Summoner's Pilgrimage

The cloister of Trials, it was amazing to Yu, he had never been in it. As Yu and Hana came to the end of the trials, they were relieved that they could not here anyone else around.

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They finally reached the end of the cloister of trials, and Yu then went to proclaim his new fayth.

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Yu looked around the statue of the fayth was before him. He thought it was amazing. A large man appeared before him, the fayth. Yu was struck with awe at the sight of the fayth. Truly a great sight to see. He began to pray for the fayth. He prayed like he had never prayed before.

(ooc. Sorry about ending like this, but it had to be done. I didn't won't to skip too far ahead.

The post earlier wasn't actually finished, but it was all I had done when I lost the internet. Bad computer. Either way, this has worked out fine.)

**OOC: Sorry my posts are retarded like this. I just can’t go through things quickly or without making the event more stupid. You really have to read nothing but the end.*

For the rest of the night, Sano hadn't been able to look at Sabina. Was it shame or surprise that kept him from doing so? The boy still didn't know, but he was careful not to let his actions show how uncomfortable he was. After years of having many similar occurrences around the town, he had learned how to act calmly even while his mind was back in the past. There was a reason that picture was on the floor.

Dinner went smoothly and nothing was really said. Wes was used to Sano's reactions and ignored his younger brother's unusual quietness. When Sabina finished, she went to bed in her room. The brothers cleared the table and did the same. Wes retired to his room and Sano set up his sleeping area on the floor of the main room. It wasn’t as if he would really be sleeping much tonight. The little episode he had earlier would be running through his mind until at least late.

After hours of just laying there, Sano was finally almost dozing off. All of a sudden, a high-pitched shriek came from Sabina’s room.

“What the-?” Sano jumped up at the sound and nearly rushed into Sabina’s room before he remembered that she was a girl. ‘Oh geeze…what am I supposed to do? There might be trouble…or she might be having some other problem that I shouldn’t do anything about.’ Either way, her scream had sufficed in waking up Wes as well, who was now standing in the doorframe of his room. Both brothers, each clad in nothing but their shorts, could only stare at each other in confusion.

Sano whispered first, “What do we do?” Wes merely shook his head and smiled, “You handle this on your own. Your girlfriend, kid.” He retreated back to his bed to get in perhaps an extra few minutes of sleep, leaving before Sano could protest.

‘Well, that didn’t help any.’ He frowned and stayed rooted in the spot for maybe ten minutes, thinking about what to do. Going back to bed was the first thing that came to his mind, but remembered that Sabina was his guest and summoner. Then, carefully so that she wouldn’t notice if she were awake, Sano peaked into the room. Sabina was sitting up on the small bed, facing the window in the room that was opposite the door. Seeing her awake demolished the boy’s resolve to assist her, so he hurried back to his makeshift bed and pretended to be sleeping.

A bit later, Sabina exited the room and, from the sound of her foot steps, left through the front door. ’Why the hell am I so scared of a GIRL?’ Sano mentally scolded himself. After waiting a few moments more, he got up, put on his vest, washed up, and went out after her. When he got to the door though, he heard another person speaking.

" 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."

“Well, since you look like you made it out without a scratch,” Sano said, revealing his existence, “why don’t you help us get to the temple?”

Upon hearing Sano’s voice, Sabina literally physically jumped in surprise. She hadn’t been expecting him to come out so soon, especially when she was about to ‘handle’ this strange man. However, as Sano spoke she realised how helpful he had been when dealing with the Ochu the day before, and for that reason she came to the conclusion that things would run much more smoothly if both guardian and summoner sorted out this intrusive, and slightly bizarre, man.

She turned to Sano and gave a slightly evil grin, hinting that what he was doing was in fact the very thing she had wanted him to do.

“You know... Mr. Evan…” She pulled her hand through her hair, in a similar motion she had done the day before, when Sano had first introduced himself and they had met up with Yu.

“My guardian here makes a very good point. If you were so skilled as too traverse a trap-ridden forest then surely you’d have the skills to guide us to the temple.” She paused slightly, allowing the words to cause their full effect, “After all, as you have already stated, you too are planning to conquer Sin, so surely praying too Yevon and assisting someone who actually has the potential to perform the Final Summoning would be beneficial to your mission.”

She pointed her finger dramatically in the direction that she thought was the temple. Then adjusted herself slightly when she saw the look on Sano’s face, in the end she ended up turning nearly a half-circle.

“Besides, I want to reach the temple and obtain that Aeon before that sissy, Yu, and his direction-senseless guardians get it. I mean, seriously, the only people I’ve ever met with white hair were either old, vain, evil or a combination of all three… Well except one… But that was a homosexual man who loved making clothes and playing with make-up.”

Her bold speech ended, with both of it’s listeners looking slightly confused at who the white-haired man could be, considering Yu had had blonde hair, regardless when Sabina began to march towards the forest she was followed by Sano, with Evan eventually walking ahead, in resignation, guiding them around the forest’s traps.

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OOC:

I didn't really want to have to control Sano and Evan, so I kept it to a minimum but fast enough to try and hurry things along.

The naivety of children, believing that the final summoning would solve the problematic equation that is Sin I’ll play along for now though. How many "final" summonings would it take? Why is it so difficult to pry those with such closed mindedness? Look where it got me, leading these two through the woods.

