Chapter 5: When It Rains, It Pours

I'm aware that the previous chapters may have been a bit shorter and perhaps a lack of detail along with grammar and spelling errors. I'll try my best to write longer chapters in the future. With that said, I will eventually go back to the previous chapters and will edit them to make them longer. Writing from 3rd person point of view is a bit challenging for me compared to the first POV but that is fine, there is always room for improvement right? Anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter!

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"Crap!" Kya's eyes flew open when she sat up, ignoring the pain in her back from sleeping on the floor. The sudden movement made Kalani jump as he woke up, and saw Kya brushing her hair with her fingers in a hurry. There was a worried expression across her pale face. "I need to go." Kya said when she noticed that Kalani was awake as she gathered her staff. Kalani's mechanical hand wrapped around her wrist gently, careful to not use its full strength. "You're heading to Guadosalam, right? Let me go with you."Kalani offered as he gathered his belongings. She sensed a hint of concern in Kalani's tone. Thinking for a minute, she agreed with a nod. Heading outside, the sun was shining bright as Kya was greeted with a warm summer breeze. It was comforting, reminding her of the summers spent in Luca with Kalani. It also reminded her of the time when her father and Auron would go fishing. Her father was the oldest brother to Auron but they shared some similarities in their appearance, with both having dark hair and eyes. Auron had long black hair in a ponytail while her father kept his hair short. Kya had herniated her mother's blonde hair and pale skin but she had eyes like her father's. "Looks like Yuna and the others are already gone." Kalani commented as the two were reaching the bridge leading towards the path to the Moonflow. Kya listened to the birds chirping cheerfully as they sought shelter within the trees, from the warm summer sun.

The river flowed gently from the Djose Temple and along the dirt road leading to the Moonflow River. Soon, trees and wildflowers grew thicker as they drew closer to the Moonflow River. "So, Kalani." Kya finally spoke, breaking the peaceful quiet between them. The silence wasn't awkward between the two as she normally felt with others including Seymour. At times, Seymour made Kya feel uneasy but she could never figure out why. The discomfort towards Seymour grew when Jyscal suddenly passed away. It was as if Seymour became a different person, almost a stranger. But not Kalani, she felt comfortable and safe with him although it had been five years since they last spoke. The silence still never felt awkward between the two old friends. "You never did tell me what happened to your arm." Kya finally added, taking a glance at his mechanical arm that was now wrapped in a cloth as if to hide it from the sun or was it to hide it from the world? Kya didn't know or ask why when they had left Djose Temple. "Oh, I had a close call with a machina two years ago. You know how much I used to love fixing old machina that was found where I used to live?" Kalani asked, wondering if Kya still remembered that detail about him. "One day, I had been working on a machina that a friend and I had found in the desert, and like always I was trying to bring it back to life when it came alive. It was scary. It wasn't a small machina that you normally see, it was pretty huge and it had arms made with saws so when it came to life it struck me and got my arm." Kalani paused as he moved his metal arm as if it was still foreign to him. "It's been a year and a half since I got this and it still feels weird to me. Sometimes I can still feel the pain from when I got attacked that day. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for my good friends, Rikku and Brother. The two had a handmade bomb already prepared for situations like that. Rikku reminded me of you, you know? Small but was never afraid to stand her ground. I'm sure you would love her if you ever met." The Al Bhed smiled as Meiko peeked her small head out from his pouch, letting out a yawn.

The two friends reached the Moonflow River which was accompanied by moon lilies. It was said at night, the pyreflies attracted to the moon lilies, gather and cause the river to glow like a thousand stars in the night sky. Even during the day, the river was beautiful. "Guadosalam is on the other side, we should be there in about two hours." Kya explained, watching the pyreflies dance around the moon lilies. After admiring the river and having a quick lunch, the two friends headed towards the shoopuff to travel to the other side of the river. Once they had reached the north Moonflow bank, the sun was starting to set for the day but there was still an hour left of daylight. Kya began to worry that Seymour would scold her for not returning home in time and just like that, she noticed a group of Guado as if it was on command, heading her way. Kya groaned at the sight. "Lady Kya, Maester Seymour sent us to bring you home." The taller Guado spoke his pale eyes on Kalani.

