Welcome to Gaia! ::

Ellen sighed, ushering her out of the room and into the foyer again. “Well…that’s alright…just have a seat here.” She gestured to the couch, but the girl seemed reluctant to go near the empty fireplace. Finally, she moved towards it slowly, watching the fireplace with trepidation. Once she was settled down on the couch, Ellen waited for her to lie down, gently putting a blanket over her. “Where…is Tomo?” She asked sleepily, and Ellen paused. “Where is who?” “I cannot remember where…he is…” She said, curling up on the cushions, eyes drifting closed. Ellen had never heard of a Tomo, but perhaps it was someone in her family. “They must be missing you dear…” She said softly, thinking her asleep. “Why…would any…one…do that?” Came the slow response, then a murmured word in a different language, and then nothing but silence. The girl was asleep. Ellen wondered why she thought no one would miss her. She mused for a few moments more, then headed back to bed.

Gene thought this over. “There’s…a boy called Tomokazu. I believe he runs that damn inn. Why would you want to know about that place?” Gene was an old fashioned fellow who disliked those different from him. He didn’t think they should be hurt or anything, just that they should keep to themselves. And mostly, the weirdo’s at the bar did just that. Though he remembered hearing about the two who had broken into the jail, and he had been in town when the man with a raccoon tail had to fight with some angry townspeople, the odd cloaked guy helping him out. But mostly, they kept away from town.

Trina opened her eyes, groggily blinking at the couch’s back. She sat up, studied her hands. The gloves…they were gone. She blinked. Wait. They had already been gone right? She struggled to remember. Yes, she had escaped…but that had been a few…years? Was that right? Trina had never been good with time.

Trina slid off the couch to sit on the floor, rubbing her closed eyes. Think Trina…where are you? She recalled the events of the night before, and nodded to herself. Yes, she had been brought here by an older man. Gene. Gene and Ellen lived here. I had been…at a lake. So…I must have reverted, and now am in control again. But…how long has it been? Where was I before then? Trina hated this, the blankness that was her memory.

Where were they? When had she known them? Her mind conjured images of them all, from Tomo’s cat ears to Li’ad’s strange colored eyes. Her friends! It all hit Trina in a rush, The Muffin, swimming and flying free for the first time, killing Sachin, contractions in English, Ukaia finding the muffin with her blanket, Tomo ‘tying the knot’, rescuing Maara from drowning, getting lost in town, Drakhir being taken away, Ellie changing, Jad in the hospital, Arian discovering her, meeting Li’ad, getting letters from Sachin’s assistant, getting kidnapped by Arian and her strange son, escaping Terreo again, crash-landing back on Gaia, the letter Arian fooled her with (It had been signed Tomo, telling her to not come back), fighting and killing Arian, coming back to beg Tomo to forgive her, Tomo being pregnant, helping Ritsuko rescue him when he had been kidnapped, fixing Jake’s eyes, becoming friends with River, Lily and Arlen helping her keep Maara safe, seeing Li’ad again, the nightmares, Sachin talking to her in her head, Sachin hurting her in her sleep, the marks on her back, being so tired, afraid to rest, Baizou being small, staring out the window for hours and hours, collapsing from pain in her head before getting control again, and finally, fleeing before she had reverted and wrecked the muffin, Sachin and Arian leaving her mind, but without their abilities. Trina swayed at the sudden rush of so many memories, not sure if she was even allowed to do so many things in just a year.

“Gene! Gene?” The older woman called, and Trina froze. Had she done something wrong or offensive? She looked down at her bare arms. No…there weren’t any blue marks…Then again, humans were adept at recognizing their own kind, and perhaps Ellen had figured out that Trina was not human. She looked up to see the elderly man shuffle up to his wife, also looking surprised at Trina’s clothing. “Good…morning sir.” Trina said, looking from him to his wife uneasily. “Is…something wrong?” Gene shook his head, shared a glance with his wife, then spoke without looking at Trina. “Yes…dear. There is. You…you are from that inn right?” Trina tilted her head slightly. She supposed she was from there now…better then being from Terreo.

“Trina…honey…they’re dead.” Ellen said softly, after the smallest of glances toward Gene. Trina stared. “Dead?...my friends? Tomo…and even River? They killed River?” She said in numb disbelief and Ellen paused, then nodded. “Yes, even River.” Trina couldn’t speak. A horrible aching feeling was in her chest, the worst she had ever felt. River was dead? Then…what hope was there for any of them? If even River had been…had been…killed…then no one could have survived. Trina felt sick. “Maara? They…killed…they killed Maara? Maara? No…please no…” Trina murmured, completely grief stricken. They had killed the little cat girl. Her little cat girl. They had murdered Trina’s charge. Sachin…Sachin had been right. The rain came down in tortured sheets, and Trina did nothing to slow it. Trina did not get angry at the murderers, whoever they were. There was no reason to. It wouldn’t bring her friends back. It wouldn’t bring her little fluff ball back. Why hadn’t I been there?! Why? Maara…I’m so sorry…I wasn’t there to protect you…to protect any of you. Trina wanted to die. Her friends were gone. There was no reason to remain here...but...what if-?