms of information to keep up with everything that was happening around her.

What Kaida was willing to offer was not too helpful, but it wasn't because the girl wasn't trying. From what Aislinn understood of it, the situation itself seemed a little hard to grasp. Aislinn thought about it for a moment as Kaida tried to explain. "So if you knew what happened during the time he left, then you might understand better what is going on. But right now last you knew of him he threw you into the realm of darkness, so he betrayed you guys I suppose if I understand correctly." Aislinn put her own thoughts to words just to make sure she didn't get anything wrong. "And what happened during that time away would be hard to know given his memory problems I suppose. So the real question is, will he get the memories back after the test? And what exactly he remembers right now. I am a bit concerned that he doesn't even know what he is a part of right now. I could be dangerous, testing for the Mark of Mastery but not knowing that is what you are doing. Or maybe I am just over thinking it. I just really want things to run smoothly." Aislinn admitted glancing back at Aux worried about the boy but not sure what to do about it. ​

Episode Tinarah: Part 3
Change in Tides

Tinarah watched the boy go and then come back as he heard voices outside. As the voices grew louder Tinarah started to grow curious. She put down her bowl and got up from the bed as A got to the window and noticed it was getting darker. "Isn't it still morning?" She asked quietly. Perhaps she misunderstood him earlier, but he himself thought it was strange how dark it was getting. The world shifted beneath their feet again and Tinarah had to brace herself on the wall to keep her balance. As the voices got closer, the screams, Tinarah joined A at the window. "No... Not again." She rasped as she quickly and repeatedly tried to summon her keyblade. "We have to run. I am sure Master Choma and Chrono and the others will be here soon to stop them, They are stronger than I am. They can use their keyblades. Come on!" Tinarah grabbed at A's wrist to drag him out of the room and the house. She was terrified, not of the creatures but at the fact that there was no where to go and her own weakness could mean more people hurt and lost. There was a little fear towards the heartless, but she wasn't facing them right now, she just wanted to get them both out of this alive.

A followed after Tinarah and could hear his parents calling for him as they ran downstairs. His parents were already outside and they made no comment at Tinarah's sudden appearance. Her words of other people who could use this "keyblade" passed through one ear and out the next as he watched as his neighbor's house collapsed. It did not look like they ever escaped.

The monsters started coming out of the ground. His father placed himself between them and the beasts to protect them as the small dark creatures jumped on him. His mother screamed but took pushed Tinarah and A to run forward. "Dad no!" His mother took his free hand and pulled him along. It was all happening so fast. He couldn't get his bearings. None of this made sense. Why was this happening? This had to be a nightmare. It had to be. The ground shook violently. His mother lost her balance and fell, his hand slipping from her grasp. In seconds she too was overwhelmed by the creatures as he and Tinarah ran forth. "No!" A tugged on Tinarah's hand wishing for her to stop and turn around.

Running outside the heartless count was already so many. She observed the area tears stinging her eyes as she already knew the fate of this world. She had seen it once already, she had seen a world get destroyed by the heartless and that time she was actually fighting. This time she was just running as someone else bought them time, a complete stranger to her gave his life so her and his family could run. She wasn't going to let it go to waste. Tinarah ran still holding A's hand while his mother held his other one, urging them along. They didn't make it far before she too fell. The heartless overwhelmed her so fast and A stopped. Tinarah gave his hand a tug but knew that he probably wouldn't go easily. Tinarah paused for a moment panic in her eyes as she looked back at the heartless.

"Come on we have to live, you have to live for your parents sake. Please, run. Run with me... I can't...." She couldn't bring herself to say it, but she knew, she couldn't keep running alone. She couldn't be alone, not again. She had started to see a possible friendship with A and she didn't want that pulled away from her. Perhaps it was selfish, but she couldn't help it as tears streamed down her face. She knew he was scared, so was she but they couldn't just stop. If she had the ability she would protect them. However again she tried and again she failed to summon her keyblade. "Chro-Choma please help me!" She cried out into the darkness. She wanted to call for her brother who had always been her support, but he had abandoned her, not she felt she couldn't call for him. So she called for the only other person she could think of, even though, he too, left her. At least he left her to find more help.

