Welcome to Gaia! ::

It had been awhile since she'd seen a lot of those she met in the Forest, which seemed so ironic to her. That group of people that she'd risked her life with and for... those that she'd spent countless weeks, months, maybe even years with (time had been such a blur then)... just gone. She had no idea how many of them had died, or if they'd all just gone on their seperate ways and grew apart. Either way, it broke her heart, to walk through the Forest alone, for the first time in a long time. There was no one beside her, no one ahead leading the way, and no one behind to follow her. There was no one to run from and no one to look out for. Just no one. Just herself. Alone.

Tivia had especially missed one in particular of the group, and if those who were with her for that time couldn't tell which one, then they were denser than the rocks they all hid under. Demetri was a special one to her. One that protected her with nothing short of his life, if it were to come down to that. They'd gotten really close, and Tiv had been convinced that once it was all said and done, one would follow the other because, as far as she knew, neither had any real family left. Though, it hadn't been the case. They'd just parted. She didn't even really remember why. But they had.

And then there was Nuni. Granted, the girl was a little off, and when they weren't battling, then she was a bit reserved or talking to Suki, but Nuni was, if Tivi remembered correctly, the first one to really take her in and accept her as a member of the group. How could they have just disbanded? Just like that? Without so much as... well, anything... how?

And now, sitting on a tree stump in the forest, she found her mind lingering back to the time she spent with him, and as her eyes closed, she wondered if there was anything she wouldn't give to see them again.

((Nuni, just come in whenever you can find a good place and a reason for her departure from the group. =D))

It wasn't like she'd wanted to leave them, not really. Again, Tivia apparently hadn't been in her right mind when she'd picked up and left the Forest after it all was said and done. She was fully prepared to follow Demetri, or have him follow her, or whatever the two had decided to do, because she cared for him very much, and it seemed as though he'd always felt the same. But then, that's when her mind went blank. It's where her memory stopped. The funny part was Tivia could remember parts of the battle... and everything that happened in her life after the Forest, but not when everyone left and why. That part of her memory was just... gone. Disappeared. Maybe it was erased. She'd never truly know, now.

Attached in a belt at her side, where it had remained everyday since she realized what had happened to all of them, was Demetri's dagger. He'd given it to her to defend herself if need be, since she hadn't had control over her powers to her fullest ability at the time. She'd given it back at some point, and then had somehow ended up with it again. She discovered it some time after she'd left the Forest and instantly recognized it as one of his. Since then, she kept it at her side everday, as a constant reminder. It was like the only connection that remained between herself and her love. Sighing as she thought of him, she closed her eyes and had to work hard to stop the tears from falling. But she was a strong, independent girl. She would not cry. Not again.

Pulling her knees up into her chest, she wrapped her arms around the center and rested her head gently down. It was safe to say that Tivia had been wandering all day, as she did everyday. After all, all paths seemed to lead her back to the former location of her village, which was now nothing but some stray ashes caught up in bursts of wind and indentations in the ground of where the homes had sat for countless years. It was still a mystery to Tivia how everything could just be gone like that. Gone like everyone from the Forest was gone. Gone like Nuni. Gone like Demetri.

"Oh God... bring Demetri back to me..." This was a thought, which was something Tivia kept forgetting was her one direct connection to Demetri, as well as some of the others. She'd just assumed that everyone had shut off their communication with everyone else, and that her thoughts were just her own now and no one else's. A few stray tears moved directly from her eyes to fall on her knees as the thought was repeated over and over in her mind, a little more desperate and questioning each time. The only thing that changed was that occasionally, Tivia would throw in life's ultimately unanswerable question: "Why?"

Demetri stumbles, suddenly finding his face buried in fallen leaves and dirt. This didn't seem to be the best day for him. He had become extremely exhausted and dehydrated, but refused to stop. He knew that there was somewhere he was supposed to be, but where was the real question. The elf knew where he was supposed to be; the image of a lake surrounded by the forest was the only thing that he had to go by. Right then, every other thought flees his mind, urging him to get up. His body, on the other hand, would not cooperate. A few weak attmepts deter him, but only momentarily.

Swallowing dryly, he pushes himself off the ground, determined to get to his destination by nightfall, even if it killed him. Again.

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Alphonse's ears twitch slightly, hearing Nunia's voice, even from this distance. Ever since they left the forest, he had served as her 'Guardian Angel' of sorts, protecting her from most harm that she couldn't handle. Having done that for so long now, his connections with her seemed to have strengthened, seemingly far greater than any others that he had ever known, so he could almost hear her wispers from a great distance, if circumstances allowed it.

Somewhat ignoring the calls for his assistance at the moment, Alphonse continues to move across the treetops, attempting to find the source of the distress he's feeling. A small grumble escapes his breath as he scans the forest floor, looking for anything strange.

((Obviously, the brotherly link emerges even though they both don't know lol))

Not yet out of the clearing, Nunia saw movement near the lake. She turned back towards the lake, walking slowly, trying to figure out how the person got there without her seeing them. After a few feet, her animal eyes recognized the figure. Tivia. Nunia smiled that she knew the person, as she couldn't remember a lot other than Alphonse. Though now, as she repeat the name to herself, memories came back to her. Tivia had shown up one day and since then, she had always cared for Nunia, even if the occasion wasn't always happy. Parts of memories of the lake came back too.

