Gotta hurry, shouldn't be on the computer this late, must update...
dis: i no own, got it?
Within minutes, they were on solid ground again, this time in the strange and colorful Gemma Village.
Arietta looked around in awe. It was almost exactly as she remembered it, but brighter. The rays from the sun were able to reach all of the brilliant colors of the village, making it seem even more bright and cheerful. As the group walked, they received various waves and greetings from the villagers, half of whom were wearing masks.
"Mizuti! You're back!" Everyone turned around as a person dressed in brown ran up. His face was somewhat pale, obviously a remnant from years of wearing a mask, and his eyes were, surprisingly, blue. Arietta recognized his voice, but it wasn't until Mizuti said his name that she remembered who he was.
"Hullo, Kee!" Mizuti exclaimed.
"You brought your friends back again, Mizuti!" Kee turned to everyone. Arietta shifted so that she was mostly behind Kalas, not used to actually being seen.
"Yes, the Great Mizuti also wants to introduce you to a new friend. Kee, this be Arietta. She be Kalas's Guardian Spirit, back to see us!" Kee's attention shifted to Arietta. She felt herself blush slightly as his eyes widened.
"You're the Brave Spirit? It's an honor to meet you!" Kee bowed, much to Arietta's surprise. Then he straightened and grabbed Mizuti's hand. "Come, you must see the Great Kamroh!"
"We be coming, Kee!" Mizuti laughed. Everyone smiled, even Savyna, and followed the over-enthusiastic pair of friends to where Kamroh was.
Kamroh was in the same place as Arietta remembered. He was in that big chair that made him look like he wasten times bigger than he really was.
"Ah, Kalas, everyone, I welcome you back to our village!" Kamroh greeted as everyone walked in. "I hope your stay is pleasant." Then he looked at Arietta. "I'm sorry, but I don't seem to remember your face. I am Kamroh, head of Gemma Village." He sounded slightly confused.
"That's alright." Arietta watched as he stopped moving, apparently having remembered her voice, but she continued anyway. "My name is Arietta, and I was a Guardian Spirit. The one that was bonded to Kalas, actually."
"Ah, I thought your energy felt familiar. Welcome back, then, Brave Spirit," Kamroh said warmly.
"While introductions are all well and good, we have something we came to tell you," Gibari said. "It's like this…"
---
"That IS bad news, I'm afraid." Kamroh came down from his odd throne. "The most I can do is offer you my services. Come to me for whatever you may need."
"Thank you, sir," Xelha said sincerely.
"I'm afraid we can't stay. We must get to the other nations and warn them as well," Lyude said.
"I can send a messenger to the other nations for you," Kamroh offered.
"That's very kind of you, thank you."
"It's no trouble."
Kalas turned to the group. "Should we head back to Mira, then?"
"Please, stay the night in our village. I'm sure Mizuti here wants to visit her family," Kamroh broke in.
"Let's stay, Kalas. One night shouldn't hurt," Xelha said to her boyfriend. Mizuti turned hopeful eyes at him. Arietta was amazed at the effectiveness of the expression. Within seconds, Kalas had agreed. Mizuti grabbed both Kee and Arietta and dragged them all the way through Gemma, with Kalas and the rest of the group following them.
"Mother! Father! I be home again!" Mizuti called out the second they were through the doorway.
"Mizuti, welcome home," Kay said warmly. "Ah, Kalas, everyone, welcome."
"It's very good to see you all again," Koh commented. "What brings you all back to Duhr?" Arietta stepped out from behind Kalas and Xelha. "Ah, and who might you be?"
"I'm Arietta, I used to be Kalas's Guardian Spirit," Arietta said, starting to get used to being known but not known.
"Oh. Is something wrong, then?" Kay asked.
"Other than the fact that the ocean's vanished again, the Islands are floating again and people are getting their Wings of the Heart back again? Not a thing."
"Mother, Father, they be able to spend the night with us?" Mizuti broke in.
"I think we need to hear the whole story here," Koh said.
---
"It was nice of them to let us stay with them," Xelha commented as everyone found where they were going to sleep. The seven of them were all in the same room, and there were only two beds and a chair, so there was some debate. In the end, Mizuti and Arietta were given the beds and Lyude took the chair, so Gibari, Kalas, Xelha, and Savyna made themselves comfortable on the floor with the help of a few Mattress Magnus.
"It be no problem, you all be the Great Mizuti's friends!" Mizuti reassured. Her parents had quickly agreed to let the group stay for the night, after hearing why they were there.
"So, Arietta, you got anything you're good at?" Gibari asked, changing the subject.
"Yes, please tell us," Lyude said.
"She was decent with those spells earlier," Savyna commented. Arietta blushed.
"I'm not good at anything, really. I can't really even control those spells," she replied.
"Are you kidding?" the outburst came from, surprisingly, Kalas. "You guys haven't heard her singing. She used to sing when she was bored, way back when she was still a Spirit." He smirked at her indignant face. "What, you didn't think I heard you?"
"Sing for us, Ari!" Xelha said.
"Yeah, kid, I wanna hear this, if this kid says you're good," Gibari said pointing his thumb at Kalas.
"Fine, fine," Arietta consented, still blushing.
"Sing us something from your homeland," Savyna requested. Surprised, Arietta agreed.