His wandering mind stopped, and his head turned spotting the two of them following after cautiously mimicking his movements. They had no idea what had taken place. The shallow grin Evan normally wore had faded as soon as they entered the woods. His mind again clouded in many thoughts of what took place. Every trap....disarmed. Not one of them set off, no way was it the beasts of this wood. Ugh...I know exactly who it was, I shouldn't be surprised though seeing as they are dispersed all over Spira. Just my luck that they caught onto my plan, them Crusaders seems as though I might’ve gotten myself too deep this time.

All of Evan's attention had been figuring out the scenario he had gotten himself into, and he became totally oblivious to the two in tow. As they approached the base of the temple Evan stopped. Clearing his throat he was unsure if he was interrupting a conversation or the silence that had taken over the entire atmosphere around him.

"Here we are! You two might want to praise Yevon for getting through there without a scratch. Now if the lady summoner would head on up those stairs to the entrance everyone can get along with their day. I'm sure you already knew that though. Seeing as I am neither summoner nor guarding I'm just going to wait at the top of the stairs for you two do your business."

Concluding Evan raced up the stairs, leaving the two to them. Sweat dripped from his brow down the side of his face. It was quite hot and the trek through the wood was longer than expected but neither were the factors to the drop. Evan was nervous. If he was right and there were Crusaders near the wood looking for him the day was going to become a lot longer then it needed to be. His mind raced trying to formulate some sort of plan. His hand reached down his side to his weapon as he approached the top of the stairs.

As he reached the top his whole body relaxed. No one was there. The doors leading to the temple hall stood amidst the stone contrasting in color truly a testament to man's beauty to create. Evan was taken back as he took a moment passed.

"How long have you been here?"

The words flowed softly as he leaned against the stone, how long had the temple resided a stop to countless summoners on their pilgrimage to defeat Sin. Silence was his only response and his mind was drawn to a moment earlier in the day, the two he had seen heading towards the temple after his fall from the tree. He wondered at where they might be, but was unwilling to enter into the temple.

Kino looked up at the horizon. He could see the village of Killika rising over it as the boat approached port. Soon he would be on land, along with the summoner. He wondered what she would be like. "I hope she isn't one of those pushover summoners" he thought to himself. "That'd be just my luck. Some summoner who can't do or say anything." Kino went back to the scrolls he brought with him. There were no hints of it lying in Killika. Shoving them back into his pack, Kino took out his Black Magic scrolls. It had been some time since he had had a decent fight, a chance to show off his skill in his chosen art. Kino wondered how Sabina would react when she found out he was a Black Mage, even though he carried with him a light sword. The family heirloom.

"Three hours until port!" cried the watchman, causing Kino to snap out of his trance. He smiled. Soon he would meet the summoner, and his plan would be set into action.

Evan hadn't put up much of a fight when the two pushed him to lead them to the temple. According to him, there were supposed to be many deadly traps set up all over the woods, but Sano didn't see any as they simply walked past the many shadowed tree trunks. If those traps were really there, it didn’t look like Evan was considering them as he casually walked the regular path up to the temple. The whole while, Sano was scanning the area, looking for some sign of trouble, but he couldn’t find any. A little while later, the trio reached the great stairway leading up to the temple, and by now, Sano was a little upset.

'Was he just kidding us, or what?' Sano thought confusedly. There was no reason for a guy like Evan to try and trick a summoner like Sabina and her guardian, so the boy couldn't help but be a bit wary of the man. It seemed for now that he wasn't the most honest of people, and that wasn't a trait the younger boy was drawn to. But because Sabina was keeping her peace, Sano made no move to confront the man either. Sabina was the summoner, and his job was only to protect and follow her as she led.

Then, after a whole trip without a word, Evan decided to speak up. "Here we are! You two might want to praise Yevon for getting through there without a scratch. Now if the lady summoner would head on up those stairs to the entrance everyone can get along with their day. I'm sure you already knew that though. Seeing as I am neither summoner nor guarding I'm just going to wait at the top of the stairs for you two do your business." Once he finished speaking, he raced up the stairs, leaving Sano and Sabina alone.

The boy gawked after the man and turned to his companion and made a face. “That was a weird character,” he noted as he started his ascent up the stairs. They had no choice but to continue following him, since Evan had taken the only passage to the entrance of the temple. Sano grumbled all the way.



**OOC: Sorry for the huge delay. Short post too, but…yeah.*

They reached the top of the steps, and upon arrival it soon became apparent that Evan had no intention of even getting close to the temple let alone go inside. Sabina couldn’t help but feel a twinge of disappointment, she knew that it was stupid to actually think that a random stranger would somehow want to join her as a guardian, especially since they had only met a short while ago, but Evan did seem like he would make a competent guardian, besides he had a major flaw that Sabina was desperate to make Sano aware of.

It was strange entering the Cloister of Trials with another person. When Sabina had retrieved her first Aeon she had been in a complete state of shock and fear as she passed through the doors at the back of the Temple. However that feeling was somehow halved by having Sano there, perhaps he was taking half of those feelings to encourage her?

The door closed softly behind them, and they were finally out of both ear-shot and sight of Evan and the priests of the Temple. Immediately Sabina blurted out what she had been eagerly waiting too say,

“Did you see that!? He came right up to the Temple!” she practically yelled to emphasise her point.

“So?” Sano replied uneasily.

“He’s carrying a piece of machina!”

Sabina paused to let the message sink in, machina was strictly against Yevon’s teachings, and so why in Yevon’s name was he at the Temple? If he was so against Yevon then why didn’t he just wait at the bottom of the steps or even just not bother guiding the pilgrims to the Temple? Something was definitely up with him.

