Summary: Talia doesn't remember much of her life before finding herself in Twilight Town. Some days the warmth from the light of the setting sun brings forth a feeling of familiarity. On other days she dreams of sitting by a large fountain that wakes her with the thought of searching to answer the questions of where she comes from and who exactly she is, and more importantly, why her heart seems to pull her in the opposite direction away from the comfort of the world she's come to call home…and towards the stark, cold world of a mysterious stranger in a black coat.

Dearly Beloved

All was quiet and peaceful in Twilight Town. The sun was just about to set as dusk calmly approached Market Street and slowly poured into Station Heights. Shop windows began to shutter and close as loud chatter turned to soft whispers and the bustle of the shopping district became still while the sound of shuffling footsteps could be heard making their way from the center of town and to the neighborhood further into this tranquil world.

High above the now docile streets, a young girl sat on the ledge of a rooftop. She held one knee to her chest while her other leg hung over her perch. A small, innocent smile sat on her lips as she tucked a piece of her chestnut brown hair behind her ears. She watched intently as the last trolley of the day chugged along through the square and out of sight and absentmindedly sighed as she pulled her attention from the small world below her and to the endless sky above.

Colors of red, orange, and yellow splashed around together from overhead, a stark contrast against the muted, grey eyes that stared out at them in admiration. The oncoming mixture of colorful light from the sky blanketed the town, casting shadows throughout and alerting the streetlights to abruptly turn on, their soft electric hums filled the air as the girl's gaze traveled from the horizon to the now empty streets below and she watched curiously as her shadow slowly begin to grow.

She lowered her leg, swayed her feet back and forth as they dangled from the rooftop, and mused over how her shadow so directly copied her movements. Her laugh overpowered the streetlights hum in the air around her as her shadow below now looked like it was jumping from one side of the trolley tracks to the other. The young girl continued to laugh as she stood up and began to carefully walk along the ledge, she held her arms out and watched as her shadow followed suit and walked along the tracks. Her smile grew wide while thoughts of switching places with her shadow and riding the trolley as far as she could began to fill her mind. She was quickly pulled from her thoughts and her fun, however, when another shadow she hadn't noticed now joined hers next to the trolley tracks below, one that was short and plump with a bouncing, rounded shape above it.

"Oh? Talia! Are you out here playing around while there's work to be done, kupo?" She heard a familiar voice call out from below. Talia yelped as she jumped from her spot and crouched down. She cheekily grinned as she leaned over the ledge to find a small, white figure come into frame. The red ball of fur over its head bounced back and forth much like Talia's shadow had been only a few moments before.

"I'll be right down, Elmina!" Talia blushed and scratched the back of her head. She stood up and dusted off her pants, now coming into the view of the moogle below her, and feverishly waved as she quickly turned and ran towards the stairs that lead to the shops below. "Busted." She chuckled to herself, slightly embarrassed to be caught goofing off. "But...it is pretty much closing time, and we haven't had a customer in hours…" Talia thought to herself as she reached the bottom of the staircase, grabbing a broom from the corner of the small closet the stairs had led to. She opened the door and entered the back area of the synthesis shop. She turned from the door and watched as the moogle shuffled into the building, closing the front door behind them.

"I was just uhh...just looking for this!" Talia exclaimed as she raised the broom with one hand and enthusiastically pointed to it with the other. If Elmina showed any facial expression, Talia knew it would be one of exasperation. She lowered the broom and scratched the back of her head again, her nervous laughter the only sound now in the synthesis shop.

The moogle before her only shook their head. Talia's eyes followed the furiously moving pom-pom back and forth before bringing her gaze to Elmina.

"Talia…" The moogle began but paused as they looked over Talia for a moment. It seemed they had wanted to say something, but shook their head slowly and motioned to the shop. "Please make sure you clean and close up. There's an envelope for you on the table and I'll see you tomorrow bright and early, kupo." And with that, Elmina exited the shop.

Talia nodded fiercely and waved goodnight. Once she heard the lock click on the front door she diligently got to work. She started by taking inventory as she grabbed a pencil and clipboard from on top of the small, wooden stool next to her and slowly walked alongside the supply shelf that was almost twice her height. Talia tapped the eraser end of the pencil against her lips as she passed each row of items and equipment, sometimes standing up on her toes to see the hard-to-reach ones, and said them aloud to herself.

"Cottages, check! Elixers, check! Power Ups, check! Gaia Bangles, check!" She continued on as she made note of what was running low and what the shop had more than enough of. As she finished up and placed the clipboard and pencil back down she moved on to cleaning Elmina's workspace and cauldron. Talia pulled herself up to peek over the top of the massive, red clay pot and held a hand up to her mouth.