"Hm… Ah, I've got it!" Clearing her throat, Arietta hummed for a second to get her notes right and then began. "It's okay to be angry and never let go, it only gets harder the more that you know. When you get lonely and no one's around, you know that I'll catch you when you're falling down. We came together but you left alone and I know how it feels to walk out on your own. Maybe some day I will see you again and you'll look me in my eyes and call me a friend…"
There was dead silence for a second before the group started clapping quietly. Arietta blushed again, not used to being noticed when she sang. The clapping died down and there was silence again. Finally, someone spoke.
"I think we should get some sleep if we're going back to Mira tomorrow," Kalas said. Everyone murmured their agreement and settled into their chosen spots. Within minutes, everyone had drifted off to sleep.
---
The first thing that Arietta noticed when she woke up was that she had a headache rivaling the one that sent her to Kalas' world in the first place. Her entire body was sore as if she had exercised for too long, and it hurt to move.
The next thing was that it smelled different. It wasn't unpleasant, on the contrary, it was familiar and welcome. The faint scent of lilacs drifted to her nose instead of the spices that were in Mizuti's place.
The third thing she noticed was that the sounds were different While Gemma was usually an unusual little town, it got quiet at night and in the mornings. Right now she heard the familiar hum of a computer and the occasional car outside.
Basically, Arietta got the strangest feeling that she was in her room at home.
Opening her eyes, she inhaled sharply. Instead of the wooden walls of Mizuti's bedroom, she was looking at the purple walls of her own room. Sunlight was streaming through her east window, falling on her desk cluttered with all manner of things and on her lilac carpeting. Sitting up, she saw that she was in her own bed with the paper lantern hanging over her head.
"What the-?" she started.
'Ugh… what hit me? Reblys?' Gibari's voice floated through her mind. Arietta looked around quickly but didn't see the paddle-wielding fisherman anywhere.
'Where am I?' That was Xelha.
'What happened?' And Lyude.
'Where we be?' That was unmistakably Mizuti.
'Nothing around here is familiar…' Savyna's voice stated.
'Arietta? Where are we?' And there was Kalas. All six voices sounded echo-y and distant. Arietta looked around her room for the source of the voices of her friends, but all she saw were six little colored lights. One was deep blue, another was turquoise, then red, violet, yellow, and green.
She panicked for a split second before the answer hit her with the force of one of Gibari's Smash Tackles.
"You're all Spirits…" she whispered. "Hurry, all of you, bond with me!"
'What? What are you talking about?' Savyna asked just before the deep blue light rammed into her chest. For a second, she heard her heart pounding in her ears then it faded to normal.
'There,' Kalas's voice said, sounding clearer and closer than it had before. The red light followed, with the same result. Xelha sighed in relief. The turquoise light followed, this one being Gibari, and the violet light, Lyude. The yellow one jumped after happily, proving itself to be Mizuti and the green light, after some hesitation, hit her chest as well.
"Déjà-vu, eh, Kalas?" Arietta quipped once she caught her breath. She could feel the six distinct energies in the back of her mind. She could see the colored lights again, stronger than before, and all in different parts of her room.
'Is this how you felt as my Guardian Spirit?' Kalas asked as the blue light pulsed.
'How odd…' Xelha murmured, the red light circling her bookcase.
'The Great Mizuti be a Spirit?' Mizuti asked, amazed. The turquoise light was resting in Arietta's huge round chair, and in her mind's eye she could see Gibari reclining in it awkwardly. Lyude's light was hovering near her computer, and she could just picture his fascinated expression. Savyna was near her north window, and Arietta thought that she was looking out at the yard.
Arietta got up and crossed her room to her door. She opened it slightly and listened carefully for the breathing of her parents and sibling. Hearing nothing, she sighed in relief and went down the stairs. She almost fell halfway down when she felt a huge tug deep in her chest. She tensed until she realized that it was her new Guardians being pulled along with her. Satisfied that she knew what was happening for the moment, she kept going, intent on getting some food.
Walking into the kitchen, she felt an overwhelming surge of curiosity from all six of her friends. Kalas and Gibari were immediately in front of the microwave, Xelha was checking out the hot chocolate maker and the coffee maker, Mizuti was zooming around trying to see everything at once, and Lyude and Savyna were just looking around curiously.
Smirking slightly, she went to the fridge to look for something sticky-sweet from breakfast. She paused upon seeing the note on the door.
Ari-
I just got called away on a business trip that's going to take the better part of two weeks. Your father decided that he was going to visit his brother on his way home, and that he wouldn't be back for a while, either. You grandmother called and said that she'll be bringing Zander home in a week. PLEASE try not to destroy the house until either your father or I get home, please?
Before I forget, there's fifty dollars in the jar, I need you to go shopping in a few days. Thanks. And no more TV dinners, they're not good for you.
And remember, one friend at a time staying overnight is fine, but no parties, please?
I know you'll be responsible and remember to lock the doors at night. Your keys are where you left them. What did I tell you about that?
-Mom
"Huh, that's cool," she commented as she put the note in her pocket.
'What is?' Kalas asked.
"House to myself for a week. Maybe I should call Andriana and ask if she wants to come over…"
'Who's Andriana?' Lyude asked, joining them at the table where Arietta was eating a leftover sticky bun.
"A very good friend of mine," she replied between bites. After she washed her hands, there was a long silence. Arietta sighed.
"I'm heading to the library. If any of you don't want to go… I guess that's too bad, since you'll get pulled along anyway. I'm going up to change and brush my hair," she said. With that, she walked upstairs.
btw, the song was Empty Apartment by Yellowcard.
