It was another regular day in La-Lakoosha, and the Claire Moa Temple was bustling with activity. Priestesses both in-training and initiated were going about their duties within its walls, performing rituals and services for the locals who followed the way of Goddess Claire. Others were heading out into the nearby towns to perform errands and aid in the community, as was the usual routine to ensure their relations with the people around them remained good.

In the centre of the temple, at the end of a large hall, the administrative leader of the temple and the priestesses within sat in a sizeable chair. She was dressed in special robes and holding a ceremonial staff with an emerald gemstone on the top. Very few knew of this woman's true name aside from a few trusted confidants, so to all concerned she was simply known as the "High Priestess". Which was what she was happy to be known as anyhow.

On this day, the High Priestess did not have much on her schedule. Usually, she would oversee the administrative affairs of the temple and those under her care or preside over special ceremonies in her official capacity. On special occasions she might also meet with ambassadors to discuss relations with the other kingdoms of Lunatea. Today, however, most of those duties were taken care of, so all she really needed to do was sit in place upon the temple's throne should anyone require her presence.

Speaking of which, her quiet train of thought was interrupted when one of the priestesses entered the hall. They gave a polite curtsey in her direction before addressing her.

"Um, Miss? There's a Leorina at the entrance who wishes to speak with you."

The High Priestess' eyes widened upon hearing that name. Almost immediately a flurry of memories began to flood her mind, of great sadness, disappointment and lost potential.

So much lost potential…

She coughed and managed to bury the flurry of emotion before it became noticeable. Trying not to forget herself, she addressed the priestess standing before her. "Of course, send her in."

The priestess bowed and shuffled out of the room. The High Priestess stood up from the throne and uneasily adjusted her robes.

This would not be an easy appointment.

A few minutes later, the individual named Leorina walked into the hall, flanked by the priestess from before. She was a dark-skinned and red-haired young woman who had once upon a time spent time training in the temple. But one day she ran away in a fit of anger, subsequently gaining infamy as a fearsome Sky Pirate in search of the power she wished to attain.

But after meeting with the dream traveller Klonoa and being freed of the sorrowful energy that had possessed her during their encounter, she had renounced her old ways and was leading the rebuilding of the long-lost Kingdom of Sorrow known as Hyuponia, whose king had been defeated by Klonoa during that fateful adventure. The King had been reincarnated afterwards and was now under the High Priestess' care, as a matter of fact.

Although she never boasted about it, the High Priestess had an uncanny ability to read people's faces, and she could tell that Leorina did not want to be there at all. Even after taking on the task of rebuilding Hyuponia, she had been giving the temple a wide berth. And yet here she was all the same.

"Thank you, Hortensia. You may go." She said to the priestess who had led Leorina inside, who then gave a bow and quickly exited the hall, leaving the two alone.

"Well, if it isn't Leorina!" the High Priestess said as she turned to Leorina with a smile, wanting to start up a little light-hearted repartee with them. "It has indeed been a while!"

Leorina gave a curt nod, mumbling an indistinct "Yes, it has." under her breath with a tone that indicated that she would have preferred it to remain so.

The awkward atmosphere in the room could be cut with a knife. The High Priestess cleared her throat uneasily, wanting to get to the matter at hand as quickly as possible.

"So, um, what brings you back to our temple?"

Leorina reached into a pocket and pulled out a set of handwritten notes, speaking in an almost robotically rehearsed tone that made it clear she wanted to get out of there right that second, if not sooner. "The rebuilding of Hyuponia is proceeding as planned. With the current speed that things have been going, it should be fully restored by the end of this year."

The High Priestess took the notes and scanned the detailed progress report with her eyes, smiling broadly. "I am pleased to hear that. Soon the fifth kingdom of Lunatea will be made whole again."

Her tone shifted ever so slightly as she continued. "I must say, I didn't expect you to bring the progress report here yourself. Usually, Tat fills in that role."

