K, this is the longest chapter so far, enjoy!
Seated at a high backed wooden chair, at a polished, rectangular black stone table, Raiina felt more than a little out of place as she ate the sumptuous array of fruits available in front of her for her breakfast. Despite her famish after her enforced fast from the long march across the desert; she ate slowly, trying to avoid the relatively awkward silence which had settled over the room.
Taking a hand off the banana she happened to be peeling, she scratched at her back, not relishing the feel of the strange clothes; a light blue top with thin straps, and black shorts. She had to restrain herself from continually casting her eyes around the room, and instead forced herself to concentrate on the large banana in her hand, as she methodically ate it, flicking her eyes up every so often to catch glances of the people in the room with her.
Valader sat at the head of the table, leaning back into his own chair, a thoughtful expression on his face, as he ate his own bowl of fruit, pausing every now and then between mouthfuls to make conversation with the handsome youth seated next to him, between himself and Raiina.
The youth had relatively long, dirty blonde hair, which finished shortly above his shoulders, often falling onto his tanned face, after which it was promptly flicked away, only to fall again a few seconds later. He had bright, startlingly blue eyes, and an open light hearted grin, which seemed to make the room light up, and his laughter was a bright, raucous peal. He was wearing simple three quarter length jeans and a white tee-shirt, which covered a part of his tanned, muscled arms.
He was slim, and not very tall, perhaps the same height as Raiina, and he was casually, yet gracefully slouched in his similar chair, his legs resting on the table in front of him, not caring whether his bare feet were in or out of someone else's food.
Catching Raiina's eye, he gave her a slow purposeful sink, before placing his hand behind his head, tossing his hair back as he did so. "Hiya!" He smiled, a broad grin lighting up his face, "M'name is Tyson, but you can call me Ty for short."
Raiina gave him a slight smile back, "Hi, I'm Raiina. How long have you been here for?"
"A week, give or take I suppose, I got 'ere second after Atrum over there, and o'course Valader was here before him." Ty nodded in the direction of another, older youth seated on Raiina's left, opposite to Valader.
He had dark brown hair that fell about his face in an elegant way down to about his ears. His eyes were a deep, chocolate brown, and he had a meaningful stare. He was quite handsome, his refined features set in a sort of half smile, as he sat lightly on his chair, one arm resting on its high back.
He was clad in cargo pants with a white vest, which snugly fit his muscular frame. Raising a hand he brushed it through his hair, before giving a large yawn, which seemed to ripple through his whole body, like a cat. Reaching out, he grabbed the tall glass in front of him, downing the pure water inside in a series of mouthfuls before replacing it neatly on the table, resting his long arm once again on the back of his chair.
A slight movement at the side of the room alerted Raiina to the presence of the fourth and final member of the group, as a slim, lithe figure slipped out of the shadows to perch neatly on the edge of her own chair.
She was small and thin, and seemed, well-so delicate. Her every movement was perfectly controlled, and she almost seemed to glide rather than walk, every flick of her head, and movement of her arm as she helped herself to an apple off a nearby plate was smooth, graceful, like that of a dancer.
She was small and light, a stark contrast to herself, Raiina thought with a smirk, while she was quite flexible and not bad at dancing, this girl outclassed everyone else, she was a natural. She had mid-length, mousy brown hair, tied back in a bun, and watery blue, gray eyes, which for now were fixed on the plate in front of her.
She wore a short white skirt and a light purple singlet, with black, slip on shoes that covered her tiny feet. Everything about this new figure seemed so small and refined and pretty, that Raiina felt like a tomboy in comparison.
Seeing the new comer's arrival, Valader broke off his conversation with Ty, before his face split into a welcoming grin. "Aerren, good to see you, now that you are here we can begin."
Raiina tensed instantly, draining her glass of water in several gulps before setting it down on the table in front of her, she leaned forward slightly, her full and undivided attention on Valader. For now, surely at last she would be getting the answers to some of her questions.
"Now I'm sure most of you are wondering what's going on and I will answer your questions to the best of my ability, I'm not going to reveal everything straight away, I don't want to overload you with information or confuse you."
His eyes flicked to Raiina at this final remark, smiling slightly at the threatening look, which had appeared on her face.
"First things first, an introduction is called for seeing as we have the final member of our group. Raiina, I believe that you've already met Ty," He began, gesturing toward the slouching figure next to her, who grinned cockily, giving Raiina a discrete thumbs up.
"And this is Atrum," he continued, pointing toward the figure opposite him, who smiled mysteriously at Raiina, raising one hand elegantly in greeting, uttering a light, "Hello," in his smooth, tones.
"And finally Aerren," She looked up at Raiina, for the first time meeting her eyes with her own clear gaze. She merely nodded, a bored look appearing on her face, before she returned her attention to the remaining food on her plate.
"Now that that's sorted, allow me to explain to you what your purpose is here," He paused, staring into space for a second as if unsure how to begin or what to explain.
"Each of you has been brought here for a reason, a sole reason which is important to the very nature, the very survival of the Worlds and all living creatures. You are going to be part of the creation of an awesome weapon called the Keyblade."
A shiver traveled down Raiina's spine at the very mention of the name, even the word itself seemed to hold power that seemed to make colours brighten for the briefest second when it was uttered.
Seemingly oblivious to the reaction the name had caused, Valader continued, his voice becoming more impassioned with every word he said. Yet it seemed to Raiina that his voice was layered with something darker, as if he were not only explaining the nature of this weapon to them, but giving a warning.
"The Keyblade has the power to destroy, and rebuild to wound and to heal, and even, to some extent to kill and to give life. It will bring balance to the Worlds and become a beam of light in the dark, and you four will be the Wielders of this mighty weapon, guardians if you will of the entire Universe!"
He paused and a deep silence settled in the wake of his words, as the four, future Wielders struggled to comprehend his words. Ty, his legs now swung down off the table, was leaning forward, listening intently, serious for the first time. Atrum was staring at Valader, a peculiar, far-off expression in his dark eyes, as if he were imagining the possibilities of such a weapon.
Aerren, was staring at the wall to the left of Raiina's head, a slight smirk on her face as if she were convinced that this were some elaborate scheme. If I weren't such a serious person, I wouldn't believe it either, Raiina thought to herself, rubbing her face with her hands. But Valader seems like a trustworthy person…I guess I'll have to believe him, at least for now.
Sitting up, Raiina cleared her throat slightly, drawing the attention of the other four in the room, and she almost felt overwhelmed by the force of those golden, blue, brown and gray stares. "Uhh… well, I mean Valader you haven't told us about yourself, I mean err… you didn't say why you are here, and well, how do you know we are the ones you want, I mean, I just sort of ended up here."
She blushed slightly, and was almost shocked at her own reaction; normally she would never get embarrassed, though she supposed that these weren't exactly normal circumstances.
Risking a glance up a Valader, she saw him examining her intently, as if summing her up, deciding how best he could answer her. "I… I can't answer all of your questions now, and before you start, trust me, it's for your own good. I will answer all of your questions, or at least attempt to, but for now, some answers will just have to wait. But to give you something to think about, let's just say that, it is your destiny to be here, your destiny to create this weapon, and that it is my destiny to guide, and teach you."
Raiina nodded, sighing when she realized she would have to be patient, and unfortunately patience wasn't one of her more notable values.
Breaking the ensuing silence, Valader stood up and stated in a bright, casual voice, "Now, to begin today, let's get some training in before the day gets too hot."