Summoner's Pilgrimage

[Doc Rocco]

(OOC: Feel free to ignore this stuff. As with Sano, this is just Kino doing “stuff.” It’s just so I can contribute, and you can get a feel for his character.)

Today was Thursday, which meant Kino had no lessons at the Academy until after lunch. So, he decided to go to the sphere Theatre to pass the time. As he walked in, he heard the voices of Val and Ujay conversing. Not wanting to engage in conversation, he turned to leave, only to hear Val say “Hey, Kino! Come over here! We’re gonna see a sphere too.” Kino turned around, and put on a forced smile. “Great!’ he said. “Now I don’t have to see one alone.” The two smiled. “Like I wanted too.” he muttered.

Small talk had always bored Kino. He much preferred talking about something that had to do with something, like his magic classes, rather than who was dating who, and what his plans for the weekend were. “Kino” asked Val, “You never told me about your Summoner in classes yesterday. So, tell us about her.” Kino sighed, and tried to be succinct as possible. “Her name is Sabina, she comes from Rose Island. She is currently at Killika. There.” Val and Ujay both looked enthralled. “Wow” they said together, almost in awe. “Anyway, what’s so interesting about me being a Guardian? Heaps of others do it.” Kino asked. He actually wanted a conversation now, and was keen to continue. “Well, don't take this the wrong way Kino, but you’re probably the last person I expected to be a Guardian. You hate doing something from which you don’t benefit. And being a Guardian, well all you’ll get is either death or the death of your Summoner.” said Ujay. “I’ve said before, I have reasons to go on a pilgrimage with a Summoner. Personal reasons that I don’t want to share.” snapped back Kino. The conversation was getting old. “Well, I think it’s great you want to go on a pilgrimage Kino. It’s very brave and selfless of you.” said Val with finality. “Now, let’s watch the sphere. It’s starting”

An hour and a half later, Kino, Val and Ujay left the Theatre. The movie wasn’t bad, and Kino actually had some fun with the others. He knew both Val and Ujay were good friends, and they were good fun, but something had always held him back. It was a pity just as that something had disappeared, he would have to leave. However, Kino knew that this pilgrimage would let his plan come to fruition. And once those plans were completed, there would be endless days of happiness. Endless days of happiness… all riding on the one clue he had…

Knowledge of all that is, was and all that could be. In that one object are these things held. Kept within the reaches of the places most holy.

Omniscience.

(OOC: Whew. That was long. Not sure whether or not to reveal Kino’s plans or not. They might not even happen if the story goes a way that won’t allow it. Anywho, any comments on that in the OOC thread would be appreciated!)

[Seraph]

" Man I am so hungry", Raven thinks to himself. His pale skin shines in the sun's rays. He is walking around the outskirts of Killika. With hunger on his mind, he can think of nothing else. He doesn't like to beg for food, so stealing it is his only option. As he walks around he notices the footprints he leaves behind. He wonders to himself if this is what he is meant to do. Live alone work for what little food he can get and steal the rest. Do these two feet only offer him this path. Maybe, when he is older he can be of use to someone. Maybe he can work and make a good living or have a loving family.

As his stomach growls more he begins to enter Killika. While holding his stomach he looks around avoiding eye contact with people. everyone knows who he is and what he does. No person in this town trust him, But if they had accepted him maybe he wouldn't have to steal. What is done is done and he knows what he must do to survive. An old man on this edge of town has a bakery. raven knows he can steal bread from him and run without having to worry about being caught by the old man.

Raven enters the doorway and looks around the room. The old man isn't behind the counter so he must be cooking. Raven walks to the counter and grabs a small loaf of bread and stuffs it under his little tattered shirt. As he walks out the door the old man's son see him. " Hey you did you pay for that!" The middleaged man shouts. As he hears this, Raven begins to run from the man because he is afraid of being caught. As he runs thr the crowd he believes he looses the man. He slows down his pace so he would not be suspicious. While looking back for the man he bumos into a man with blond hair, blue eyes and wearing a robe.

From bumoing into the man he falls on his bottom and his bread falls from under his shirt." Im sorry sir I didn't mean to bump into you. It was an accident I swear." He then begins to scurry to grab his loaf because he hears the middle age man yell as he catches up to him.

[FF Ace Cid]

As Hana and Yu headed for the pub, Yu noticed it was quite crowded. He continued walking, and suddenly, a pale, green eyed boy bumped him.

" I'm sorry sir I didn't mean to bump into you. It was an accident I swear." he said, reaching for his loaf of bread he dropped.

Yu picked it up. "Here you go. Don't worry about it, accidents happen." Yu said, handing the bread to the boy. Yu looked over the boy, he was small, it looked like he was having a rough time.

"Hey you!!!" a voice cried out, it was an old man, and he was yelling for the small boy. The boy got up to run away, but the old man had finally reached them. "You can't steal that boy! You got to pay, just like everyone else.

This boy was stealing? He looked starved. Yu reached for some gil. "Here you go sir, I hope this will cover the food, as well as any trouble he might have caused you." Yu said, and handed some gil to the old man. "Thank you Lord summoner, but be wary of this cretin, he is a thief." the old man said, and left.

"Alright, now that that is done with, my name is Yu Hisigawa, summoner of Bevelle, this is Hana, my guardian. What is your name?" Yu asked in a very polite, sincere tone.

[Aerif]

“I’d like that, very much indeed.”