The elevator descended down into the Temple whilst both guardian and guarded remained silent. Ahead of them was a large door that was open, through the door they could see that the puzzles of the Temple had been solved recently and had yet to be reset. This was slightly unnerving; Sabina wasn’t quite sure what the rules were when two Summoners bump into each other in a Temple.

It was not unexpected but still a nasty shock to Sabina when they arrived in the room outside the Chamber of Fayth and found a short brunette girl patiently waiting outside of the Chamber. Instinctively Sabina found herself in a defensive position waiting to see what would happen.

The trials came as surprisingly easy. In fact, it was a lot more fun than she and Yu had expected, and didn't take up much of their time.

They figured out the puzzles with ease in just a matter of few minutes before proceeding closer to the Chamber of the Fayth, which was a small room with a dark red gate at the far end. Torches hung on the surrounding walls, only slightly lighting the room. Beyond the dark red gate would be where the Fayth lived, and where Yu, and summoners alike would pray. Though fascinating, the whole room was very different to what Hana had imagined.

She sat down near to the gate as Yu proceeded into the chamber. There wasn't really anything else she could do, except sit and wait for him to return. Minutes passed and all was quiet, until a pounding pair of footsteps shattered the silence. Suddenly two figures appeared, a man and a woman, two people that Hana had seen the night before. The woman, standing in front of the man, quickly moved herself to a defensive stance. Hana's eyes widened. The woman's actions confused her, as she had no intent to harm either of them. Then she relaxed after realising that the people weren't guards, and didn't appear as intruders, but simply a summoner and their guardian.

Being polite, Hana stood up and brushed down her skirt.

"Erm, there really is no need for that. Please, relax. I'm just waiting for my summoner to return." she said with a friendly tone in her voice. "So I guess this is pretty awkward, huh? We shouldn't be much longer, but I think you'll have to wait for now."

Once Sano and Sabina reached the temple, they noticed Evan leaning casually against the wall. He said nothing to them, and looked deep in thought. Sano was wary of the stranger, and was actually relieved when he didn’t follow them to the entrance of the Cloister of Trials. The moment they entered and the door was close though, his Summoner lost it. Her nervous mood from before seemed to have erupted into anger, because she turned and yelled something at him.

“Did you see that!? He came right up to the Temple!”

“So?” the boy replied, confused. She had acted almost eager to have Evan join them earlier, but now she looked mortified that he had come with them as far as he did.

“He’s carrying a piece of machina!”

Sano frowned, thinking back one Evan’s appearance. He knew the man wore some tattered clothing, but he didn’t remember seeing any obvious machina on his person. The only thing that really stuck was the large tattoo spanning the length of the man’s whole arm and part of his neck. The whole time the pair went through the Trials, Sano was still trying to figure out what machina Sabina was talking about and didn’t notice the lack of difficulty in reaching the inner sanctum of the temple. He only broke out of his trance when he felt a strange tension in the air.

Sabina had taken a defensive position, nearly glaring at another girl sitting in the room. Sano could see her bright green eyes widen from the other end of the room and stood stiffly behind his guardian.

She said, “Erm, there really is no need for that. Please, relax. I'm just waiting for my summoner to return,” after she stood up and brushed off her skirt. "So I guess this is pretty awkward, huh? We shouldn't be much longer, but I think you'll have to wait for now."

The girl’s tone and posture didn’t seem hostile to Sano, so he relaxed and answered, “True enough.” He put a hand on Sabina’s shoulder as a motion for he to relax and added with a grin, “I’ve never heard of two Summoners being in the Chamber of Fayth at the same time anyway.”

The hand on her shoulder was enough to calm Sabina down completely, the girl in the chamber with them seemed nice enough, she was polite and not aggressive. Sabina felt certain that if her summoner (whoever it was) was like her, they’d all get along quite well.

She relaxed and stood down from her defensive position, after all, as the girl had said, there really wasn’t much need for a fight, despite how hormonal Sabina felt.

“I wonder if perhaps this is the first time something like this has ever happened.” Sabina stated, in a very matter-of-fact tone.

After that there was silence, and Sabina felt guilty that she had not learned to be as talkative as her sister had been. Back on Rose Island, Sabina had been the second child in a family of five, and her elder sister had always been her role-model. Her sister had been incredibly social in her younger years; she had managed to craftily talk her way out of many-a-situation and had also been able to manipulate a Yevonite into bringing her breakfast every morning when she went to stay in Bevelle. But all of that was before the Sin attack on that coastal town…

More silence. And for a moment, and Sabina could’ve sworn that she had heard murmurs from the other side of the Chamber’s door. However that was supposed to be a personal matter between the praying summoner and the Fayth inside the chamber, so to take attention away from the sounds she quickly blurted out:

“So… I haven’t seen you around town… And even though I haven’t been here for more than a day or so, I was pretty certain that Sano had shown me most of the townsfolk. What’s your name, and who are you guarding for?”

The girl’s tone and posture didn’t seem hostile to Sano, so he relaxed and answered, “True enough.” He put a hand on Sabina’s shoulder as a motion for he to relax and added with a grin, “I’ve never heard of two Summoners being in the Chamber of Fayth at the same time anyway.”

The girl relaxed after the young man spoke, and a long, awkward silence followed. Hana stared into an empty space, whilst a sudden thought entered her mind.

"Hmm... I wonder which of us will beat Sin first? If these guys are further into their journey than us, then we'd better hurry and catch up.

How much longer will he be in there now? This is starting to get a little awkward..." she thought to herself.