"We were heading towards Guadosalam." Kya sighed. It looks like the Guado would be guiding Kya and Kalani to Guadosalam. "This way Lady Kya." The leader of the group addressed Kya as they began to lead the way. The trip to Guadosalam was long and dreadful and the summer heat was slowly rising but it wasn't unbearable for Kya and Kalani. Soon, the heat began to slowly cool off as the sun set for the day. The woods seemed to have grown thicker with older trees that gave comfort under its shade. The scent of moss and soil moist from the swamps filled the cool evening air. Finally, the group reached a small hill as the earth's floor turned into thick layers of moss and strong roots spirling in a pattern. The entrance of Guadosalam appeared to be tucked under a thousand-year-old tree, in a cave carved from underneath. "Home sweet home." Kya sighs, stretching her arms out as they enter Guadosalam. The small city of Guadosalam was different from anywhere else in Spira, roots twisted along the way on the ground and its walls were also covered in tree roots. There was a smell of bark that lingered in the underground city's air. Kalani was busy staring at the strange sights of Guadosalam when Kya was speaking to him after the guards had been dismissed. "Kalani?" She realized that he hadn't been paying attention. Blinking his eyes, he jerked his attention to Kya. Rubbing the back of his head, he let out a sheepish grin. "Sorry. This place is different from where I'm from. What you were saying?" Kya shook her head at the comment and pointed toward what seemed to be the bigger home in Guadosalam. Seymour's mansion. "I was saying, you can rest here for the night." Kya offered as she walked towards the door with Kalani following behind. Before she reached for the door, the doors swung open revealing a worried summoner and her guardians. "Yuna?" Kya was caught off guard at the sight of the crowd. Yuna didn't say anything and instead continued walking. Something was off about Yuna. Yuna appeared to be stressed or in a trance as if in deep thought. Kya noticed a man with bright orange hair and tanned skin glaring at Kalani.

"What's the Al Bhed doing following you around?" The man asked, with a scowl on his face. "That is none of your concern!" Kya warned sternly, noticing that a blonde-haired young girl seemed to recognize Kalani as she placed a finger on her lip as if telling him to be quiet. This must have been Rikku that Kalani had mentioned earlier. She was also an Al Bhed and this man didn't realize this? "I'm a traveling summoner," Kalani finally spoke with the accent thick in his voice but there was a calmness to his tone. "Like you, I wish peace for Spira. Me being an Al Bhed should not have anything to do with why I am following my dear friend, Kya, around." Kalani said, cooly. This comment seemed to fire the man up when a woman dressed in a black dress stepped in front of him, and he was struggling for words to fire back. "Not now, Wakka." She spoke with a stern tone. "She's right. Her friend is not of our concern, our job is to protect and guide Yuna. She's heading to the Farplane. We should meet her there." The woman turned around, her long braids swinging from behind her, leaving Wakka struggling for words as all he could mumble was the black mage's name, Lulu.

The rest of the guardians followed behind Wakka and Lulu but Auron stood by the door, staring at Kya. "You're grown. You look very much like your mother." He finally spoke, breaking the silence between the two. "You have your father's eyes." The legendary guardian added. "But you broke your promise." Kya's voice was weak. Auron sighed and shook his head. "That is something that I will explain but for now, I need to join the others. We will talk again soon." At that, Auron was walking away towards the Farplane. Kya looked over at Kalani looked as if he was in deep thought. She could tell that Wakka's remark bothered him. "Don't worry about him. You being an Al Bhed doesn't change who you are as a person. Come on, let's go and grab something to eat. I'm starving." Kya smiled as she opened the door. Inside the entrance were two stairs that were crescent-shaped, leading to a door upstairs. Along the stairs were pictures of the past leaders of Guadosalam, the recent one being Jyscal. Kya guided Kalani towards the front door on the first level of the mansion which opened up to a spacious dining room. In the center was a table filled with different types of exotic fruits and on the walls of the dining room was a table filled with dishes and silverware along with drinks. In the middle of the room stood Seymour who looked as if he was bothered at the sight of Kalani but in a flash, he quickly changed his expression to mask what he was really thinking. Kya seemed to be the only one who noticed. Seymour greeted Kya and Kalani with a smile. "I see that you have brought a friend." He spoke with a calm demeanor as usual. "I'm afraid that his presence here is not welcome today. We have to go to the Macalania Temple, our services are needed."