She felt her cheeks go slightly red as she spoke, later on she’d say that it was because of the heat of Kilika but at the moment it happened she knew what the issue was, and it was something she’d rather not discuss.

The path through Kilika Woods was less complicated than Sabina thought it would be, though it was still quite the complex route. In fact, despite that she had quite the sense of direction; she could easily see herself getting lost within the woods due to the fact that the most obvious path was totally incorrect, and could potentially lead to one’s forever walking around in circles.

However it was evident that there were more problems with the woods than the simple geography of the location, which was bad enough. The woods were almost crawling in fiends, though they seemed to steer clear from the two, Sabina could feel their presence and detested every moment of it. But simply being there wasn’t quite enough for a particularly large Ochu, it seemed to have a more dominating personality than all the other fiends that had been hiding, it wanted a fight, and it didn’t care who it was to fight.

“Sano!”

The tentacles of the foul-smelling thing were the first to appear on the path, and then came the hideous body of the plant. It whipped it’s tentacles on the ground, probably as an attempt to show it’s power and startle the two, though neither were the type to be intimidated by a common fiend.

Sabina wasn’t the type to use a staff when casting magic, instead she made movements with her hands to cast a fire spell at the monster. Which took the blow like a sword piercing flesh.

[Bleachfangirl]

“I’d like that, very much indeed.”

Sano's grin widened and he said, "Alright. So, I'm leading you to the temple, right?" The boy didn't wait for an answer, but turned lightly on his heel and started walking.

They reached the edge of the forest in little time and continued on. Sano made no hesitation in leading Sabina along the small paths that led to the temple. To a stranger or one who wasn't familiar with forests, the Kilika woods would be a horrible maze, but the boy had grown up in these trees. His daily trips to and from the temple also helped add to his expertise.

Every few minutes, Sano would glance back at Sabina to make sure she was keeping up fine. He felt her unease about being in the shadowed woods. The boy couldn't blame her either, since no one would ever even think of going through here unless they were brave, strong, or prepared because of all the monsters. All the fiends in the area was the cause of that, but Sano was used to them. Most of the time, there weren't any fiends that bothered with humans in these woods anyway. The loud teen was usually the one that went looking for fights.

He was hoping to keep this trip peaceful though. Sabina may have been a summoner, but in Sano's eyes, she was a small girl. Her hair and clothes didn't make her look that opposing either. 'If I'm her guardian, I'm supposed to keep her safe anyways.'

“Sano!” Sabina's shout jerked Sano out of his thoughts. He would have turned to see what was wrong, but took notice of it right in front of him. The tentacles of a large Ochu were winding their way onto the path the two were walking.

"Watch out," he warned as he pulled his staff out from behind his vest and jumped into a defensive stance. Sano knew he could take the fiend easily eough, and wasn't worried. Rather, he was worried about the fragile looking girl that accompanied him.

Before he could attack though, a blaze of fire erupted on the Ochu.

"Wha-?" Sano turned back to see Sabina, standing proudly with her hands raised. 'So she knows magic. Nice. Now I won't need to worry so much.' Then, with a grin, the boy launched himself at the fiend.

[Doc Rocco]

"What do you mean she hasn't been to Besaid yet?" exploded Kino. "You mean I have to wait even longer before I can leave the stupid Academy?" Kino was furious. This preist from Besaid had informed him that his Summoner was most likely heading to Besaid instead of Luca next. "It's just not on. You think she'd have some respect for me, seeing as though I am her only Guardian, unless she got some new ones. Even so, a little common courtesy." "Y-y-you're absolutely right, Sir Kino." stuttered the priest. "I'm leaving for Killika now. I'll meet her, and give her a piece of my mind. I mean, she isn't gonna do the Trials and leave on the same day? She's not that good. Of course she's not that good! She didn't even go to Besaid first, the stupid girl!" Kino was furious. He was anxious to leave on his journey, and this only delayed it.

Kino stormed back home to scrounge up some Gil. "What is she thinking anyway? Going through Killika forest without Guardians? Is she nuts? I'm gonna have my work cut out for me. Is Rose Island's Aeon any good anyway? Why did I get the Summoner with no brains?" Kino muttered to himself. Finally with enough Gil, and the family heirloom, the sword passed down through generations, and his book on Advanced Magical Arts, Kino boarded the Liki, ready to arrive in Killika the next morning.

[Aerif]

The fiend fell twice as fast with the two of them attacking it, and Sabina felt a rush of ecstasy for the companionship she felt whilst they dealt with the ochu together, it was something she didn’t experience to often, not even while Tritoch was assisting her.

Sano had looked worried when the fiend had first crossed their path, however after Sabina’s spell he seemed to have cheered up, and actually looked as though he was enjoying the fight. She wasn’t sure, but he almost looked disappointed by the falling of the fiend.

Eventually they reached a large almost mountainous set of stairs, on Rose Island she had never seen stairs going so high, mainly because most of the island was flat and without the need for them. For a brief moment she felt a sense of immaturity and was very tempted to run up the stairs, to perhaps race with Sano. However she had been spending all this time trying to impress Sano, she had a feeling that running up the stairs would ruin it all, as much as she wanted to do it.

The temple was a grand place, there were large torches mounted on columns, answering the question as to what element Ifrit represented and confirming her speculation that the temple of Kilika was larger than the North Temple of Rose Island.