"B-but..." He wiped his face with his sleeve, his eyes already red from the tears streaming down his face. He nodded and ran with her but soon the ground beneath them grew unsteady and began to crack. The path ahead of them was beginning to grow distant as a chasm formed. In moments it would be too far to jump across. There was a figure on the other side fighting the beasts with a sword of some kind. It looked...like a key? Was that what Tinarah had been going on about?

The man was not Choma nor Chrono. In fact, he was a total stranger to Tinarah. He swung his weapon deftly as he made short work of the beasts but even with his skill they were still coming faster than he could destroy them. A looked at Tinarah and then forward at the man on the other side. The ground was beginning to crumble each passing second and now on the other side the only ledge large enough for someone to grab onto was too narrow for more one person to hold onto or land on. They would have to jump one at a time. A looked at Tinarah. "You need to jump." He spoke with some confidence in him. "You can make it. W-will you catch me when I reach the other side? I-I don't think I'll be able to jump the full distance."

Good A had chosen to come with her. He decided quick enough that they could keep running, which Tinarah was quite thankful for. She didn't want to leave him and knew that if he died too she probably wouldn't have made it much further. As they ran the ground began to shake and crack beneath their feet. They were never going to make it out of there were they? However as all hope was feeling lost, Tinarah caught a glimpse of someone in the distance, then she saw their weapon. While she didn't recognize the man, she recognized it as hope.

Looking at the chasm that lay before them, Tinarah looked to A then back to the stranger who was beating back the monster with some sort of ease at least. She looked back at A who was encouraging her to jump. While Tinarah didn't have the same confidence as he did, she looked around at her options. Surely they would die if they stayed there, if they managed to get to the other side the man, the keyblade wielder, he could help them.

There was a moment of hesitation, then a nod. Tinarah took a deep breath as she took a run for it. As she hit the edge and launched herself, she closed her eyes tight until she could feel solid ground beneath her feet. There wasn't much room to stand but Tinarah managed for the time being. She braced herself, as she looked to A, trying to make enough room for him while getting ready to catch him. "Come now. I will catch you." She didn't know if she could, she wasn't that strong, but she had to try. She wouldn't let this kid die because she was so weak and pathetic.

The ground began to crumble more on A's side of the chasm. He backed away and looked down and laughed morbidly to himself. "I-I...I can't..." He looked up towards Tinarah. "Please. Don't blame yourself." He stepped farther back. "I-It was nice knowing you, Tinarah. Save yourself!" A started to lose his balance as another violent tremor shook the world. The ledge Tinarah was standing on was beginning to destabilize and soon it would collapse with her on it if she didn't move away.

One moment A was standing there on the other side of the chasm and the next...he wasn't. The ground beneath the boy collapsed and he was gone.

"No!" The man's voice called out from behind Tinarah as he ran over. Now there was only one left to save. He looked to be in his late 30's with parts of his hair already graying. "Come with me." He spoke urgently, his keyblade dissipating before the girl could catch a glimpse of it and summoning a portal of light. "This world is lost. Flee while you still have a chance."

A took a step back but not to get ready to jump. He gave up already. "No! Please you have to try!" Tinarah shouted at him, desperate. However the world shook again and it took all of Tinarahs might to stay standing. When she looked back at A he was gone.

For a moment she didn't register that the place she was standing was no longer safe, she just saw another failure and another person who left her behind. Tinarah's chest squeezed tight as a man yelled from behind her. She turned to look at the man and his keyblade, but he had dismissed it before she caught a good look. Instead he summoned another portal, telling her to run. She looked back at the collapsing world, then to him. "Please don't make me go alone." She begged the stranger, her face red and tear stained as she entered the portal hoping that he would come with her. Perhaps he would be able to get her back to Choma.

