Hey! I'm back! The first few weeks of high school... Yeesh, it's busy!

Anyway, sorry this is a little short. I chose this chapter to say that since school is back, I will be updating slower. I will try to upload at least twice a month, but I'm not so sure if my homework would let that. HOWEVER, I am getting back to reading books, meaning I will most likely get into a "writing mood" more often.

This chapter is around 3,500 words. Short, I know.

DISCLAIMER: I HAVE NO OWNERSHIP of Tales of Xillia. My most humble apologies.


"This might not kill you guys…" I muttered, trying to pick up the temporal stone of earth. "But it's going to kill me..!" A loud grunt came from my mouth as the rock lifted, only to fall back to the ground.

The villager next to me popped up from their sitting spot next to the temporal shrine. "Hey, be careful! I know this is what Lord Maxwell ordered, but please! Do not drop these!" He sounded pretty upset. Even the little kid had a slight pouting face.

"S-Sorry! I'm just not a strong person…" I replied, trying to pick the stone back up.

Alvin bent down, handing me the temporal stone of wind. "I honestly didn't think it would be that hard. Here, I'm guessing this is lighter." I took the stone in my hands, getting prepared for how heavy it was going to be. . . . I guess it was lighter, and since I had put a lot of strength into carrying it before actually feeling it, my arms flew up along with it. You could tell I thought it was going to be as heavy as the earth stone. Why else would I almost accidentally throw the wind one over my head? I hate it when this happens…

"Ma'am, please!" The villager beckoned again for me to be careful.

"I-I'm truly sorry! This time it was just lighter than I expected!" I exclaimed, keeping the stone close now that I no longer trust myself.

The mercenary picked up the earth stone with a grunt. "Man, you weren't kidding..! This really is heavy!"

"See?!"

You can guess by now that we reached Nia Khera after a very dreadful, horrifying trip through the Kijara Falls. The horrifying part was the vines. Yeah, turned out we had to climbs vines more than what the game portrayed. My soul left my body when I collapsed on the ground by Nia Khera's entrance. Alvin and I were sent to gather the wind and earth temporal stones after the whole scene of entering the town. Milla and Jude went to get the water and fire stones. It confuses me of how the wind stone is light and the earth is as heavy as a cow.

We crossed the entrance of town in order to reach Milla and Jude who were at the fire stone. As we did, I stared at the animals a few feet away. Rappigs… They're… Rappigs! Look how cool! Pigs with cute faces and bunny ears! I am so wanting my phone right now.

"Yeowch!" A sound of pain came from ahead of us. As curious as Alvin and I were, we made our way closer to the other two party members.

Jude was rubbing his hand, trying to cast recovery ring to heal it.

"Let me guess." Alvin started as we got closer. "The stone of fire is light but hot."

Jude nodded slightly, finishing the healing. Of course, he still rubbed it a little, but not as much as before. So does healing and recovery take longer than how the game portrays like what the fanfictions said? Cool.

Milla held up the stone of water, and the three of us nodded. It was obvious. The water stone was heavy but the perfect, cool temperature. It's as if these stones are just hollow containers filled with their element. The sun was setting, and like how Jude predicted when we separated, we would have to set up camp in the field. So, while Alvin went to go buy the needed items (since he's the only one that is acceptable to use money at the moment) Jude, Milla, and I all stayed by the fire stone, not daring to touch it. The villager who was by it politely went to go get a cart for us that was specifically for carrying these hurtful things. I was so relieved finding out that we didn't have to carry them in our arms all the way to the shrine. Because we all know there are at least two field sections between here and there.

"So, Maren." Jude started, and again I melted slightly to him saying my name. I looked at him patiently, tilting my head a little. "About Tim," My heart sunk. "Was he… A good brother?"