A few priests were present in the temple, advising the temple’s visitors and discussing important matters. They didn’t seem as though they were as hostile as the priests from Rose Island, and one of the elderly priests actually looked as though he was enjoying himself just being able to offer guidance to the temple’s visitors.

Sabina’s foot touched the bottom of the steps heading to the Cloister of Trials, but then she hesitated. The columns with fire atop of them radiated intense heat; perhaps it was the heat that unnerved her deeply.

Unsure as to what Sano was thinking, she made the effort to instead divert her attention to one of the temple’s many statues and prayed instead, focussing her prayers on the wish that she may be successful in her plans to receive Rose Island’s Southern Temple Aeon. When she did come out of prayer, she looked to the entrance of the temple, through the doorway she could see that it was getting rather late, and by the time that they got back to the village, it would most likely be night-time, so with this as support for avoiding entering the Cloister of Trials, she spoke:

“Sano, I’m really grateful for you guiding me up here. But I think it may be getting too late to enter the Cloister. So… Maybe we could enter tomorrow… Unless there’s some sort of guardianship initiation ceremony that you need to go through or something… Because I’m not really sure…”

[Bleachfangirl]

A steady barrage of spells and attacks quickly felled the Ochu. Sano was exhilarated with how exciting the battle had been. Having been used to fighting alone, the joint effort of himself and Sabina was an incredibly interesting experience. The two weren’t delayed too long by the battle and continued their way towards the fire temple.

Once they reached the foot of the giant stairway that led to the temple, by habitual impulse, Sano took the first two steps in one bound. He then remembered Sabina, the summoner he was leading and stopped to wait for her, almost disappointed. The boy was polite enough to hide is immature disappointment, but still sighed inwardly. Most girls were different from boys in that aspect in his young mind. They wouldn’t want to do anything so stupid and exerting as running up a giant set of stairs.

The temple was in the usual bustling state it was in everyday. There were few visitors there at that time in the evening, but all the priests were making all the fuss they would if they were alone.

The main room was strangely cool for its location on a tropical island. The only sources of heat were the crackling torches that also illuminated the room. The warmest place in the whole temple was supposedly the Cloister of Trials below, where the fires of the island’s Aeon burned.

Sabina went forward to the steps that would lead the two to the Cloister of Trials with Sano close behind. He was a normal islander, so he had never been below the temple before. Needless to say, the boy was excited. He was confused when Sabina turned and prayed to one of the nearby statues rather than enter through the doors.

After she finished praying, she looked toward Sano and spoke. “Sano, I’m really grateful for you guiding me up here. But I think it may be getting too late to enter the Cloister. So… Maybe we could enter tomorrow… Unless there’s some sort of guardianship initiation ceremony that you need to go through or something… Because I’m not really sure…”

When she put it that way, Sano understood her reasoning. It was more dangerous to go through the woods at night; so going into the trials now would be a foolish idea. He couldn’t argue with that, so he smiled, still somewhat disappointed for the second time.

“I’ve never been a guardian before, and I haven’t met any,” he said cheerful tone he easily summoned up. “I don’t know if there are supposed to be any sort of ceremonies, but you do as you like, Lady Sabina.” Then, he added with a low bow, “You are the summoner after all.”

[Seraph]

"Alright, now that that is done with, my name is Yu Hisigawa, summoner of Bevelle, this is Hana, my guardian. What is your name?" Yu asked in a very polite, sincere tone.

"Sir my name is Raven", the boy says looking into the mans eyes.His piercing greens eyes and his face turn from a adamant visage to that of a more plesant and weak one. His eyes began to tear up. " Sir I thank you and everything, but what possesed a man like you to help someone as pitiful as me. Truly you can not have compassion for a lowly thief."

Raven then begins to think while wiping the tears from his eyes. Maybe he is talking to sternly,afterall the man did just help him out. While being a thief Raven is not without some kind of honor, But what could he do for a high summoner? Well since the Summoner is not from around here maybe he would like a nice home cooked meal. That will work it will be great, and Raven doesn't get many visitors anyways.

Raven turns around with his bread in his hands and begins to walk away. He turns back and smiles to Yu." Well sir,I am going home now. I didn't mean to be a bother. Umm.... Would you.....Would you two care to come home with me? It is not a big place, but it would be nice to have dinner ith someone."

[FF Ace Cid]

"Sir my name is Raven", the boy says looking into the mans eyes.His piercing greens eyes and his face turn from a adamant visage to that of a more plesant and weak one. His eyes began to tear up. " Sir I thank you and everything, but what possesed a man like you to help someone as pitiful as me. Truly you can not have compassion for a lowly thief."

"Nice to meet you Raven. There is no need for you to be ashamed, I am sure you have your reasons. I do not look at myself as better than everyone. The whole reason I became a summoner was to save the people of Spira from Sin. That includes everyone, no exceptions." Yu said, in a cheerful and benevolent tone.

" Well sir,I am going home now. I didn't mean to be a bother. Umm.... Would you.....Would you two care to come home with me? It is not a big place, but it would be nice to have dinner with someone."

"Of course we would love to come dine with you, we will just have to find our other guardian. Would you care to help us search?" Yu said.

[Seraph]

"Of course we would love to come dine with you, we will just have to find our other guardian. Would you care to help us search?" Yu said.

"You have other guardians?" The boy says with an awkward look on his face."Ok! I'll help you look for him."

Raven walks slightly ahead of Yu and begins to dance in the streets ( spinning around while walking and looking to the sky basically) " So what makes you so humble. I mean your supposed to destroy Sin and save Spira right? That has alot of bragging rights to go with it ya'know."