Suddenly, a few mumbles broke the silence and Hana's thoughts. The mumbles caught the attention of both the summoner and Hana, but before she could say anything, the summoner quickly blurted out,

“So… I haven’t seen you around town… And even though I haven’t been here for more than a day or so, I was pretty certain that Sano had shown me most of the townsfolk. What’s your name, and who are you guarding for?”

"I don't live around here, I'm from Besaid. I must've arrived here around the same time as you, actually. My name's Hana Hasumi, I'm guarding Yu Hisagawa", she replied, "there were a couple of other guardians with us, but they disappeared. Now it's just Yu and I. How about you two?"

After a very, very long prayer to the fayth, Yu finely had obtained his first fayth, Ifrit. All of the praying that he had to do had made Yu exausted. He had no idea that it took this much effort to get an aeon.

Yu slowly got off of his knees, and walked to the door to exit the chamber of the fayth. When the door opened, Yu saw that Hana was no longer alone. The two from before, Sabina and Sano had arrived.

"Hello all! Hope that I haven't kept any of you waiting too long!" Yu said, waiting for a response.

OOC: Kind of short, but here it is, sorry for the delay.

The door to the fayth opened, and the blond summoner from before stepped out, disrupting the attempted conversation. His steps were unsteady, and his eyes showed how exhausted he was. Sano nearly went to Yu's side to steady him, but remained by his own summoner's side when he remembered his duty.

No one said anything, and Sano was nervous. If the short prayer had taken that much out of a grown man, the boy wondered what it would do to Sabina. She was small, pale, and compared to the other summoner, frail.

Then, Yu spoke. "Hello all! Hope that I haven't kept any of you waiting too long!"

He sounded more energetic that he looked, and Sano gave him credit for that. Yu was a trooper, and even in blitzball, perseverance was key. The attitude brought another smile to Sano’s face as he said, “Hah. You took forever, but it’s fine.”

That's the thing with curiosity. The more you stand around the more it eats you up, until you finally give in. Evan thought to himself as he stood outside the structure. The large doors seemed to call out for him to open them and enter. He walked to and fro from the stairway to the doors trying to overcome the feeling that had rooted deep to his being.

"I really don't think I can get in with this though..." the words came softly from his mouth, as he held the piece of forbidden machina in his hand. A small smirk pierced his emotionless face as the thought of it being Taboo to so many people rushed into his mind. He quickly searched around the area looking for some sort of hiding spot. His eyes rested on a small crack in the small court. Quickly he rushed up to it and glanced around making sure he was the only one present, and then he quickly fitted the machina inside and walked towards the doors. He paused and sighed as his hand grasped the door handle. With one final look behind him he swung the door open and walked into the main chamber of the temple.

The chamber was an amazing site, statues of previous Summoners stood in key places throughout the chamber and Evan's eyes gazed upon each one of their stone cold visages. A sense of distaste quickly flushed through him and he turned to go back out, his gaze caught the last line of light on the floor before the door closed. His head dipped down and he sighed once again. I can do this, despite how much I disagree with everything this place stands for. It isn't like being in here makes me agree at all right? Right, now I gotta find those two.

"Can I help you sir?"

The voice made Evan jump in surprise, he quickly spun around and looked at the old man who had spoken to him. Quickly Evan composed himself and scratched his head out of embarrassment.

"Uhhh...yeah you can actually. I'm looking for the lady summoner that just came in here. She must've headed for the chamber of fayth no? I've really gotta get better at my time management if I'm supposed to be her guardian right? Hahahaha..."

Evan smiled awkwardly at the old man as he could see the old man looking him over. The old man's brow furrowed and he took a step towards Evan. Evan clenched his teeth, Evan did not want this old guy to make things difficult. The two just stood and studied each other, then finally the old man spoke.

"Take the elevator down, and head straight on through. I don't believe the puzzle has reset yet but you should hurry."

Evan nodded and dashed for the set of doors opposite from the entrance. With a quick shove they opened and he jumped into the elevator. The trip was short but Evan was still being captivated by the beauty of the temple. He wondered towards the room outside the chamber with his eyes jumping from the intricacies throughout the temple.

As Evan passed from the puzzle room to the room outside the chamber the air about him rushed passed him into the room. Evan strolled in with both arms resting again the back of his head. He quickly saw that there were four by the chamber. His mind quickly retraced to the night prior and his run in with the boy.

"Looks like you are all getting along real swell! I never figured this would be the kinda place for everyone just to stand around and talk. Hey punk you didn't run into the Lady Summoner did ya? Heheh...."

Evan's chuckle stopped quickly as he saw the fatigue in the eyes of the boy. A sick feeling sprung from his gut, but Evan couldn't figure out if it was because of what he had just said or because this was the fruit of Yevon's teachings. Evan realized now wasn't the time for his conscience and resolve to debate so he smirked.

"Kid you don't look the greatest, and to think that this is what summoners have to go through for the sake of the people of Spira. I commend your selflessness punk." Even if how you manifest it is misplaced.

Evan made his way closer to the four. At a close but safe distance he paused and folded his arms and with a nod he spoke.

"I never got your name Lady Summoner, in fact I don't know any of ya. For formalities sake to the punk and his lady guardian I'm Evan. It's a pleasure."

(OOC: I'll come back and fix up any little grammatical errors later if there is any....I just wanted to get the post up.)

When the door to the Chamber of the Fayth opened, Sabina had been expecting… something different… She had no idea that Yu had reached the temple before her until now and she had thought that Hana had been guarding for someone else.