"Huh?" I blankly said, staring at the medical student. He wasn't going to say how he doesn't believe he existed? How he can prove it? How I ramble on and on about things that probably won't ever happen? Okay, scratch that last part. I continued speaking, "Well, yes. He is- er was- a good brother. There'd be these times where he'd wrap his arm around my shoulder and joke about me paying rent. Or there was this one time where he fell into a giant mud spot, and splashed it on the rest of us. Or even the time when he went to the other side of the world to teach for six months in a school. Or-"

I rambled on and on about the happy and funny things my brother did. "-he accidentally cut the top of the stool off with a real sword-" as I went on, I just… I don't know what came over me. My eyes burned, I lost feeling in my legs, and collapsed in tears.

I was crying… I was crying?

Why now of all times?

It hurts… My eyes burn, my heart aches, and my hands are trembling.

Milla stared with a slightly shocked face, and Jude was immediately at my side. "Hey, Maren, don't worry…" He repeated over and over as I clutched my legs close to my chest. What was this feeling? I've never felt it before… Longing? Longing for what..?

Home…

My brown eyes widened. That's right… My mind thought clearly. I can't handle being away from home for a long period of time…

How am I supposed to stay calm if I cry at a single thought of family?

I left home un-expectantly. On a day everyone had left the house to do their own stuff. The front door was open. They could think I was kidnapped! Or worse…

"Whoa, what happened here?" Alvin walked over, holding the giant bag of survivor items. I sniffed, preventing any snot from coming out. My left hand quickly wiped away the tears in my eyes, and I stood. Looking around at the three staring at me. It was a weird scene.

Jude was covering his nose, trying his hardest not to sneeze while Milla was just staring. I turned towards Alvin, and he had a slightly concerned expression. But it vanished the instant I made eye contact. I huffed a breath of slight amusement, then it turned into a giggle – and then a soft laugh.

"That sure came out of nowhere, didn't it?" I continued laughing, covering my open mouth with my tear-covered hand. "I gave you guys the spooks, huh? I'm sorry, I just didn't know what happened. Puberty and stuff." Then, I snorted, eyes growing wide, and quickly covered my nose and mouth completely.

The three around me started to softly laugh at the sudden noise I had made. My face flushed.

Then, Milla stood when the cart was in sight. She turned towards it, picking up the water stone. I picked up the wind one, Jude stayed by the fire, and Alvin carefully picked up the earth stone. After placing them on the cart along with the equipment, we began our way out of the village of spirits.

That was… A sure example of how quickly the mood can change in real life.


Walking along in the Nia Khera spiritway, we were all surprisingly quiet. Well, I had an excuse. I broke down all of a sudden in front of everyone. My mind's focused on home, and who knows what's on everyone else's minds. I could see Jude glancing back at me a couple times, probably to see if I was okay.

Milla was leading us, not bothering about Alvin's struggle with pushing the cart. The ground just wasn't as flat as it looked, so he was trying not to have the wind stone fall easily. I stayed next to it, watching for mud spots or anything the cart could get stuck in. Eventually, Jude seemed to slowly fall back from walking by Milla to Alvin's side. He had a face that was as if he was saying he needed to talk, and Alvin motioned for me to go up by Milla.

I was confused, but I followed his little motion, going to walk by the spirit. She still seemed to ignore the presence of us, keeping her gaze ahead, and back straight. She looks focused and confident. Someone who won't take no for an answer. I'm jealous, because if I'm ever told no, I never fight back unless needed. After all, no means no, so I've followed that.

"Maren?" I heard Milla say with her gaze still ahead. My brown eyes looked up at her, and she continued. "I've never had to do what you humans call 'camping.' I have always used Sylph to fly me around, and Undine would keep me from getting wet. For a runaway Exodus agent like yourself, you must know how to camp easier than anyone else. What with you and your brother running from them, after all."

"Uhhh…"

"Perhaps you could teach us how to make a fire? Or to cook a simple meal."

"Umm…"

"Or to put up this covering called a tent."

"I don't exactly know too well about camping in the wilderness."