Leorina shrugged slightly, unable to meet the High Priestess' gaze. "She wasn't feeling well today, and I was the only one who was free to deliver it. Believe me, it would be her standing here if the circumstances were different."

The High Priestess nodded, though a pang of guilt crossed her face. "I see. Has there been any news on locating surviving Hyuponians?

Leorina shook her head. "Nope. There's been several expeditions to locate remaining settlements and all we've found are more derelict ruins. Frankly it's starting to look like there might not be any left at all. I'm certain that if the King returned there, it might trigger something required to bring them all back. If only someone would allow it."

The High Priestess tutted a little, letting the snide comment pass. "I've explained to Tat more than once that such a thing simply isn't possible. The King is still an infant and is in no condition to rule much of anything. It will be several years before he will be mature enough to return to his duties."

Leorina muttered a little under his breath, frustration evident on her face. "Typical. Just typical. Just when it seems like we're on track, something comes along and it's more waiting around."

The High Priestess cocked an eyebrow, her face taking on an amused expression. "Still the one looking for the quick and easy solution, aren't we Leo?" she tittered, before realising what she had just said and cursing herself quietly.

That was the complete wrong thing to say.

Leorina looked stung by the jab, and her face hardened. "Heh. I haven't changed much, have I? Still the same screw-up I always was." She spat bitterly, promptly turning around to leave.

Knowing full well she had torn open some old wounds, the High Priestess called out to her. "On the contrary, Leorina! You were one of the most promising priestesses that I've seen during my tenure."

Leorina's walking only slowed slightly. As much as she may want to believe the sentiment, she couldn't bring herself to accept it. "Yeah. I was. And what did I do? I threw it away and proved to everyone that I really was a failure."

The High Priestess frowned, but not out of anger or indignation. She could tell that the young woman was in a fragile mental state at that moment and wanted to try to alleviate it. "Leo, please don't say such things. It hurts me to see you put yourself down like that."

"Well, how do you want me to act, you sanctimonious idiot?! It's the truth, and everyone with half a brain knows it!" Leorina shouted back.

The speed of which Leorina had turned around combined with the intensity of her words took the High Priestess aback, leaving her at a complete loss for words. For a moment a feeling of indignation crossed her mind. The ingratitude! How could she talk to me like…

Like…

She shook her head and squashed the feeling where it stood. She was in no position to get angry at her formal pupil. This wasn't about her, after all, this was about the unresolved tension between them both.

Looking behind Leorina, who was clearly fighting back tears, the High Priestess spotted a few priestesses peeking through the doorway to the hall, evidently wanting to see what the source of the outburst had been.

Realising they might have gained an audience, the High Priestess looked around and motioned for Leorina to follow her to a private room that led out near the back of the hall, which she used for private meetings with ambassadors and the like. Somewhere less public seemed like just the thing the situation called for; the last thing either of them needed was outside gossip and judgement.

Despite seething with anger and pain, Leorina could feel the priestesses' eyes on the back of her head, and it brought back no end of painful memories and trauma. To hell with it. She would rather face whatever the High Priestess was going to say to her than have to take the judgement of her peers, so she followed her over to the door behind the throne.

Once the door to this private room (a modest study with a few tables and comfy seats) was closed, the High Priestess turned to Leorina.

"Leo, please calm down. You know that it's not true—"

"Oh, please, don't insult us both by lying to me!" Leorina snapped back as she began to pace around the room in an agitated stupor, losing the battle to keep a lid on her inner turmoil. "Admit it, you and the others were happy to see me go! No more of me questioning your rule or how things are run. No more of my anti-social behaviour and stinking up the place! Everything would get to go back to peace and order! You must have been thrilled."

The High Priestess sat down on a nearby sofa as she shook her head with regret. "No. I wasn't. I was greatly saddened by your departure, and the only reason I did not try to convince you to stay was because I trusted that you knew the path you wished to take. If you did not wish to be a priestess anymore, Leo, then—"

Leorina growled, cutting her off. "My name is Leorina. Leo went away when I left that temple. And she's never coming back."

