Welcome to Gaia! ::

With the temperature getting warmer outside, the ice skating rink was beginning to see an increase of people coming to escape the heat.

There were so many young kids with summer birthdays whos parents rented out the large room upstairs to host their birthday party at the ice arena. Almost all weekends through September were completely booked which definitely helped to keep the place running during the Fall and Winter seasons.

Figure skating classes took place mostly on weekdays in the evenings and as of last year, Fiona had received her instructor certification and approval from her current employer to coach one of the younger classes. There were only four children right now, but as someone new to coaching it was a manageable size. Amy and Elizabeth were sisters, one year apart with Lizzy being the oldest. Then there was Jamie who was neighbors with Sean, the only boy on her team but surprisingly the most eager to learn and quickest to pick up on technique.

Life, for what it was worth, felt relatively normal if not routine. But at the same time, although she was able to keep busy on most days, it felt empty. Sure, she could indulge her sister and go on patrols every so often, which she did.

But there was guilt associated with it and fear.

All the secrets, all the lies. This ‘blessing of magic’ had already taken more from her then she’d ever like to admit. Most days she could ignore the hurt but then there were times like today, when walking around among a crowd of people, that Fiona’s heart would begin to ache.

Brianna had texted earlier to let her know that traffic wasn’t as bad as she thought it would be and had arrived sooner than expected. She had run into Liryn, the little mauvian that had awoken her a few years ago and a close friend to both of them, and planned to wander around the festival until the three of them could meet up. In the text, Bri had also mentioned already visiting the Wishing tree and picking up a wish that had been tied to one of the branches and suggested she do the same so they could grant their wishes together.

It sounded like a nice enough plan which is what brought her to the decorated tree in the middle of Town Square. Beautiful purple flowers hung from the branches along with starlike ornaments and glistening lights that created a kaleidoscope of colors on the ground around her. She watched as a father picked up their child so they could tie their handwritten wish to one of the branches above them. It was a touching moment to watch and for a moment her heart panged with a sadness that had shadowed her for the last several years.

There was a time in her life where she thought that might be her future. To graduate college and be happily married to her high school sweetheart, Fionan. But then life took a turn she didn’t expect. The cat that awoke her hadn’t really explained much of anything and after a hard-fought battle with a youma the mauvian had left her to her own devices and a word of warning not to tell anyone who she was. Fiona had kept the secret for several months but when the New Years Masquerade happened, she realized that this was a world she didn’t want her boyfriend to be a part of. It was dangerous and she couldn’t keep him safe.

So they went their separate ways without much in the way of reasoning.

It left a deep hole in her heart that even after all these years nobody had been able to fill. There was no new boyfriend, powered or otherwise. Hell, aside from her sister and Athene, she really didn’t know any other senshi by name. Yes, she knew they were out there but that’s where her involvement with the left.

Fiona sighed as she looked up; light filtered through the rose colored glass which painted her hair an almost purplish tint. The air was warm and smelled of fresh flowers and for a few minutes, she let herself believe that she was just a normal girl and that when she turned around Fionan would be there to wander the festival with her. But he was neither here nor there and time only flowed in one direction and so she picked up a piece of paper and with a pencil wrote her single wish.



It wasn’t her place to ask for forgiveness. All Fiona could do was hope that whoever picked her piece of paper would try to be understanding the next time someone tried to apologize to them, no matter the circumstances.

When she was ready to leave, after pulling out her phone to call her sister, a volunteer approached her with a smile on their face and a blue star charm in their hand. Fiona looked at her confused but the young girl smiled in return "It's a gift. There are volunteers and stores handing them out. Hopefully you have a chance to collect them all!"

"Thank you..." Fiona graciously accepted the charm and put it in her pocket to figure out what to do with later.