When Hana had announced who she was guarding for, Sabina had thought that she meant another Yu. But as soon as she had seen the silhouette of the other summoner exiting the chamber, she knew who it was. And she couldn’t stand it.

Sano seemed to have forgotten the rivalry that Sabina had declared on Yu, or perhaps Sabina had forgotten to speak of that rivalry out loud. Either way, she felt a sudden surge of dislike for every person in the room, even Hana, who was really only an innocent bystander in Sabina’s one-way rivalry.

‘There are so many things I could say right now…”

Luckily, there was a new distraction to stop Sabina from blurting out profanity within a Temple. Evan had just arrived on the scene, entering with a slightly cutting remark about Yu’s current appearance. Even though she wasn’t quite sure whether it was morally correct for her to do so, she suddenly felt slightly more at ease knowing that there was someone else to criticise Yu, even if the criticism had been meant in the nicest way possible.

‘Wait a minute… Evan’s here?’

“Evan! Why are you here!? I could be ex-communicated for this!”

‘Wait… What’s to say that he came down here in association with me? I could have a fighting chance here…’

“I never got your name Lady Summoner, in fact I don't know any of ya. For formalities sake to the punk and his lady guardian I'm Evan. It's a pleasure.”

‘SON OF A MAESTER!’

“Look… I really don’t mean any offence you, Evan. However, just now I have to go and pray… Really hard… In fact, now that you’re here I may actually have to pray even harder…”

Almost as soon as she had finished her sentence, she half-sprinted into the Chamber of the Fayth to pray for Ifrit. However, she did manage to say one thing before entering, and this was to Sano:

“Keep headband-boy and his guardian here as long as possible. We don’t want them getting to far ahead.”

Kilika’s Chamber of the Fayth was significantly different from the Chamber that Sabina had encountered on Rose Island, the room was a lot less ornate and the room felt a lot hotter. Still, praying was praying. And Sabina planned to obtain Ifrit in record time.

When Evan entered the room, Sano nearly screamed from the shock. It was bad enough the man treated him and Sabina like children and lied about the traps set up in the woods. According to the summoner, that man kept a piece of machina on his person, and his presence in the temple, at the end of the cloister of trials almost killed Sano. It was completely against the teachings of Yevon to own any machina, so bringing one into a temple of Yevon was unforgivable.

Evan poured more fuel onto the fire burning within the boy when he started speaking familiarly with Yu. His casual, cool act did nothing but annoy him because of the gun that Sano assumed was hidden somewhere in his clothing. When Evan asked Sabina for her name, Sano almost lost it.

'He has no right to ask anyone anything after what he did!'

Luckily Sabina did what she seemed to do a lot of the time: reply with cutting rudeness that no one could respond to. It calmed him that someone else was as thrown off as he was. It was even more comforting that that person happened to be the closest to him in terms of relationships. Before she went to pray to the fayth, Sabina even told Sano to keep the three from leaving, which made him almost happy. He didn’t intend to follow those orders completely though.

The moment the door slammed shut behind Sabina, Sano shouted, “Get outta the here, now,” at Evan.

He didn’t care what Yu or his guardian thought. They looked confused at his outburst, but they didn’t know about the machina Evan was carrying. He didn’t even care about what they were thinking. All he cared about was getting that blasphemous man out of the temple before his presence caused any troubles to his praying summoner.

Before he actually let the action process through his head, Sano went up to Evan and felt his clothes for the weapon. When he found that there was nothing there, the boy grabbed him by the arm and growled, “Where is it?”

Raven sits by the fire in front of his shack. In his head Yu's words were still ringing " "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." Raven knew Yu meant what he had said in the nicest way possible, but it really felt like a smack in the face. Raven understands life and death. Raven puts himself to the test everyday working the land and hunting for his food. Everyday could mean his last shot at survival.

As Raven stared into the bright flicker of the flame, he wondered if it was coincidence that when he met Yu that he was endangering his own life. He was stealing to live, and breaking laws. A little boy like himself with no family would not have been missed, but Yu had saved him. Yu helped him. It was the only act of true kindness he ever had felt. Raven did not feel that he owed Yu his life, but he finally felt what it meant to have a friend.

Raven stands up and puts the fire out with a bowl made from bark with water in it. " That settles it he says with a smirk on his face. I will go to him and I will get him to say yes." Raven knew how to get to the temple from his home, and it was not too far of a walk away. Maybe... just maybe he would have a chance to catch up to him and to plea his case.

Raven Begins to pack his stuff up. He fills the pot that he makes stew in with a few vegetables. He wraps the pot up in a blanket and ties it to his shoulder to make it easy to carry. He walks into his shack and looks around the little mat he calls a bed. Under his makeshift pillow he pulls out a small bag with money in it. At the foot of his bed there is a chest. Raven opens the chest to pull out a purple cloth wrapped about a pair of blades. Raven looks over the finely crafted blades as they gleam. The only thing that his father ever gave him. A pair of patas. His father had claimed to slay many a man and beast with this these, but they were done for mans greedy needs. Raven vows to use them to help if need be. With all of Raven's possesions bagged up and ready, he sets out for the temple.

After a while of walking Raven see the temple. He still can not tell if Yu has left or not, and since he is not a guardian and has all of his stuff he finds it rather rude to enter without any sould purpose. So Raven sits out the entrance to the temple hoping to see Yu as he walks out to ask him if he may, in fact, be able to join Yu and help him.

Yu had never felt as tired and exhausted as he was now. Just by looking around he noticed everyone knew his condition.