Milla looked down at me for the first time within the hour of being out here. "You do not know? But you-"

"I wasn't ever lying when I said my brother took care of everything for me." Yes I was. I was totally lying, but it was the only thing for an excuse. Ugh, camping in tents… I dreaded the idea. Sounds like bugs constantly buzzing around you, itchy grass, and not to mention being out in complete darkness…

"Interesting. You're as clueless as me, and yet you're the same age as Jude."

"You look like you're around 20, so don't go saying that to me like it's a pity."

The conversation went quiet, and I looked behind at the two boys. They seemed to be murmuring about something, but I couldn't quite hear the words. It bothered me, and I really want to know what they're saying. Maybe I'll find out some other time.

As we continued our walk, the sun began to set, and the shadows of the cliffs around us grew. Soon our only light source will be the moon, and we could already tell how dark it was actually going to be. So, we found ourselves a spot to rest in. It was on one of the ledges. Alvin said that most monsters won't come up on the ledge at night, since it looked secluded enough. I felt bad for just standing and watching Jude and Alvin try to get the cart up and over. But they insisted that Milla and I just go and find fire wood. And we did.

Being my paranoid self, I took my sword, keeping my ears open to the noises around us. I didn't want something to happen like in Symphonia's sequel. You know, where Emil goes to gather wood, and is suddenly attacked by one of those weird dragon dudes. Yeah, me no want to run into a dragon and fight alongside Richter-

"Maren." Milla said, looking over at me and pointing down at the end of a tree. "These look burnable. We should gather them." I stared at first, but nodded, running over. There was surprisingly a couple handy things. A long stick that we could use to move the wood around, some dry grass that will be easy fuel, and a lot of slender sticks scattered about.

"Sure, I think these will be enough." And we gathered them all up, heading back to the campsite. Roaming around in the darkness is scary… I want my lamp that I would keep on in my room. At least that way I could see what's going on, and not be in the darkness of mystery.

Reaching the ledge, Alvin took the fire supplies before helping us up. As Milla and I sat down where the fire would be started, Jude started to create a circle of rocks. Then, Alvin began to stack the sticks up, eventually making a fire with flint he had and the dried grass we gathered.

"I didn't even tell you to get this stuff." He pointed towards the dead slivers of plant. "You're smart."

"Thank you." I bowed my head with a humorous way, then started to swing back and forth. Milla watched with amusement while Jude and Alvin got the fire and food prepared. I feel a little useless… They're kind of doing everything by themselves. What can I possibly help with? My paranoia would probably have me mess something up. But I don't want to feel useless. I don't want to feel like I'm just here to watch like how it would be back home.

By the thought of feeling like I'm just there, I remembered the face of my friend, Alicia. She was one of the few people who made me feel… Alive. I rarely went to go hang out with friends until she came along. I never made plans with someone on the last day of school. She joked with me about somehow appearing in another world from anime, she showed me how to get out of my comfort zone. Meeting her was like… A fresh start.

And yet, here, I feel useless, again. Surrounded by people who know way more about ways of life than me. People who are destined to become heroes. People who are suspicious, brave, and made from a game. Jude, who'd I'd fantasize about with Alicia, only to be teased about marrying him someday. Milla, who knows nothing about the human world that it's almost sad when seen in person. Not to mention Alvin. Someone with a shady past who's easily able to hide his problems and truths that it's almost scary. More characters like them are going to walk into the party. I'll most likely feel even more useless.

"Maren." I slowly looked up at Jude who was pouring the soup into a bowl. "How much would you like?" He asked. I stared in silence, thinking things over. These characters' problems used to be made up. But now they're real. Jude's going through a confusing part of his life, and soon he'll go through a huge slap at his face when Milla falls into the ocean. I feel sorry for him. I feel as though I have to stop as much suffering as I can.

"Day dreaming, again?" Alvin mused after swallowing the spoonful of soup he took. It was then that I jolted, seeming to come back to reality.