"Hello!" She shouted and then moved her hand to her ear to catch her echo call back to her from the bottom of the deep cauldron. As she shook her head and laughed to herself she grabbed the broom from earlier and began to sweep the shop while quietly humming.

Talia didn't know how much time had passed as she cleaned up, and she didn't mind knowing either. She wasn't in much of a rush to get out at the end of the day as all that awaited her was an equally quiet and empty studio atop Tram Common. And besides, the shop was pretty much home. She smiled as she absentmindedly swept and circled around the room, finally finding herself where she began at the back of the synthesis shop by the small table next to the back door and broom closet. As she swept up the last bit of dust and leaned against the broom she was holding, her eyes wandered around the now immaculate store, ready for a bright and new day tomorrow. She looked proudly at her work and placed a hand on her hip as she nodded to herself while she finished up her inspection. As Talia turned to put the broom away, however, her eyes traveled to the small table, finally noticing the white envelope sitting in the middle addressed to her.

Talia plopped herself on a chair by the table and timidly reached out, her fingers gently sliding across the fold of the envelope as she slowly opened it. Her mind began to wander as she looked at its contents, her smile softened as she pulled the munny out and laid it on the table. She propped an elbow up and leaned against her hand while she stared at the small yellow and purplish orbs that shined back at her.

Elmina didn't have to pay her, much less need her to work in the shop. The moogle was a powerhouse in their own right and could easily run the shop twice as efficiently be themselves. Talia felt a sudden tinge of guilt as she focused on the munny before her and her soft smile slowly turned into a frown as she recalled the first time she stepped foot in the shop.

The day Talia found herself in Twilight Town she had no possessions except for the clothes on her back and no memory of how she even made it to the town in the first place. Her expression was now sour as she rolled the munny around on the table while thinking back on that day so many years ago.

She had been completely lost, waking up and finding herself by an ominous mansion in the woods she had no recollection of who she was, and why she was there, her only memory was the faint whisper of a voice calling what she assumed to be her name. She stared in fear at the giant lock and metal fence before the mansion and was filled with the sense that she was unwelcome there. Talia was suddenly incredibly frightened by her unfamiliar surroundings and she turned and ran as fast as she could away from the dark woods, desperately trying to follow the faint light shining through the gaping hole in the giant wall separating the woods from the town.

Talia, now disheveled from her journey through the woods, quickly walked through the streets of Twilight Town frantically searching for anything that might help her to remember. She held a hand over her eyes as the bright light from the setting sun blinded her and turned her attention to a nearby market. She was quickly overwhelmed by the faces of passersby she didn't recognize, and the sudden realization that she was now being noticed by the townsfolk equally unsettled by her presence frightened her even more.

Talia was suddenly startled by a loud horn and jumped as she dodged an oncoming tram, not having noticed she was standing on its tracks, she cried and fell backward, turning her head away from the shocked onlookers aboard, her eyes desperately scanning the area for anywhere for her to hide. Narrowing in on a door left ajar behind her, she quickly got up from the ground and ran into the building. She hurried through the shop and found herself taking refuge in a small broom closet as far back into the store as she could get. Talia held her head on her knees and softly cried, not noticing as the door handle twisted and slowly opened. Her head shot up as the light leaked in and illuminated her damp, grey eyes as they met those of an oddly small creature standing before her.

Talia finally looked away from the munny on the table and towards the broom closet, it was Elmina's shop she had run into. She mused remembering how the moogle quietly synthesized something for her to feel better from the giant cauldron while Talia shared her story of waking up in the woods just moments before. With no memory and nowhere to go, Elmina helped to clean her up and to find a place to live and even invited her to help out in the shop.

Word had quickly spread around town though, about a mysterious girl running out of the old mansion and its surrounding woods and into the streets suffering from amnesia. A girl with intense, grey eyes.

Talia hugged herself while leaning back in the chair and looked up to the ceiling. As she began acclimating to her new surroundings, she felt everyone else's eyes staring at her whenever she walked to and from the shop and heard their whispers from the crowds whenever she passed through the town.

"Pay no attention to them, kupo." Elmina would say. "These people here make up an urban legend or a mysterious story for anything they don't take the time to understand."

Talia's frown slowly turned back to a smile as she thought fondly of Elmina's words.

"What sets you apart can sometimes feel like a burden and it's not. And a lot of the time, it's what makes you great, kupo."