The man, seeing Tinarah's distress the man took her by her hand and pulled her through the portal with all the gentleness of a rock. The portal closed behind them and they were left standing in a field of blue. Wind calmly blew through the land and made the grass sway but other than that there was no sound. It was quiet, peaceful.

"That...that was a mess back there." The man sad, regret heavily apparent in his voice as he spoke. He folded his arms and looked down at the girl. "There's something off about you. You weren't from that world, were you?" He spoke, kneeling beside Tinarah to get a better look at her. At this distance she could have seen that his face was covered in many scars that have faded over a long period of time.

Tinarah was shocked at the sudden grabbing of her hand and dragging, but at least she wasn't going through alone. He wasn't all that gentle with her, but she couldn't blame him considering the situation, and he let go of her on the other side.

Standing in the field of blue, Tinarah could hardly take in the beauty of it as she wiped tears from her cheeks and tried, and failed to compose herself enough to have a conversation with the man. While he didn't sound harsh or mean, as he crossed his arms and started down at her Tinarah retreated a step, curling her shoulders inwards almost cowering a little bit from the man. She didn't think he was a bad person, but she had been through so much she didn't know who to trust. She shook her head in answer to his question. She hadn't even figured out what that world was. More tears slid down her face as the man knelt down to look at her better. She barely lifted her eyes to him and saw the scars, sending her grabbing for her own scarred wrist in silence.

He wasn't sure how to comfort this child. All he had to fall back on was his training and none of that covered looking after a child. "My name is Fost." He figured giving her a name would bring her some comfort. "I'm a keyblade master." Though he chose to give her a close look at his blade knowing that it would only scare her more with its form.

"This is my homeworld. It was the only place I could think of at such a short notice. Hm...I haven't been here in some time now that I think about it." He shook his head to redirect his thoughts. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. You're safe now. None of those monsters are going to come here and hurt you. This place is about as far from the darkness as it gets."

Tinarah looked up at the man more when he stated not only was he a Keyblade wielder, but a master as well. Hope, standing on the other side of the chasm she saw this man as her only hope, and standing here in the field of blue flowers, that sentiment might have still stood. Tinarah searched her mind for the words to speak. The first time she opened her mouth, no words came out, just more tears as she failed to keep herself together, but she had to fight through it. Opening her mouth to try again, her voice came out small and weak, but at least she was speaking. "Keyblade master? Do you know other keyblade masters? Could you return me to the one who was teaching me?" It might have been a silly request when she couldn't summon her keyblade at all. But Tinarah hoped that Choma might have an answer for why that was, might be able to fix it for her. That was if this Fost person knew Choma.

"That explains why you didn't belong to that world." Fost scratched his chin. The girl was a little young but there were always young keyblade wielders around. "Alright. I know the other masters. Give me a name and I'll take you to them." He said nothing more on the condition of the girl, hoping that whoever her master was would deal with it instead as he had no knack for this sort of task.

Explained it, not quite. Tinarah didn't understand what had happened or how she got to the world. It certainly didn't have to do with her being a student of a keyblade wielder. That being said it wasn't something worth arguing, and if she tried then she would have to tell him the entire story, something that Tinarah wasn't quite ready for. Instead she just answered his question, an easy one to answer and one that would get her back to somewhere she was more comfortable. "Choma. My teacher was Master Choma." She told him quietly, ready to return to some familiarity as her head squeezed tighter still upset from all that had happened, and feeling quite betrayed by her brother.

Fost blinked and tilted his head back as he scratched his cheek. He seemed to be lost in thought for a moment. "Hm..." About a minute of silence passed as the man racked his brain for the name only to shake his head. "There isn't a keyblade master by that name. Perhaps you meant Master Kaio? In some tongues that name does sound a little like Choma. That is one of the newer masters and I didn't think Kaio had any students yet..." He rubbed his cheek some more as he thought about this.