“Hah. You took forever, but it’s fine.” Sano said.

"Sorry about that. Didn't mean to keep you waiting Sabina." Yu said, and then a man stepped into the room. Yu recognized him as the man who bumped into him the other night.

"Looks like you are all getting along real swell! I never figured this would be the kinda place for everyone just to stand around and talk. Hey punk you didn't run into the Lady Summoner did ya? Heheh...." the man said.

"I'm no punk sir, my name is Yu Hisigawa, Summoner of Bevelle, and the lady Summoner is before you." Yu stated.

"Kid you don't look the greatest, and to think that this is what summoners have to go through for the sake of the people of Spira. I commend your selflessness punk."the man said.

"I would do this a million times over for the people of Spira, this won't be anything compared to battling Sin. As for my condition, just a second to catch my breath and I'll be good as new." Yu said.

“Evan! Why are you here!? I could be ex-communicated for this!” Sabina said. Yu wondered how they knew each other.

"I never got your name Lady Summoner, in fact I don't know any of ya. For formalities sake to the punk and his lady guardian I'm Evan. It's a pleasure." Evan said.

“Look… I really don’t mean any offence you, Evan. However, just now I have to go and pray… Really hard… In fact, now that you’re here I may actually have to pray even harder…” Sabina said, and then ran into the Chamber of Fayth, whispering something to Sano on the way.

“Get outta the here, now,” Sano said to Evan. Yu was confused. He was apparently missing something.

Sano then walked up to Evan searching him for something.

“Where is it?” Sano asked. This was really confusing Yu now. He just wanted to grab Hana and run for the exit. Since Sano was busy with Evan, that's exactly what Yu did.

After silently running through the temple, they reached the exit. Yu opened the doors, and walked out of the temple, and then let go of Hana. He looked back to Hana and said, "Sorry about that, I just wanted away from all of that mess." Yu then turned back around and saw Raven sitting down on the temple stairs.

"Hello there Raven! Did I forget something at your house? I'm terrible about losing things sometimes." Yu said.

OOC: If anyone has any problems with my running, feel free to tell me, I just figured that we would get stopped by Raven, and then if you want to you could catch back up.

"Hello there Raven! Did I forget something at your house? I'm terrible about losing things sometimes." Yu said.

" No... Sir. You didn't leave anything at my house." He says as he stands up brushing of his dirty and tattered clothing." I came here to see if I could catch up to you. For once more I will plea my case. If you would have me, I will be your guardian and I will vow my loyalty to you to battle Sin. I may not look like much, but i can fight. I do have endurance and strength which has come from working the land around me and fending for myself, but right now I feel like I need this more than you. You have a goal to defeat Sin, and the way I see this is that i can be most beneficial for all of us. Like they say 'Two heads are better than one', and personally I don't feel like being alone anymore. I understand that you do not want to put my life in danger, but it is far more dangerous living on my own and being alone. Loneliness is a battle that I cannot fight by myself, and i fear if i loose that battle, It will be the death of me."


He walks closer to Yu and streches out his hand. " So whaddaya say? Let me join you and both of us grow stronger or leave and save attempt to save Spira by yourself.Either way the ball is in your court. I know you don't have much time, but make a decision whenever it is possible."

May I join?

"Sorry about that, I just wanted away from all of that mess."

Hana crouched over with her hands on her knees as she panted, her lack of fitness was apparent once more.

"That's alright..." she breathed in reply, still panting.

Yu suddenly called to someone from behind them. "Hello there Raven! Did I forget something at your house? I'm terrible about losing things sometimes."

Hana's eyes widened with surprise at the name he had called, then narrowed them as she let out an almost silent groan.

"No... Sir. You didn't leave anything at my house," Raven replied, "I came here to see if I could catch up to you. For once more I will plea my case. If you would have me, I will be your guardian and I will vow my loyalty to you to battle Sin..." He continued to speak, but Hana was too lost in thought to pay attention.

"I knew it. I knew we hadn't seen the last of him. We can't turn him down again... Grgh, but he's just so young... although, I suppose he's not much younger than myself... Heh, I suppose that makes me a hypocrite..."

Her mind suddenly floated back to Raven's speech, though it seemed she only just caught the end. "...Loneliness is a battle that I cannot fight by myself, and I fear if I loose that battle, It will be the death of me."

"Boy, you really aren't going to give up, are you?" she asked him rhetorically, her tone soft. She looked up towards Yu and waited for his answer to the boy's question.

" No... Sir. You didn't leave anything at my house." Raven said and stood up and brushed off his dirty and tattered clothing. "I came here to see if I could catch up to you. For once more I will plea my case. If you would have me, I will be your guardian and I will vow my loyalty to you to battle Sin. I may not look like much, but i can fight. I do have endurance and strength which has come from working the land around me and fending for myself, but right now I feel like I need this more than you. You have a goal to defeat Sin, and the way I see this is that i can be most beneficial for all of us. Like they say 'Two heads are better than one', and personally I don't feel like being alone anymore. I understand that you do not want to put my life in danger, but it is far more dangerous living on my own and being alone. Loneliness is a battle that I cannot fight by myself, and i fear if i loose that battle, It will be the death of me."

"Boy, you really aren't going to give up, are you?" Hana asked Raven.