" I mean seriously if I was able to destroy Sin or at least help I would have everything I could ever want. Friends, Money, Food,and a good house would just be the start. Of course the house and everything wouldn't be to over the top thats not my style I really like living on the bare necessities. It makes you appreciate life more."

He stops and turns around " Also Hana you haven't spoken to me. If I'ma going to help you I want to know a little bit about you."

[Halie]

The new and unfamiliar boy begun to dance around along the streets, he appeared a lot more cheerful than what he had a moment ago.

"Also Hana you haven't spoken to me. If I'ma going to help you I want to know a little bit about you."

"Well...there isn't much to know." Hana sternly replied.

She felt quite anxious around the boy and preferred to keep a low profile. Though he seemed harmless and friendly, Hana was still curious as to what he might do, and concerned for the safety of her guardian, so she gently pulled Yu back by the arm.

"Erm...Yu, do you really think we should be doing this? We barely know him, who knows what he could do?" she whispered.

(Ooc: Sorry it's so short! >.<)

[FF Ace Cid]

"Erm...Yu, do you really think we should be doing this? We barely know him, who knows what he could do?" she whispered.

"He seems like a helpful individual, I think that it is the right thing to do. Now, we need to find Nova, where is he?" Yu whispered back to Hana.

This was quite a hassle, Yu was anxious to find Nova, so he could get ready for the temple tomorrow.

Ooc: Yeah, these conversations are short, but not much can really be done about them.

[Halie]

"He seems like a helpful individual, I think that it is the right thing to do. Now, we need to find Nova, where is he?" Yu whispered back to Hana.

"If you say so. Nova should be at the Inn." she replied with a sigh. Yu seemed fine with the boy, so all she could do was go along with it. Still, she intended to keep a close on this Raven. After all, she was Yu's guardian and it was her job to protect him. So she followed close behind Yu as the three made they're way to the Kilika Inn, which wasn't too far from here.

[Seraph]

"Hey you two. What'cha talking about?" Raven says as he looks to Yu and Hana talking privately between themselves." Don't you guys have a friend to look for? Well where do you think he is and I will show you the place."

Raven walks over to Yu who had been pulled off to the side by Hana. He pulls on the back of Yu's clothing." Can I join this little conversation cause I am feeling a bit left out."

"If you say so. Nova should be at the Inn." So she followed close behind Yu as the three made they're way to the Kilika Inn, which wasn't too far from here.

"Yeah the Inn is down the street." Raven says as he walks infront of Yu and Hana.

* sorry these posts are so short. Its these little conversations and searching, I dont have much to go off of.*

[FF Ace Cid]

"If you say so. Nova should be at the Inn." So she followed close behind Yu as the three made they're way to the Kilika Inn, which wasn't too far from here.

Hana still seemed to have doubts about Raven, but Yu trusted the fellow, he seemed kind enough.

"Yeah the Inn is down the street." Raven says as he walks infront of Yu and Hana.

Good, the inn was close, that meant that they could get Nova, and be on their way to Raven's home. Yu was already hungry, so he wanted to get to Raven's home as soon as possible.

They entered the inn, looked around, and to Yu's dismay, Nova was no where to be found. "He's gone, where did he go?" Yu said, speaking aloud, but sort of to himself. Yu walked over to the innkeeper. "Excuse me sir, have you seen a man with silver hair and brown eyes, he wears a red jacket with a flame insignia on it." Yu asked. What a hassle this had turned out to be. The innkeeper shook his head, "He was with the young lady behind you? He was in that stool over there, but now he's gone." the innkeeper said, pointing towards a stool in the back. Yu walked to the stool, hoping for a clue, but it was to no avail. With his head down, Yu said, "Nova's not here, he is missing and we do not have the time to look for him. We will have to go to Raven's house, and proceed to the temple in the morning. He can catch up with us." How disappointing for Yu, Nova was a good friend of his, but he had disappeared, and Yu did not have the time to look for him. He was on a mission now, to defeat Sin. So Yu, Hana, and Raven left for Raven's home.

ooc: Time to move on.

[Bleachfangirl]

Shrugging his tanned shoulders, the boy waited for a reply from his new Summoner. When none came, he just assumed that there was nothing to be done or said. Sano smiled again and motioned with his hand for Sabina to follow as he turned and walked out of the temple into the golden light of the late afternoon sun. It was indeed getting late, and when Sano heard the roar of another fiend in the distance, he could only be more appreciative of Sabina’s thorough planning.

They descended the great stairs and entered the woods in silence. Sano didn’t know what to say, and he didn’t to turn and look at the girl, afraid she would somehow be offended. The light footsteps behind him told the boy that Sabina was following, so there wasn’t a need to check up on her anyway. She didn’t seem the type that would like to be coddled or fawned over either.

The trip through the woods was swift since they were met with no obstacles. When the reached the entrance of the town, Sano turned back and smiled at her and said, “My home isn’t too far from here. Just follow me, okay?” With that, he continued on towards his hut near the shore. As he went through the main port, he waved at various villagers that were closing shop and putting away wares for the night. A few words were exchanged, but Sano didn’t stay to chat more than a few sentences with anyone since he didn’t want Sabina to get impatient. When he glanced at her, she seemed fine, but they weren’t close enough for him to read her emotions well. The girl might have been mad for all her knew, so Sano continued on his way quickly.