"But we just got here!" Kya shouted, losing her temper. "Then you should have made it back in time. There is something that I need to discuss with you but we will discuss it along the way." Seymour kept cool despite Kya yelling. This made her grow furious and disappointed in the fact that she was a High Priestess first to Spira. Her freedom no longer existed. "Hey, it's alright. I believe there's an Inn in Thunder Plains. I can rest there, don't worry we will catch up soon, okay?" Kalani gave a pat on Kya's back before turning to leave. Once the door shut behind her, she picked up a fruit and threw it against the wall watching it splatter on impact. "I understand that you are angry but we must leave. Now." Seymour warned, walking towards the door. "Come. We can talk along the way." The male insisted but Kya didn't budge instead she scoffed. Turning around, Kya noticed that Seymour was growing furious with her. "Kya. Let's go." He insisted again, his long fingers around the doorknob as he stared at Kya with his icy cold eyes. There was something that Seymour was not telling her but she knew for now, she would lose this battle so she stormed past him once he opened the door. She didn't stop walking until she reached the outskirts of Guadosalam when she heard thunder in the distance and the smell of rain soon greeted her. Feelings of guilt and sadness started to swarm inside her but she kept quiet. Seymour had joined Kya's side with a few Guado guards when she heard a loud crackling crashing into the ground, sending a vibration beneath her feet. "It's time. Are you ready?" Seymour asked as if he was worried about Kya but Kya only nodded, staying silent. She wasn't in the mood for a small chat, she wanted to know what it was that Seymour wished to discuss with her.

Thunder Plains never stopped raining hence the name. The ground was muddy and the smell of rain was strong along with the smell of smoke as the lightning had the tendency to strike the grounds. There were towers to attract the lighting which was successful the majority of the time but every once in a while, it would strike elsewhere sometimes a helpless victim. There were a few close calls but Kya and Seymour were relieved to make it to the other side of Thunder Plains. When Kya passed the Inn where she knew that Kalani was resting, she wanted to stop and join him instead of walking with Seymour. Soon, the sound of thunder turned into silence and the rain finally stopped as they reached the Macalania woods. Kya always enjoyed traveling through these woods, the bark of the trees seemed to glow with blue light as pryeflies were attracted to this place due to the springs. Kya remembered often playing in these woods as a child when she used to live in Bevelle, she would sneak out at night when Auron was asleep to come here. Although she was still young at the time, she never got lost heading back home. She also remembered when she had been caught sneaking back in.

"Kya?" She heard Auron as she crawled into her bedroom window. She froze when he saw her at the doorway, with a worried expression on his face. "Why are you up and why are you sneaking back through the window?" He questioned, turning on the bedroom light. "Why are you in my room?" Kya was always a smart mouth, especially as a child. "I was checking on you to make sure you were asleep." Auron sounded disappointed and exhausted. Clearly, he was not cut out for raising a child as he was still young himself. Kya slid the window closed behind her and sat on her bed when Auron noticed dirt on her clothes and a piece of twig stuck to her hair. With a deep sigh, he sat on the bed beside her. "You're just like your father, always seeking adventure." Auron picked the twig from her hair. He didn't fuss instead he told her stories about her father and the adventures that he would drag Auron into but every time they would get in trouble, Auron was the one that took the blame.

Kya felt an intense cold air blowing nearby as they were getting closer to the temple. The travel to the Macalania temple didn't take nearly as long as it appears but the snowstorm was beginning to grow intense once Kya and Seymour reached the Macalania temple. "You still want to discuss something with me, Seymour?" This was the first time she spoke to Seymour since they had left Guadosalam. Seymour appeared to be caught off guard when he dismissed the guards and pointed to a room hidden in a corner. Without a word, Seymour led Kya to the room and closed the door behind her. The room was small but it was full of multiple trinkets and boxes. Kya took a seat on a brown leather loveseat and waited for Seymour to talk to her.

"I've asked Lady Yuna to marry me."