Yu could tell that Raven was determined to join them. The boy didn't won't to take no for an answer. Yu couldn't tell him no again anyway, he hated it enough the last time. Yu walked closer to Raven, and put his hand out, "Well I certainly couldn't tell you no after hearing that. I doubt anyone could. I will have you as my guardian, but hear this, the path ahead of you has many trials and hardships, some of these you, nor I, have ever faced. There is a great risk of dying on a pilgrimage. I will ask you, are you sure that you want to become my guardian?" Yu said. He hoped that letting Raven become a guardian wouldn't upset Hana too much.

Raven smiles as he hears Yu's word." Sir I know the road will be hard and rough, but i don't think that it will be anything we can't get through. Remeber the night is darkest just before the dawn, and the dawn is soon to rise. All we have to do is sacrifice our time and livlihood to make sure others are safe. I think the reward is greater than the risk myself, but i always thought it would be ironic if a boy like me who had nothing was able to give anybody the greatest gift of all and that is life. "

raven turns to Hana" No i do not tend to just give up on nor do i ever plan to give up, but a disease kills over time and lonliness is a disease with no cure except company. I know you may not trust me. I know I may not be your idea of a guardian, but I swear On this very Day that by Yevon I will not falter I will not run but that i will stand and fight. I will fight for freedom,and I will fight for life. "

As he finishes speak with the Summoner and His Guardian he looks back to his stuff and then at his clothes. "I guess if I am a Guardian i need to look representable."

Evan scoffed at Sano and shook off the youth's grip from his arm.

"The it you're referring to isn't here. You know how much trouble it would be to get through everything with that on my person. And why in Spira should I even tell you anything, none of you have even told me who you are!"

Evan gestured around Sano but confusion became apparent when he realized it was only him and the youth in the hall leading to the chamber of fayth. Evan sighed deeply and stepped back creating some space between him and the young man.

"Now look, the other summoner and his guardian have skiddaddled on outta here. Having you all in this room was the best situation I could've hoped for and now it is gone, swoosh!"

Evan paused trying to formulate some type of plan, but it lead to little success. After a brief silence Evan resumed the conversation.

"So what to you suppose we do now? I guess we wait for the Lady Summoner no? May I give you a piece of advice kid? This road you've started walkin' on isn't going to be easy at all, this isn't even the beginning, try not to doubt too much on what you have decided to do."

Where did that come from Evan? You gotte be worrying about what is going on around you right now. One summoner has left, no machina with you presently, and it is possible that Crusaders could be just out on the door step of the temple. Think Evan...think.

(OOC: Sorry this has been so delayed. I've been busy so this is just something to get others moving....Bleachie!)

Evan scoffed at Sano’s anger, and shook free of his hold.

"The it you're referring to isn't here. You know how much trouble it would be to get through everything with that on my person. And why in Spira should I even tell you anything, none of you have even told me who you are!"

Evan gestured around to where the other summoner and his guardian had been standing just moments before. It didn’t take him long to figure out the two were alone in the room. The man sighed deeply and stepped back. Sano also took a good look around him and noticed the two others he was supposed to detain had gone without his knowing.

"Now look, the other summoner and his guardian have skiddaddled on outta here. Having you all in this room was the best situation I could've hoped for and now it is gone, swoosh!"

“Don’t think you’re the only one who is at a loss,” Sano grumbled under his breath. Sabina was probably going to be disappointed, if not mad that her guardian was so useless. There was a moment of silence as Sano lamented over his rash actions. “Maybe if I hadn’t gotten so mad at Evan, the others wouldn’t have left,” the boy thought while frowning at himself.

"So what to you suppose we do now? I guess we wait for the Lady Summoner no? May I give you a piece of advice kid? This road you've started walkin' on isn't going to be easy at all, this isn't even the beginning, try not to doubt too much on what you have decided to do."

The boy was still uncomfortable around Evan, and didn’t want to wait around with him. He decided it would be better to find Yu and his guardian to try and keep them from getting too far. That way Sano would know that he put all his effort into keeping the ‘opponents’ from going too much further ahead from them. He couldn’t care less what Evan did at this point.

“I don’t doubt any of my actions, but thanks for caring,” he said roughly. “I’ll be here when my Summoner comes out, but I have other things to deal with right now.” The boy was about to follow after the other group, but turned back to Evan and added, “Do anything you’d like…just don’t cause any trouble.” With that, the boy stalked out of the room.

The temple puzzles still hadn’t redone themselves, so Sano walked back to ground level with ease. He spotted Yu’s dark blue cloak just at the entrance of the temple, and two smaller figures around him. One was slightly hunched and whose shoulders heaved with heavy breathes. He came right up to the trio and stepped up just as the small boy finished speaking. “I wonder what a kid like this is doing talking to Yu.” He ignored the almost strange situation though, and spoke directly to the slightly older man.

“Hey, sorry about that earlier,” he started, rubbing the back of his head apologetically. “Listen, I don’t know how long you are staying in Kilika, but until ya do, you can stay at my place. It’s small, but if no you’ve got no where else, you’re welcome to it.”

It was a strange proposition, and Yu and Hana’s faces showed their surprise. Sano knew he and Sabina hadn’t been the friendliest people earlier, but that couldn’t have been helped. To make things less intense, Sano decided to alter the offer.

“If you have someplace to stay, just come over for dinner. I can cook well enough, so whatta ya say?” he asked, his trademark grin plastered on his dark face. Hopefully Yu would say yes, which would make sure he and his guardians would stay another night where Sabina and Sano could watch them.

"Hey, sorry about that earlier,” Sano started, rubbing the back of his head apologetically. “Listen, I don’t know how long you are staying in Kilika, but until ya do, you can stay at my place. It’s small, but if no you’ve got no where else, you’re welcome to it.”