"S-Sorry…" I stuttered, patting my stomach. "I… I'll only have a little. I seemed to have lost my appetite." The three gave me incredulous looks. Before they could ask what's wrong, I simply said, "Just recovering from some… Home sickness, I guess." And only did Alvin and Jude give me understanding looks. Milla just stared, her facial expression hiding any hint of what was going on in her mind.

After the meal, Alvin chose to be the first watch.

"Not that we really need it, but who knows." He said.

We only had two tents set up, but they were bigger than how I thought they would be. They definitely could hold at least to people. It'll be like at the inn. Jude will sleep with Alvin (Juvin is blossoming), and Millia will sleep with me. We couldn't mix it up because that could lead to a couple problems, especially if we tried to do it by age. Poor Jude, he would be sneezing all night.

I crawled into the tent, already claiming my side – the right. I happen to like the right. I personally don't know why. I'll just stay curled up in here for the time being. Jude and Milla should still be out there. Or at least, I thought they would.

"Maren, we would like to speak with you." I heard Milla's voice from outside the tent. I was confused at first, but then scared. Could she have figured out that my lie about being a part of Exodus wasn't true? I carefully crawled back out of the mini shelter, staring up at the lit faces of all three characters. I took a second to let the fact that those features are real to sink in. Then, I propped myself up on my knees.

I looked between each of them, feeling as though they were each towering me. "S-So…" I began, rather quietly. "What's up?"

"When you were talking about Tim," Jude started, looking down at his hands. "I could see how much you love him. I'm sorry for accusing you about lying if he was real or not." I nodded a little, trying to signal that it was okay.

"But when the honor student told me about what you were saying," Alvin took place, next. "One of the stories seemed to catch our curiosity." I stared, feeling as though sweat was going down the side of my face. I wasn't sure if it was because of the heat from the fire, or if it was me being nervous. "You told me when we first met that you and… Tim were alone, and made it seem like your parents died before you could remember them." I nodded hesitantly.

Now it was Milla's turn. Her arms were crossed, looking down at me. "I quote, 'there was this one time where he fell into a giant mud spot, and splashed it on the rest of us.' What did you mean by the rest of us? It certainly seems like you had more family."

"If you had friends or people who cared for you, surely they would have taken you in once your parents died, right?" Jude's orange eyes looked straight into mine. I felt weak. I remember that dream I had about that blinding, white fuzz. He said I had to have all of the people in the group to be around me. Only then would he become visible and that my recognition of him would come upon me.

I stayed silent, looking down, and gripping my hands in my lap. There has to be some way to stall… They're starting to catch on. Yes, the people who knew me would probably take me in. Then Jude would try to do what Asbel does with Sophie. Find those people who know me so I can have shelter. There has to be some way… Brittany gave Lloyd a deadline. There's no deadline that these guys know of. So how..?

"…Does it trouble you to talk about it?" Alvin spoke up. Oh, you mercenary, thank you for the idea.

I nodded a little, looking up at them slowly. "I… You'd be fine if I waited until I was comfortable to tell, right..?" They each looked at each other, exchanging glances, and seeming to understand. Then, their eyes landed on me, each nodding with agreement. I smiled with relief, and we each had different thoughts on why.


()()()

Yeah, I didn't even get to the shrine! *jumps up in a Mario Pose to celebrate only to fall back down into a pit*

. . . I will try my hardest to get the next chapter not only longer, but more interesting. I have a feeling the plot didn't really progress too much in this one. :/

Also! I am, however, getting closer to making OCMaren's official Adventure Outfit! For those of you who check my Facebook page or looked on my Deviantart account, you've seen my sketches of possible outfits. Honestly, I hope to have feedback on which one would be best. Just so I can possibly tweak the one I have planned. The links are in my bio. Everyone on here either has a Facebook or Deviantart account, right? If you have a paranoia like me and don't want your real name to be seen, you can either comment on DA on the picture, or look at the picture, and do your suggestion in a review on here. Or... PM me. I don't know, everyone has their ways. I DON'T BITE. . . . Only when I'm in danger.

Anyway, peace! Review any mistakes I made or if this is really good!