After they left the main village, the walk to his house was short. He walked in, holding the door open for Sabina and lit a few lanterns. Wes wasn’t back yet, but he would be soon enough.

“Well, this is it,” the boy said, waving at his small home. “That’s my room, and that one’s Wes’. You can sleep in mine tonight.” He stopped and grinned at the Summoner again before saying, “So sit tight and I’ll have dinner ready in a few. You can go and rest in my room if you want too, but it’s up to you.”

[Aerif]

Standing outside the Cloister of Trials with Sano had been the one thing thus far to make Sabina to stop and think about the significance of what she was planning to do. When she had first entered the North Temple on Rose Island to retrieve Tritoch, she had been without guardian, and because of that seemingly without conscience. However, with the prospect of travelling with another human being to retrieve another Aeon, came the feelings of deep fear for her companion’s well-being. Suppose that in some way her plan to recover Rose Island’s Southern Temple Aeon was successful, that would leave her obligated to continue in her pilgrimage, eventually she’d have to summon the final Aeon, at this rate that would mean sacrificing Sano, and in turn forcing him to be the next incarnation of Sin.

Forced to philosophise about her predicament, Sabina failed to notice that Sano was being incredibly quiet, she also failed to notice when they arrived at Sano’s home, and it wasn’t until Sano addressed her, that she even snapped out of her trance-like state.

The promise of dinner, reminded Sabina that she hadn’t eaten anything since leaving Milliton, the port town of Rose Island, also it was the second time she had heard the name Wes, but apart from seeing him for a brief period at the dock, she hadn’t actually met him. However, in the state of mind that she currently found herself burdened with, she wasn’t entirely sure if she was looking forward to being introduced to him.

She could only manage a weak smile when Sano showed her the room she would be sleeping in, and immediately slumped down onto one of the cushions on the floor, the room felt busy, their seemed to be unnecessary clutter and objects of no real significance scattered throughout the room. One object didn’t seem to be random clutter though, their was a framed photograph of a smiling family, a mother, a father and three sons, one of the children was instantly recognisable to Sabina, and she quickly deduced that the picture was of Sano’s family, but he has said that he was living with his brother, he hadn’t mentioned parents or a second brother. Sabina could only ponder the possibilities of the grim truth.

[Bleachfangirl]

It never crossed Sano's mind to tidy up his room for his guest before allowing her to rest in it. Even as he had to move things off the table in order to set three places for Wes, Sabina, and himself, he ignored the unnecessary clutter. It was normal for him, so nothing struck him as odd about the less than the barely presentable state of his home. The boy just continued cooking, absentmindedly humming the Hymn of the Fayth now that his thoughts were preoccupied with not ruining the meal.

As Sano finished grilling the fish and vegetables on the stove, Wes walked through the door. While he scooped them off the stove onto the plates sitting on the table, he greeted his elder brother.

“Have a good day?” Sano asked quietly.

“Good enough,” Wes replied before making a face. “Fish as usual, eh?”

Sano laughed and jokingly fired back. “We live on a port. What you expect, bro?” Then, without a care for Wes’ dirty hands, the younger brother said, “Just sit down, shut up, and eat it. At least I cook for you.” Right before his brother picked up his pair of chopsticks though, Sano stopped him. “Wait,” He nearly shouted. “I’ll get our guest.”

The boy walked through the open entrance of his room with only a quick rap on the entrance frame before continuing in.

“Sabina, dinner’s rea-,” Sano’s words caught in his throat when he saw the small framed picture the Summoner girl was holding. He was regretting not cleaning his room now.

[Imposter]

At night the city sparkled with fire. It was a marvellous sight, Kilika. The city was in shadow with small bulbs of light trying to fend off the darkness encircling it. The whole atmosphere made him shiver in excitement. He would need to move quickly tonight because after all the crusaders would be on him quickly. His resolve was unshaken despite all that could transpire. 'He moved out from among the trees into the city. Passing through the paths the figure moved. The flickering lights reflected off the chain around the wanderer's arm and gave a clear view of the image painted on his skin, one half was the emblem of fear during this time, the other the emblem of hope nonetheless he swiftly made his way deeper. His mind reflecting the images of the duo he had been following, he saw them in the forest.

It had been a little over a month now that he had taken up residence near the city, his days spent waiting in the forest for a summoner to make their way through the paths he revelled in the plan that came so slyly to his mind. If he could stop their travels here then no one would obtain the aeon. This duo however had made their way to the cloister only to turn back. The two retreated to a ratty home and entered. He paused looking at the house, with a sigh he scratched his head and began tapping his foot.

"Should I just barge in? Ack! Why does this have to be harder than I thought it was going to be? I got it! They'll return to the cloister tomorrow, I'll get them then!"

Evan laughed at the brilliance of his idea. However his brow furrowed, despite their age, they were part of an ongoing problem and didn't seem to make a real solution. He walked back the way he came towards the forest where he would rest until daylight.

How naive, the summoners are. They plan on bringing a Calm, but none of them last, such a ridiculous cycle. How much will it cost to make them see, don't they understand? They should just leave Sin alone, let Sin be Sin, it only comes back and does more damage than the time before, I'll show them, no matter how many summoners pass through....huh!

His mind wrapped in thought didn't see the group of three ahead of him and his body didn't stop until it bumped into one of them. Evan's eyes widened as he was brought back to reality. His eyes quickly surveyed the scene. He had run into some blonde haired boy.