Talia looked back at the red cauldron in the middle of the shop as she brought her chair back upright. To her, Elmina was the definition of greatness, if not also a little different from this place they called home. Maybe that was the reason the moogle was so quick to take her in, they were just two beings who didn't quite fit the mold of their surroundings.

How many days had it been since Talia woke up in the woods? How many years? After a while, she noticed fewer eyes had stared her way, and the quiet whispers even more hushed from the crowds she walked past. Until she was just the girl that helped Elmina out at the synthesis shop.

She collected her belongings and headed for the door, making sure to turn off the lights and lock up as she pulled her backpack up over her shoulder and stepped back taking one final look at the shop to be sure her job was done. She dusted off her hands as she turned her back to the shop and headed in the direction of her apartment, but suddenly stopped as she noticed the empty streets and bright glow from the streetlights above.

"Is it already that late?" Talia thought to herself as she held the strap of her backpack slightly tighter. She turned her attention from the lights and focused on the road ahead, walking along the tram's tracks she let the hum of the streetlights fill her ears, while thoughts of boarding the tram and taking off filled her mind.

The same tinge of guilt from earlier returned while she dwelled on these thoughts. Lately, Talia found herself once again daydreaming more and more about leaving the quiet, tranquil town and heading out to find answers about where she came from.

"Why don't we take this jar, kupo, and you can place some of your earnings in it to save up for a train ticket?" Elmina's voice rang in her ears with the memory of the last time Talia's mind began to wander to far-off places.

But that was the summer Talia broke her arm and then the next one where the shop's roof needed fixing. Then there was the year that business wasn't as booming as it was now followed by the year Talia had bought tons of sea salt ice cream for the group of kids that hangout by the Back Alley after helping them practice for the Struggle Tournament.

"Elmina, are you trying to get rid of me?" Talia would gasp as she teased the moogle before her who would then furiously shake their head.

"Kupo! Of course not, but…someone must be out there looking for you, kupo?" Elmina may have been saying it more to themselves as they spoke regarding the lost girl they had taken in, but ever since the words left their mouth it had taken space in Talia's mind, the sentence was engraved in her head.

Talia sighed as she reached her front door and turned her apartment lights on, slowly entering her room she dropped her backpack on her desk and kicked off her shoes as she fell right onto her bed. Talia stared at her ceiling for a moment, then her eyes travelled to the empty apartment before her. She rolled over as she sat up on her knees and leaned against the windowsill while she turned her attention to the soft sunset before her. She looked out at the peaceful world while letting a large breath out.

"Someone out there has to be looking for me, right?" She had to have had a family or friends or a life before this one. Talia grappled with the thoughts of her forgotten past and the ones of her current present. She owed Elmina worth a lifetime for their kindness and every time Talia thought of leaving the moogle and shop behind a strange, uncomfortable feeling would fill her heart.

"It's not like I could ever afford a train ticket out of here anyway." Talia sighed wistfully as she once again convinced herself to push away the thoughts of leaving. She sat at the edge of her bed and followed the ray of light coming in from her window as it trailed along the floor toward the edge of her desk, illuminating a small, dusty jar that had rolled underneath.

"And where would I go?" Talia asked, seemingly arguing with the forgotten jar.

"Here, I have Elmina, the shop, and a place to sleep." She turned her back to her room and laid down on her bed as she tried to reason with herself while a wave of tiredness overcame her.

"Someone has to be out there looking for me, right?" Talia's head hit the pillow and her eyes fluttered shut. "I'll stay here until they find me."

xxx

While the world calmly slept far below Talia's apartment, shadows began to emerge from the dark, hidden alleys of the town. They took shape as they slithered out from the portals, their thin and pointed hands clawing out from the walls of the alley and pulling themselves into the world before them. The white husks began to saunter forth as their heads turned from side to side before edging out into the light.

A taller, equally slender figure followed suit out of one of the portals of darkness. They were dressed in black boots and a black cloak and dusted themselves off upon exit. Their long legs carried them to the entrance of the alley in half the time it took the creatures they arrived with. The figure stopped suddenly before reaching the little bit of light that cautiously danced along the edge of the alley. They pulled their hood down to reveal striking emerald, green eyes with purple reverse-teardrop-shaped markings under each. His hair was like wildfire and more red than the sunset that covered the town. He sighed as he rolled his shoulders back and stretched his arms out.

"All right…" His haughty voice echoed down the alley to the creatures that patiently wriggled toward him. Their odd, amble movements were completely in sync with each other as they waited for their orders. "Let's get this show on the road."

xxx