I felt things were going a bit slow, so I decided to skip ahead a bit! I'm excited to write this! If you have any ideas for Tina's artes, feel free to tell me! I've been asked about what kinds of artes, and truthfully, I'm not going to be picky, so anything will be good, though I might tweak some suggestions! On another note! Let's get writing!

I sigh as I give another glance at Estelle, who was chatting with Karol ahead of us. I was so frustrated! My memory of the storyline had all gone to shit! Estelle did that 'heal the tree' magic, and I can't remember how! I know she has some weird power, I know she doesn't use her blastia, but I can't remember what her power is! I huff, ruffling my hair lightly. Maybe it's better I don't remember, I don't want to indirectly ruin anything...or have I already done that?

"What's up?" I chuckle lightly, not even taking my eyes off the pinkette in front of me to look at Yuri, who had fallen into step beside me.

"Estelle…" I say offhandedly, looking down fondly at Repede when he nudges my hand, demanding a pet.

"Her power?" I nod, and jump slightly when a hand rests on my shoulder. I look up into Yuri's deep grey eyes, thankful that I no longer blush when I look at him.

"Don't worry about it. We'll ask when it's right." His voice is firm, and I can't help but hum in agreement. I grab a small piece of his long violet locks, twisting it skillfully between my fingers.

"You should let me put your hair up sometime." He raises an eyebrow, but doesn't attempt to reach for the small amount of his hair, now being braided by yours truly

"Didn't think you would know how, based on how short yours is." I hum in delight as I finish the braid, and chuckle as it stays in, the result of me having done it so tightly.

"Believe it or not." I say, fluffing my hair slightly. "My hair used to be just as long as yours. The problem is...long hair is easy to grab." I wasn't just talking about my fighting style, but I'll leave it at that. Yuri seemed to have caught on though, and I smiled as I felt his fingers run through my orange strands. He continues to pet me, for a lack of better terms, and I can't help a familiar vibration from starting up in the back of my throat.

"Are you purring?" Yuri asks, a smirk on his face. I duck my head away, and rub my cheeks in an attempt to fight the blush.

"Shut up." I growl, giving him a playful punch on the shoulder. We pause in our conversation as Karol screams, running away from Repede, whom was being chased by Estelle….I groan loudly.

"Hey guys, that must be Aspio up ahead, let's get there quickly ok?" Yuri calls out. The three stop with their chase, taking notice of the caves up ahead, the City of Aspio...seems kind of emo to me! I giggle at my own thoughts, before dashing forwards, scooping Karol onto my back as I run by.

"Aggh!" He yelps loudly, I simply giggle, and keep on running. His hands dig into my shoulders, though not tight enough to hurt me. Eventually, spotting monsters ahead, I slow to a stop, glancing behind me to see Estelle and Yuri jogging behind us.

"Hurry up!" I yell out loudly, Karol lets out a quiet giggle, and I can't help but grin widely, laughing as I can feel Kris relaxing. He's been cutting off our connection off and on, which isn't uncommon...but he's been doing it a lot, and seems to be worried about something. Sadly, finding one each other's thoughts isn't possible through our connection. Walking into the dark cave city, I immediately give a small shiver. It's as if wet moss is covering my skin, and I groan as I realize we're barely even inside yet! Spotting two knights standing guard by the entrance, I start to lag behind. Both Yuri and I gained wanted posters, so I'm not going to take any chances of us getting inside. Yuri kept teasing me about my portrait on our two wanted posters (which I'm extremely excited about by the way, One Piece does that to a person) when HIS was drawn way worse than my own, so I'm not gonna bother reminding him! I walk over to the cabin, out of site from the conversation.

"You're kidding." I deadpan, looking at what could only be the most ridiculous thing I have yet to witness. Wonderchef. I mean, sure it was funny in the gameplay, but to actually witness it right now…

"Whine~?" I can feel Repede nuzzling me, as I crouch, desperately trying to breath. I'M LAUGHING TOO HARD OH DEAR GOD! Brushing away my tears, I look up to see the group looking at me, confused. I point a finger at the...thing, and try to keep myself from laughing again.

"Wonderchef." I squeak out. Yuri raises an eyebrow at me, before walking up to the...object that was causing my laughter. In a poof, the wonderchef is standing there in all his glory.

"I am the amazing Wonderchef! As a prize for finding me, let me give you a recipe and a few sets of ingredients to try out!" He cheers enthusiastically, shoving a large bag into my hands.

"B-but!" I try to say, only for the majestic Wonderchef to 'poof' away.

"I already know this recipe…" I say to the now empty space. I turn to Yuri, who simply gives me his usual combo of a smirk and raised eyebrow. I try to divert attention from this already strange and embarrassing situation.

"Now then, I'm guessing the knights were being absolutely useless as per usual?" Estelle pouts at my comment, while Karol giggles lightly, Yuri just sighs. "Pretty much." He mutters, giving a shrug.