"Watch where you're going kid, there’s plenty of walking space for everyone! It's late maybe you should go to home and go to bed! Get your head out of the clouds when you walk around! Kids think they can do whatever they want these days. Psh!"

Without giving anyone time to respond Evan moved passed them heading into the dark forest. Evan's teeth clenched out of embarrassment, he never enjoyed making himself look like a fool in front of others. Why on earth didn't I see those three? Stop thinking of how the world should change and do something about it! The emotions quickly flooded out as he rested in a tree, leaving a calm. The moonlight seeped through the branches and reflected of the crescent moon hanging off his left hand. Swinging the chain he caught the moon and rested it in his palm.

"Everything will be different after tomorrow, I promise..."

Evan leaned back against the trunk and looked towards the night sky, the sight was even prettier than the town, his eyes fought the sleep trying to enjoy the picture before him however slowly his eyes began to shut and sleep overtook him.

[kei_kun]

The day had shown promise for Kei Spardus. He had managed to get his first aeon from the Besaid Temple.

"Well I guess it is time to head home then go on to Kilika port sooner or later." He said to no one in particular.

As Kei walked to his hunt beside the temple he wonder who he would get to be his guardian. "I want someone who can protect me and the other people around me. Either that or I will join with another summoner."

Kei walked up to his hut. It only had three rooms, kitchen/dinner room, bed room , and bathroom. Small but being alone it did not matter to him. All the rooms were sparsely done. He walked into his kitchen sighing and made a small meal, ate then went to his room to sleep.

[Aerif]

The look upon Sano’s face immediately rang the alarm bells within Sabina’s head. Obviously he hadn’t anticipated that she would discover the photograph, that much was clear, but Sabina hadn’t been around Sano enough long enough to know how he would react. After all, in the few hours that they had known each other, Sabina hadn’t accidentally dug up any closeted skeletons of Sano’s nor had she walked in on any embarrassing situations. So Sabina didn’t know whether to expect the worst… or the mediocre…

“I… I’m sorry Sano… I just… I’m just really tired and hungry.”

An authentic apology was something that Sabina couldn’t recall recently doing, so it felt weird to finally apologise and actually mean it. ‘Dear Yevon’ she thought, ‘at this rate I may even go as far enough to give some Gil to charity’.

“If it helps… This is a really cute picture of you.”

‘Oh crap… Now I sound like a paedophile! And it doesn’t help that another interpretation of my words could be my declaring my love for him. Oh crap, crap, crap!’

There was a quiet tapping coming from outside the hut, at first Sabina thought it was a rabbit or a hare but it seemed unlikely that animals like that would be native to Kilika. She really wanted to try and discover what the source of the tapping was but it seemed rude to leave the hut, especially since for all she knew, Sano could be about to tell her to leave the hut completely.

The building tension (or really, the tension that was building primarily in Sabina’s mind) seemed to be too small for the bedroom, so Sabina walked past Sano and into the room where Sano’s brother, Wes, was now sitting. He looked up in acknowledgement of her presence and opened his mouth to say something, but she was already talking, rapidly, yet again.

“Sano you’re crushing me! You haven’t said anything yet!”

She grabbed his shoulders and was heavily tempted to shake him vigorously and violently, however she restrained herself, mainly due to the realisation that she had yet to actually give him a second in which to talk.

“Okay. Okay. I’m going to shut-up for a minute to let you talk.”

Her fingers were still digging into his collarbones, and it took her a few seconds to realise before releasing him from her grasp, and quietly apologised.

[Bleachfangirl]

“I… I’m sorry Sano… I just… I’m just really tired and hungry.” The look of dismay set on Sabina’s face told him everything. Sano knew what she was thinking, and couldn’t produce any words to try and explain his family’s ill fated past. With any other local, he would have smiled and shrugged the whole thing off and changed the subject. Most villagers had also learned by now not to mention the topic of his family, but Sabina stumbled into this secret so fast that Sano couldn’t react in time.

“If it helps… This is a really cute picture of you,” She hastily added. It didn’t help, much.

From the back of his mind, Sano could hear a slight tapping sound coming from outside of the hut, but he paid no real mind to it. Before he could open his mouth to speak, Sabina brushed past him into the main room. The boy stood rooted in the spot, waiting for his mind to clear a little more. He was rash and brazen most of the time, but this matter was more sensitive than most.

While he was still thinking, Sabina abruptly took hold of his shoulders, and turned him around to quickly say,“Sano you’re crushing me! You haven’t said anything yet!” After a moment, she added, “Okay. Okay. I’m going to shut-up for a minute to let you talk.”

For a girl seemingly accustomed to spells and black magic, Sabina’s grip was surprisingly strong. Sano realized this when he noticed her fingers digging into his collarbones. She left go quickly, but he could still feel where they had been. As he sighed and rubbed his shoulder, Sano relaxed. He didn’t know he had tensed up so much.

‘Time to change this,’ he though to himself, staring up at the ceiling of the hut. Smiling again, the boy turned back to his Summoner and asked in a joking tone, “So you thought that picture of me was cute?” As he spoke, Sano made his way to the table and sat down in front of one of the plates of food and indicated for Sabina to do the same. “I guess I was pretty cute.”

[Halie]

The three left the Inn and continued on. Where had Nova disappeared to? Puzzled over their sudden predicament, the three begun walking through the wooden decks of the town. They had no time to be rummaging around the place looking for him, so Raven lead the way to his home.