The Sano, Sabina's guardian had caught up to them now, and he made a strange proposition, and Yu wondered if it was a trick. Before he could say anything Sano altered the offer.

“If you have someplace to stay, just come over for dinner. I can cook well enough, so whatta ya say?” Sano asked, with a big grin on his face. Sano didn't really seem like a bad guy, it was just Sabina that frightened him. He would hate not to take advantage of someone's hospitality.

"Are you sure we wouldn't be intruding? Were quite the wild bunch. I'm famished already, I could use a bite to eat." Yu said with a grin on his face. He hadn't eaten that morning rushing to the temple, now he felt half dead from starvation. He hoped that his two guardians wouldn't mind going to Sano's house.

Shortly after Sano left the temple, the door to the Chamber of Fayth opened slowly and for a moment the sun-burnt albino girl was standing, silhouetted in the doorway. And then she stumbled forward due to a mix of fatigue and the sheer concentration that she had put into her prayer.

When she looked up, she was surprised and more than a little angry that everyone had left except Evan, who was basically a heretic. ‘Great,’ she thought, ‘After I specifically told Sano to delay Yu and Hana’s departure, he ends up letting them leave. And leaving himself as well. I wonder if he has abandoned me…’

It occurred to her that she had been within the Chamber of Fayth for a much shorter period of time than she had expected she would need, and even after the brief time she had managed to obtain Ifrit. She had renamed him Djinn in an attempt to make him more unique, at least it would help differentiate him from Yu’s Ifrit.

Sano’s absence particularly worried her, had he decided to join Yu’s effort? If he had how would she be able to get to Rose Island’s Southern Temple? And without any guardians how could she fulfil the final summoning?

‘The final summoning is something that I should consider talking to Sano about’ she thought, ‘He’s such an optimistic and cheerful boy, does he even know what it includes? He has his entire life to look forward too. Wes has no other family but Sano, how does he feel about the Pilgrimage? Oh Yevon, give me the strength to get through this…'

There was movement in the room, and suddenly Sabina remembered that Evan was still with her, whether it was because he was concerned or because everyone had managed to get away from the Cloister of Trials before he had, she didn’t know, but despite his machina and his lack of care for the ways of Yevon, Sabina couldn’t help but feel slight gratitude for his choice to stay, although it was overshadowed by the negative traits that she had already seen.

“E-Evan…” She started weakly, and gave herself a second to recover from the ordeal she had just endured, “Evan why are you still here? I thought you didn’t believe in Pilgrimages… And how did you even get in, didn’t someone try to stop you from entering the Cloister of Trials?”

Sevan was sitting at a tavern in Killika for a couple of days, and it was annoying the bartender. The bartender walked up to Sevan. “Hey kid, what’re you really doing in here? Don’t you have something better to do?” The bartender asked. Sevan closed his eyes and leans back.

“Just waiting for some work to pop up, and it seems this place is the best to wait for jobs.” Sevan replied back. The bartender sighed.

“Who do you think you are?” The bartender again questioned. Sevan opened his eyes with a dreary look.

“I’m a mercenary, nothing else. Say, do you know anything that I can do?” Sevan picks up his large sword from the ground beside him, and lays it on his lap.

“I heard that some summoners are around for their ceremony what ever it is. I hear they will need guardians to occupy them.” Sevan hesitated for a moment then gets up and walks out of the door. With that in mind, Sevan begins to question people for where to go to in order to see some summoners. With his sword on his back, Sevan begins to hike up through a path to the temple of Yevon.

Sevan finally managed to get to the top to see a temple. Sevan stopped to see some people at the entrance. Sevan begins to walk up to the group, keeping a weary caution.

Raven ,standing behind his Summoner, turns around. " Well this is nice. We have two summoners who are trying to defeat Sin. Who are locked in a race to get the summons and enter the Chambers of Fayth. Something tells me this is just gonna bring up the rivalry." He thinks to himself.

He walks around and taps Sano on the shoulder the best he could. "Sir are we going to stay with them tonight or for a few days? If we will only stay one night, Can I ge some directions to your home? I do need some new clothes and i should be able to afford it with this small amount of money."

Yu accepted Raven's request, which unnerved Hana a little.

"Well... two guardians is better than one, I suppose. And... maybe he's not that bad..." she thought, not completely believing what she had told herself.

Before the trio could move on, Sabina's guardian came running towards them and interrupted with a strange question.

"Hey, sorry about that earlier,” Sano started, rubbing the back of his head apologetically. “Listen, I don’t know how long you are staying in Kilika, but until ya do, you can stay at my place. It’s small, but if no you’ve got no where else, you’re welcome to it.”

Hana sighed and rolled her eyes, she immediately assumed that Yu would reject the young man's offer.

“If you have someplace to stay, just come over for dinner. I can cook well enough, so whatta ya say?”

The boy further extended his offer, causing her to become slightly suspicious.

"Are you sure we wouldn't be intruding? Were quite the wild bunch. I'm famished already, I could use a bite to eat." Yu said with a grin on his face.

Yu's answer suprised her, but before Hana could say anything, Raven tapped the young man on the shoulder and spoke.

"Sir are we going to stay with them tonight or for a few days? If we will only stay one night, Can I ge some directions to your home? I do need some new clothes and i should be able to afford it with this small amount of money."

It seemed Hana was the only one who didn't want to go, which irritated her a little. "Hey, you know, I really don't think that's necessary. We really need to get going. You can get what you need on the way." Hana said, she was beginning to tire of all the interruptions.