The High Priestess kept speaking, unable to let this string of self-loathing continue. "That is not true! You have been bettering yourself for months now by helping rebuild Hyuponia. It is never too late for someone to be redeemed, and it's no different with you."

Leorina laughed sarcastically, but her voice was already wavering with emotion. "You don't get it. No one ever does…"

"Then please, tell me what's wrong!" The High Priestess called back, her voice raising for the first time with concern, pleading for her to reach out. Leorina turned away without saying a word, but the High Priestess refused to back down.

"Leo, please! I'm certain it was not just a lust for power that made you leave! What was it that kept you from returning?"

"RETURN?! HOW COULD AN IRREDEEMABLE MONSTER LIKE ME EVER HOPE TO RETURN?!"

This final outburst finally caused the tension in the room to collapse, and the pair looked at each other for a moment in silence. Leorina's face, just a few seconds ago having been full of anger and hurt, was beginning to crack and a deep sadness was pouring through. She looked at the High Priestess, whose face remained patient and understated.

Leorina wanted to see more than that. She wanted to see an uncompromising authority figure who would shout her down. She wanted anger, condemnation, anything that would give her fears some sort of justification. But all she saw was a want of understanding and a desire to help, which only made her feel even worse.

"You think… you think I didn't want to be a priestess? Of course I did! I wanted to make everyone proud, including you!" Leorina began to stammer as she paced around the room, tears streaming down her face. "But I was young! Impatient! I wanted power to change the world before I was old enough to understand it! And… I drove everyone at the temple away because I was too arrogant to think of anyone but… myself..."

She steadied herself against a table, facing away from her former mentor as her voice kept breaking with emotion. For her part, the High Priestess kept quiet and let her vent. This had clearly been building up for a long time.

"You… d-do you know how quickly I wanted to return? The morning after I left. The next morning! I wanted to come back so badly that it nearly killed me. But… but how… how could I? After the things that I had said to you…? I just couldn't…"

She stifled a cry.

"I couldn't face you... I couldn't face… face anyone… I just had to go down… the path I had forced myself down because… I…"

Her voice trailed off and she tried to keep her mouth shut, terrified that if she said another word the levees would break, and everything would come spilling out.

The High Priestess looked to her with concern as it all became clear to her. She had always wondered if the young and eager priestess she had seen leave long ago had regretted the path she had taken…

Now she knew.

"Because you didn't believe you deserved to come back." She finished for her. Leorina said nothing but gave a quick nod to confirm the High Priestess' suspicions.

"Oh, Leo. It was never too late. You could have always returned to us, and we would have tried to help you however we could. And you still can."

Leorina turned around, her face wet with tears as she looked towards her former mentor with dejection, her lips trembling.

The High Priestess gave her a warm smile and outstretched her arms, offering a comforting embrace.

Leorina stood in place, too emotional to move. There was a long pause before she began to slowly stumble towards her, seemingly scared of letting her guard down in this way, but she couldn't keep it back anymore. At last, she almost fell into the High Priestess' arms as the levees finally broke and she began to loudly cry, barely able to speak through it all.

"Oh sweet Claire, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" she repeated as the High Priestess held her close, letting the tears come. "I was stupid! I should never have left! I should've been patient! I should've… should've…"

"Shhh… it's alright." The High Priestess soothed, quietly stroking her former pupil's hair. "You don't need to apologise to me. I'm here, and you're safe. Just let it all come out however you wish it to."

Unable to properly respond, Leorina wordlessly returned the hug as she kept crying, burying her face into the High Priestess' chest in a desperate search for comfort.

The High Priestess held her close, letting her former pupil work through her emotions. She smiled as she looked down on her with a certain proudness that she had not felt in quite a long time.

Once, many years ago, she had sadly concluded that there was little hope for poor Leo, who had so rashly strayed from the path and descended into darkness.

Now?

Now, it seemed that there was hope for her yet…