“Where the hell could he be?” Hana thought to herself.

There weren’t many houses in Kilika. It was mainly built up of wood and decks, with very few huts. Raven still danced throughout the decks, whilst Yu and Hana walked closely behind him. Suddenly, a tall, dark haired man bumped into Yu. On his left upper-arm was a strangely embroidered tattoo of a summoner and their guardians fighting off Sin.

"Watch where you're going kid, there’s plenty of walking space for everyone! It's late maybe you should go to home and go to bed! Get your head out of the clouds when you walk around! Kids think they can do whatever they want these days. Psh!"

The man then stormed off into the dark without a response from either of them. Raven then stopped his wild dancing and rushed towards Yu, whilst Hana watched in disgust at the man walking off into the distance.

“Idiot!” she whispered beneath her breath. “Yu, are you alright?”

[FF Ace Cid]

“Yu, are you alright?” Hana whispered to Yu. A dark haired man just bumped into hime and ran off in a hurry. He left Yu very confused. He would've apoligized to the man, but he ran off, and he was rude.

"Yeah, I'm fine, quite a strange fellow. Let's get on to Raven's home to eat dinner." Yu said. Following more twist and turns, they came to Raven's home. It was a small house, one room, with a kitchen and another room, and a bathroom. Yu had not seen such a bad home in his whole life. He tried not to think about it though.

Raven had some sort of stew made, and he served that for dinner. It was good, but it had a weird taste to it, Yu thought.

"Thank you for the food Raven, it was quite a pleasure meeting you." Yu said, getting up to leave. He looked at Hana, to beckon her to follow.

"I want to be your guardian! I'll fight for you Yu, to defeat Sin with you! Let me go with you!" Raven said, startling Yu.

"I...I'm sorry Raven, but I don't want to risk your life, and I do not need many guardians. I don't want to endanger anyone. It was nice or you for dinner, I hope to see you again. Bye." Yu said, and walked out the door with Hana, and left for the Kiliki Inn.

Yu was feeling down on rejecting Raven's assistance, but he didn't won't him to get involved yet. Where was Nova? There were other things to worry about. Who was that guy that bumped into him. What are SAbina and Sano doing? This was getting irritating.

"I think I'm going to go to bed Hana, I need some rest." Yu said, and went to his room to sleep.

[Halie]

"I think I'm going to go to bed Hana, I need some rest." Yu said, and went to his room to sleep.

"Alright, sleep well. We're off to the temple in the morning, remember?" Hana replied with a wave following after.

"God...today has been so busy. First we met Raven, then Nova disappeared, then some guy practically knocked Yu off his feet...and there was that other summoner. Hmm...man, there's going to be some confilct at the temple tomorrow. I hope there won't be any arguing. We've had enough trouble as it is!" she thought to herself as she exhaustedly plonked herself into bed. The beds at the Inn weren't very comfortable, but they were good enough for now, so she didn't complain.

---

The day dawned, awakening Hana from a rather peaceful slumber. The previous day had been very busy, and had taken quite a lot out of her. She awoke feeling quite happy and excited, so she pleasantly skipped toward Yu's room to wake him up.

"Sleepy head, wake up! Time to head to the temple!" she shouted through the door.

((Ooc: as it turns out, I didn't actually need to god mod. If you want Cid, you can lead us to the temple now. Unless you want to wait for Sabina and Sano to catch up?))

[FF Ace Cid]

"Sleepy head, wake up! Time to head to the temple!" Hana shouted towards Yu, through the door to his room.

Yu rolled over, and thought to himself, "I wonder if that Sabino girl will be there? We probably need to leave as early as possible, in order to beat her there."

Yu rose from his bed, he had to hurry if he planned to beat Sabina to the temple. Going as fast as he could, he got ready.

"Alright Sabina! I'm ready, let's go on to the temple!" Yu said in a hurried voice. He bolted for the door, leaving Hana to follow his tracks.

---

Yu stopped, when he got to the temple, Yu always ran fast, his family had always kept physically fit, since they had all been guardians, before him.

[Halie]

Yu stopped, when he got to the temple, Yu always ran fast, his family had always kept physically fit, since they had all been guardians, before him.

"Great. More running." Hana sighed to herself before following Yu up the long steps leading to the temple.

Though she was quite under weight, running was definitly not one of her strengths, so she trailed a fair bit behind him. Soon, they finally reached the temple, so Hana stopped to catch her breath. Whilst overlooking the rather pretty sight of the temple, she begun following Yu inside. Yu would then go into the Chamber Of The Fayth, a place where only Summoners could enter, so Hana would have to wait outside. Not only was it the first time going to Kilika Temple, she had never been beyond the Cloister Of Trials before, only as far as the temple hall, so she felt quite excited about going in.

It was quite dark inside the temple, though dimly lit by a few fire torches hanging on the walls. Many statues were scattered through the edges of the temple, each of High Summoners who had previously defeated Sin. Hana stared in awe, before following Yu into the Cloister Of Trials.

[Aerif]

Sano had sat down at the table, if a stranger was to walk in on the meal they would find no evidence of the tension that had just occurred. Well… Except for the fact that Sabina was still staring at the spot where Sano had just been standing, with slightly ruffled hair and a slight look of madness in her eyes.

“So… I’m forgiven?”

He just smiled and gestured towards the food that was laid out on the table.