"Soooo….." I drawl, gesturing over to the other entrance beside me. "Shall we?" I say good-naturedly.

"You knew this would happen didn't you?!" Karol accused, a large pout covering his face as he picks the lock with practised skill.

"I've heard about the passports before, but they're mainly for places like Aspio. From my limited knowledge of the city, it contains a lot of valuable information that, if stolen by the wrong people, could learn too many horrible things, with the empire blaming the guilds leading to possibly a war being only one of them. They truthfully have every right to block off the information, but I feel they shouldn't block off the people as well." The group stares at me, their expressions mildly shocked. Yuri tilts his head in thought, before nodding absentmindedly. I can tell I raised his opinion about the knights by at least the smallest of amounts. We silently enter, closing the door quietly. The mages reading don't even look up, and I give a small gesture towards them.

"Imagine how easy thieves could steal from these guys?" I murmur into Yuri's ear quietly. He nods hesitantly. Even though I dislike the knights, they are there for a reason, and while he doesn't have to like them, I feel like Yuri should at least understand that the world isn't just black and white.

"Excuse me?" I ask politely to a nearby researcher. He raises his head, his voice annoyed, before his eyes meet a certain...area on my upper torso. I roll my eyes, my annoyance raising by the second. While I don't mind being admired (Raven being a prime example), he didn't even ask what I wanted, or even glance at my face.

"My eyes are here please." My voice straining as I try to keep in my annoyance. His eyes slowly raise to my face, flickering constantly downwards, before a leering smirk appears on his face, and I see a dangerous, and familiar glint in his eyes. I shiver slightly, rubbing my arm in discomfort.

"Hey. Do you know where we can find someone named Mordio?" Yuri cuts in, and I sigh in relief, though I'm mildly confused. Yuri seems...angry? Annoyed? Was I taking too long? He places a hand on my shoulder, and my eyes widen in realization as he rubs it slightly, my surprisingly tense muscles relaxing. Did he see my discomfort? I completely zone out from the conversation, a memory of my past breaking through into my thoughts.

WARNING: this contains mildly traumatic events, if you are very sensitive to these type of things, then feel free not to read it, but it won't be very detailed. Even so, I feel this warning is necessary.

Flashback

"Hello." A voice leers dangerously. I whimper, eyes darting desperately for escape.

"You two look quite young...nine? Ten maybe?" The man leans down, his brown eyes flashing dangerously behind small glass frames, and messy blonde hair shifting in front of his eyes. I can feel Kris's fear as he clings to me desperately. He grins widely, his eyes flashing widely, before he grabs my arm tightly, throwing me across the small room. I let out a yelp as I hit the wall, unbearable pain flaring in my back, my vision blurring as I hit the floor.

"Stay there brat! If you move, instead of playing with you two, I'll kill you both instead!" I muffle my sobs under my hands, watching as my brother screams in pain, tears running down his face as his clothes are ripped from his body.

I'm sorry…

I'm sorry…

Forgive me…

Please…

I'm sorry…

I'M SORRY.

I'M SORRY.

I'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORR-

"Tina?!" I snap out of my memory abruptly, looking up at Yuri, trying to calm down my quickened breathing. This wasn't the time for a panic attack.

I calm down slightly, now just noticing the two of us were alone, outside of the library. Yuri reaches down, prying my hand gently from my arm, and looking at the bruises forming. I wince slightly at the sight.

"Sorry…" I mumble, turning away. I didn't want to see the pity in his eyes. I've had too much pity…

"Tina." He says firmly, almost forcing me with his voice to look at him. I'm startled by what I see in his eyes. Not pity, but...anger, and… something else…

"Are you okay?" He asks, observing me closely. I sigh shakily. Why does he care so much? It's barely been two weeks since we've known each other! I''m...I'm not used to anyone caring…

"I…" My voice cracks, and I wince. I try again. "I can't tell you...not yet."

I look him straight in the eye, and he stares back, his eyes peering into my soul. Slowly, he nods.

"...Just remember what I said...I'm always here okay?" He says, and I swallow a choked sob, trying to stop myself from crying. I nod back, and he reaches out, ruffling my hair softly.

"Let's go, I told Karol, Repede and Estelle to go on ahead." I nod, taking in a deep breath.

"Yuri…" He turns, his eyes looking at me in worry. I give him a small smile.

"Thank you..." He simply gives me that ever constant smirk of his, though his eyes are softer than usual.

"Come on." He gestures, and I let a smile form on my face. My gut filled with relief and...a weird warmth…

I wonder what that's all about?

This is much shorter, and I'm very sorry about that, but I've been really sick (still am), and I was also gone all Christmas Break! Speaking of which, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Years! I plan to try to get my next chapter done quicker, despite being so sick, and FINALLY Rita, one of my favourite characters will be mentioned! If there are any questions or arte requests, feel free to PM or review them to me, as long as you're okay if I change them a little bit.

Anyways! Thank you for reading!

From: Dragon S.W.K.