"There is...one wielder by the name Choma I know of but he is not a master. Not yet anyway."
​

"Aislinn." Aislinn sighed in reply. "My name is Aislinn...." And I am not an Antelope an I a Gazelle. She wanted to add that last bit but didn't think that part was worth arguing. This kid was hopeless it seemed. From what she could tell, nothing she said had really registered with him. It annoyed Aislinn the most because she had been wanting a chance to take this test for a long time now, and it was finally here, this was a big deal for someone who never had the chance to train with a proper keyblade master. Meanwhile, this kid, whoever he was, didn't seem to care at all. It was like it didn't matter to him.

There was no use continuing to talk as the hyena's stood up and looked at them. They were too weak to do anything anyways even as they spoke about food and prey protecting predators and such. Aislinn supposed it was weird that a gazelle just defended a lion and was now lecturing him. Normally Lions would eat her kind. With that said a lioness approached, making the hyena's back off but possibly bringing on bigger issues. They were food after all. Instead of fighting them however the lion chose not to, mentioning that Scar person again before stating how she could tell she wouldn't stand a chance if she tried to eat them. She wasn't wrong. Aislinn had no desire to hurt the lioness either, she seemed nice, if in distress because of this Scar guy, apparently their king.

It seems like this animal kingdom had fallen on hard times, and given what was being said the king was making it worse not better for them. The lioness was just trying to survive and find some sort of Oasis or something that might have food. Nala asked them to join and Hikaru agreed, only leaving Aux to question it. While the banter between Aux, Hikaru, and Kaida was kind of entertaining and cute, there needed to be some agreement. "Meddling in other worlds affairs would be offering to kill their king and place you as king. Walking with someone to find food is pretty innocent. Just go with it." At this point Hikaru already agreed so there was no use fighting it anyways. Aislinn didn't mind Hikaru speaking for them as much as Aux seemed to.

However as they walked instead of asking about the world or what was going on, speaking to the starving lioness who might change her mind and try and take a bite out of her, Aislinn turned her attention to Kaida, trotting up beside her. Speaking in a lower tone so not everyone around her could hear, she started to ask about something that had been bothering her for a while. "So what exactly is the deal with the kid. Most of you seem annoyed with him. You and Hikaru seem to know him better, and he seems a little lost on what is going on in the middle of the Mark of Mastery. That doesn't seem right. Just who is he?" She asked. She knew that Kaida had been the most hostile so there was likely to be a bias on her story, but at least she would learn something about what happened.​

​

It wasn't much of a competition who would beat their hyena first when Ananta decided to join in on the action. Between the three of them they were able to finish them rather quickly, just leaving Kaida and Hikaru to deal with their Hyena. While Aislinn wanted to give them a chance to do it on their own, with the way that Aux was acting it was best not to leave it to chance. Aislinn nodded as Ananta said she was going to check on Aux. "Good plan." She said with a nod before turning her attention to the last bit of the fight awaiting them.

Stepping into action Aislinn prepared her keyblade. Holding the thing between her teeth was far from ideal but it would work when it had to. Kaida stepped up and took another swing at the thing leaving the poor hyena looking rather ragged. Aislinn then followed up with a set of attacks of her own, using similar tactics to what she used last time, starting with an attack with her horns, followed by her keyblade slashing up. With that it was able to take out the last creature and clear a path for them.

"Way to go guys!" Aislinn encouraged everyone before turning back to Aux. She stood over him and looked down annoyed. "Look, I get that you are still trying to get used to this whole new body thing, but this is the most important test of your life! Do you think you will ever become a master if you just sit there and watch everyone else do the work. Your friends are taking the Mark of Mastery with you, you have no right to just sit there when you are in it with them. Look I don't know what you did that made people seem to want you dead, but you could redeem yourself by this exam, so get off your butt and try and do something for goodness sake!" Aislinn ranted at him trying to get his butt into action for this exam.

EXP Writer: 343 Words 34 exp

New song option added to the poll!

I will edit this into the poll for you. Thanks for the suggestion.