Sabina took her place sitting opposite from Sano’s brother, who looked undeterred by the recent confrontation that had just been shared by his younger brother and guest. She, on the other hand was wary about whether Sano had finished dealing with the recent predicament, partially because she had never endured such a quick-ending fight, nor had she endured such an unusual end to a fight. Still, her wariness soon diminished with the rather embarrassingly loud reminder that she hadn’t eaten since mid-morning, forcing her to eat the meal without pondering what could have potentially happened.

After dinner, another tell-tale sign that she wasn’t meeting her basic needs occurred. A yawn loud enough to cause even Wes to give her a slightly concerned look, taking the look as an invitation (or insistence) to go to sleep, Sabina headed to the room Sano told her she would be sleeping in and almost fell onto the area which she would be sleeping in with fatigue, the only thing that crossed her mind before she fell asleep was how unusually warm it was despite it being night-time, with the heat in mind, she fell asleep without covering herself with a blanket.

***

“ARGH! GOOD YEVON, WHY?!”

The high-pitched screaming of Sabina was likely loud enough to wake up half of the port town. Angry red burns had appeared on her cheeks and her shoulders, arms, legs and almost every other part of her concealed body were slightly redder than they’d been just a couple of hours ago.

‘Fan-bloody-tastic, I’m supposed to be out-performing Yu today and now I’m no more than an albino with sun-burn.’

Her grandmother had once taught her a remedy for sun-burn, so coming to the conclusion that nothing could possibly be worse than the already occurring burns on her pale skin, Sabina decided to take the risk of following her grandmother’s advice…

***

Half an hour later, Sabina was waiting outside of Sano’s hut, a little behind schedule but determined to reach the temple before Yu. And she was going to do it despite the burns on her skin.

[Imposter]

Evan stood trembling, a fear like no other held him in place from running, screaming, crying, anything at all. He was completely frozen at the sight before his eyes. The shadowy remains of his companions laid about him lifeless, all a result of of the image of fear, hate, and malice towering over head. His eyes looked up trying to see the end to the beast's form but he could not reach it.

"I-I-I told you all. Fighting Sin is a fruitless endeavor, no one can stop it. The Calms don't last. I...I tried to tell you that, and now look you're all gone...all of you! Is it really gonna end like....AH!"

The sound itself of what was coming broke any little resolve he had left. He stood motionless as his eyes clouded white.

Evan's eyes opened sharply and his body jerked, a slight gasp passed through his mouth giving his short breath more oxygen. A dream. It was just a... Before his thought could finish the effects of his sudden movements were in full swing...or rather free fall. His body was pulled by gravity to the ground below, branches snapped under his flailing mass and his body landed with a thud, crumpled. Evan tried his best to exhale the pain that shot through his back but it didn't help much. However his body was stimulated by the noise around him, there were voices. His eyes opened and he saw the two figures walking upside down.

"Wait a sec, it's the punk from last night! No way, he's a summoner too. So young! That's no good!"

With a new ambition he jumped to his feet, his right hand brushing off the dirt and sticks from his hair. The young summoner and the girl were already on their way to the temple. Frustration expressed itself in the small ounce of vulgarity that flowed from Evan's lips. He paused collecting his thoughts. Doesn't matter they won't make it out of the forest, they can't! I've got to stop them now. My plans will be set in motion. Evan's foot stomped the debris from his fall, he rushed into the depths of the wood. In the time that elapsed he made his way swiftly through the multiple paths, dodging the inhabitants and planting various traps to stop those coming out of the forest, or any who would wish to enter.

He stood pleased on the outskirts of the port town looking into the woods. His foot tapping the ground as he gloated to himself.

"Ain't anyone but me that can get through that mess. Not even lady luck can help those two in there. Spilled blood is never good, but the just don't realize what they're doing. Casting off their lives for a period of peace, that way of life is trivial. Time would be better spent finding out how to kill Sin for good."

His gloating evolved into a serious resolve. Evan noticed that as he looked into the depths of the wood his brow had furrowed and his foot no longer gleefully tapped the ground.

"Sin isn't something kids can fix, and if death has to come to pass for people to realize it, so be it."

As he spoke a picture flashed in his mind of a girl and boy, the ones he had followed yesterday to the ratty house. Had they already made their way to the temple as well or were they still in town. Evan's body moved on it's own down the wooden paths towards the place he had been the day previous. He smiled as he arrived seeing the summoner outside. His mind quickly formulated his next actions.

With a smile he approached. Walking nonchalantly towards her, not wanting to give off an intimidating atmosphere. He stopped a few feet away and leaned up against a post of the pathway.

" Heya miss, I saw you coming from the temple yesterday and suspect you to be a summoner. Name's Evan. I'm just like you, out to stop Sin, but I got some bad news. Seems as though someone rigged the forest that leads to the temple full o' traps recently, I myself barely made it out alive unscathed. I understand how much the pilgrimage means to ya, but is it worth your life? No one can stop Sin dead. Just thought you should know before making your trip, I wouldn't want blood to be spilled for no reason."

The tone of his voice matched the slight smile curving on his lips, he stood there looking at her, she seemed slightly flustered, or maybe she was burned recently? His eyes trying to seep through her own. Attempting to figure her out all the while hiding the lies he had just spoken. No doubt she would find him untrustworthy, mysterious, peculiar, or a combination of the three. He waited for an answer. However his conscience stung ever so slightly thinking of the two he saw going towards the temple caught in one of his traps.