Using her shadow powers, Nunia quickly moved to Tivia's side. "Excuse me.. It seems we have both lost our angel. I'm sorry I left you...." Nunia said, the first part happy and the second part sincere. "Forgive me?"

Things seemed to happen very fast lately. Granted, her memory was shot all to hell, as she really couldn't remember a lot of what went on in the forest, but when things did come, they always came fast, and in waves. Like, as soon as she sat at the lake, waiting, she was flooded with the time she'd nearly killed Nunia, because Nuni had been possessed and tried to kill both her and Demetri. Every movement, every action, every thought, was all of a sudden there, and then it was gone. It might have been fleeting, but the memory was heavy, and it made her hurt. Then... there was the night Nalar died. God, was that ever a painful night. Thankfully, that memory too was very short, though heavy. When things returned to normal, Tivi felt lighter, more free, but still alone. Without the angel, Demetri, to guide her, and her friend Nuni to just be there... life had been very lonely.

Keeping in line with the pace of events lately, before she knew it, there was a shadow at her side Tivi should recognze anywhere. The words that were spoken were spoken in jest at first, though it made her remember the loss that she still felt from seperating from Demetri. Why had she been so stupid? Sighing and laying her head against her knees, turning it sideways to look at Nuni, she spoke quietly with more than a hint of sadness in her voice. "Lost our angels, indeed." Then there was the apology. Tivi's face screwed up in a moment of confusion. Why was Nuni apologizing like it was all her fault? They'd ALL gone their seperate ways. It wasn't like Tivi chased after her, calling her name, and Nuni ignored her. Nothing of the kind. They just all... drifted. The reason why may still remain unknown, but it happened, and they couldn't change that. "It wasn't just you... I left you too. Dem left me, I left him, and Pi had to leave us all. Who knows whatever happened to Arai... it's not your fault, so of course I forgive you, even though an apology is completely unnecessary."

That was another thing about Tivia lately: unless you caught her completely off guard, she tended to use many words to eloquently say what could actually be effectively communicated in fewer. It wasn't that she liked hearing the sound of her own voice or anything egotistical in that sense, but it was that sometimes things needed to be said in a more poetic way. With all the time to herself, Tivi had become a very poetic person, herself, and some habits are truly hard to break.

Her reunion with Nuni as well as her thoughts were semi-rudely interrupted by a figure crashing and bouncing off of trees rather loudly, only to land on the ground and crawl over to the water, without even a single uttered apology about the conversation that had just been interrupted. Having a shorter fuse than she used to, Tivi took a deep breath, clenched her teeth, and stood from the rock, moving very quickly to the figure she had just identified as a male. "Ex-CUSE me, but you just..." Then she stopped. Her footsteps, her words, her breath, even her heartbeat... just stopped. The only movement that could be detected from Tivia could be the blinking of her eyes, the relaxing of her fingers which had curled into fists, and the unclenching of her fists. "Oh, my... I..." Breath and speech were all caught in her throat, like she'd completely forgotten the English language. Everything she'd ever learned, gone. "I can't believe... is that... D-D-Demetri? Is that you?" Her eyes blinked again, making her realize that there were really tears forming now, which made her feel foolish. Now sure that it was indeed Demetri, she blushed a daring crimson and turned away from him a bit, a little ashamed at her almost explosion earlier. Though, just like before, her eyes couldn't seem to stay away from him for too long, and she found herself gazing at him within the matter of a moment or less. "I'm sorry... I just... wow..."

The elf swallows hard, pushing himself to a kneeling position. A small nod comes from him, acknowledging his name. Still breathing hard, he manages to create a few words between breaths.

"That would be the name I was given when I was born," he responded to the two of them, not having been able to see faces yet. "And 'feral' would not be the proper word for my actions, young lady." His words were slightly cold, but not hostile. Picking his head up some more, he looks directly at Tiva. Just then, memories of her hit him like a truck, causing him to change his attitude entirely.

"T..." Demetri trailed off for a moment, blinking a few times to make sure it wasn't some sort of illusion. "Tivia?" Right afterwards, he collapses from exhaustion. Apparently his body deemed it the proper time to shut down and regain its strength, leaving any questions he had to ask, and answers he had to give unanswered for a little while.

Nunia almost had a comeback out when the boy passed out. She had moved to catch him but Tivia got to him first.

Catching the handkerchief, she nodded and turned towards the lake, kneeling to allow water onto the clothe. [Yeah.. Hard to break bad habits...] she sent back, which was followed by [Young lady.. Psh.. Who does he think he is..] which was sent to no one in particular. She returned with the clothe and gently draped it across the elf's forehead. [At least he remembered one of us..] she said as she looked up into Tivia's face.

[Alphonse. Where are you?!] She hadn't seen him all day and was wondering why..

((because tivi mentioned me charie a few times. 4laugh ))

Across the multiverse, Firar feels a slight tugging sensation that she has not felt in an instant, or a long while. The strange sensation of time passing yet not passing for the fledgeling goddess is something that she has yet to become accustom. For a moment, she turns her attention to the pulling by opening a scrying window. She blinks once. "I remember them..." It seems like ages since she saw them. "Nunia,...Tivia,...Demetri,...Alphonse....and Demetri..has done it again." She reaches a hand through the window and touches a finger to Demetri's forehead, which bestows him with strenght-but only enough to wake and continue conversing. She had to try to get him to learn a lesson about conservation after all. Retracting her hand, she whispers a message to them before the window closes. "My friends...I remember...and Demetri-rest well."