Runya Ronso tackled Zac. Her cat-like body smashed into Zac like a gigantic furball at lightning speed.

She had been waiting for this moment all along. She knew she had lost him and then she siezed the moment when he didn't know where she was to smash into him from the side.

"Gotya!" said Runya. "Didn't they ever teach you anything as a blizball player? Never loose your eyes on the players... or the ball!"

It was windy, sandy, and hot, but his body felt so cold, like mount gagazet. She didn't know why, but she wanted to touch his blade, the one he carried on his back. She reached for it and grabbed its handle.

Cold! She pulled it out!

"Is this what you use to make a living, Zac?" said Runya, staring at its fine cool steel, or whatever it was made of.

Running into the village, Zac looks around, breathing heavily. Where'd she go? he wonders. I swear, she was just ahead of me! Just as he was about to give up and see what the others were doing, he felt something slam into his back, forcing him to the ground with an almighty oomph! Hearing Runya's voice, he chuckles and says, "They would've, if I were a Blitzball player, anyway."

Just then, he heard the dry rasp of his sword sliding out of his sheathe. Flipping over onto his back, he sees Runya holding it, inspecting the blade. After pulling himself out from underneath her, he chuckles as she asks if he used it to make a living. "Yeah, I use it to hunt fiends that bother farmers, citizens, and the like," he answers. "I actually made that blade myself, with some help from a weaponsmith I know. Just be careful with it: it's sharp enough to cut through the thickest fiend hide. It'd be easy to lose a limb or two if you're careless."

(Next morning!)

Gippal woke up early despite going to bed late well intothe morning. He stretched and yawned before rolling out of bed and onto the floor. At which he took his time to get up and scratch his head. His mind, slow with the fog of sleep slowly worked until the thought came to his mind that they were to get on the ship today. Sometime around noon. He had about 5 hours of filling to do. He already spent time with Aunt Yuna and Lulu. Uncle Waka as well. Perhaps he would go to the temple. He hadn't been there in forever. It was calm in there.

Throwing on his clothes and jacket he went for the door and looked down at his sword. He wouldn't need it but something nagged at him that he should take it. So after a moment he grabbed it and walked out the door. On e outside he took a deep breath and sighed at the cool morning air. The village was coming to life slowly. Finishing cleaning up and preparing stalls for last minute buys before the crowd leaves.

He made his way to the temple and stepped inside. The silence of the temple was powerful, broken by the foot falls of himself which echoed loudly. He looked up at the former summoners who defeated Sin... It all seemed ancient and another world away. In the center of the round hall was Aunt Yuna, the largest of them all. Flowers and candles littered the ground before her, many people still honored her and she was one who stood for all summoners who passed away or attempted to kill sin. Her generation was the last of Summoners.... It was sad, to lose such a skill and history. There had been no Aeons or summoners for 20 years. Yet he wished it was still here. To see such magnificent creatures... He often wished he could have been apart of it. Even though he learns from his aunt that it was flawed. Still the fact of protecting a special person to finish a mission to save the world was something he wanted to experience.

He noticed something out of the corner of his eye. A woman with long black hair and a katana laid accrossed her lap sat in a corner with her eyes watching him. He raised an eyebrow and said. "Good morning." She nodded her head slightly and replied. " Morning"

Gippal made his way slowly to her and said. " the temple is a beautiful place to see. I often woul come here to enjoy its calm, and imagine what the summoners went through... My name is Gippal by the way. What's yours?"

The woman cocked her head to the side. "My name is Tallia. And yes the temple is a peaceful place. I often go to the one in Kilika where I'm from. But I already know you, it's hard not to know a star blitzball player who is the son of the leader of New Yevon. My father and I are avid watchers. Though my sister is clueless to the game. "

Gippal smiled as he was glad this woman was not swooning over him. It was nice and all but it was much more when someone knew him but kept their head. "So did you come to follow the team then?" He asked

Tallia shook her head and said, I've been looking for my sisters. She ran away from home yesterday, sure to come here. She has a fascination with Summoners and wants to visit the all the Temples. I'm here incase she Comes back Before the first boat or airship leaves."

<<deleted segment/ filler>>

After the whole event with the newcomer, Alex had spent her time on her own. Eating at the feast before wandering off into the island's jungle. Despite the monsters, Alex was always wandering off into the undergrowth to escape the noisy crowds. Not many know of this, but the tall red head had highly sensitive ears. After a while of people talking, they started to throb unhappily while her head felt a sharp stab of pain. Eventually, she returned to the barracks of the home team to sleep there. The Blitzball player still didn't exactly have a place to call home, other than the orphanage in which she was much too old for it now.

Often, Alex found herself waking up around midnight. She didn't know why, but it was hard for her to get some decent sleep sometimes. So she made her way to the beach. There, she stayed until the sun slowly appeared over the horizon. Practicing kicking a Blitzball as well as her swordsmanship. Always does one good to practice after all, and she found the fresh air relaxing and help her focus.

Afterwards, she thought it would be a good idea to at least pray to the temple before she left, so she decided she would pay the temple a visit. Wearing her every day clothes with her sword at her hip, she headed to the temple, eventually entered inside and prayed for the safety of the people of Besaid. Aeons had interested her, as well as summoners... But she doubted she would have any skill of being a summoner herself. Perhaps as a Guardian... But those days were over and for good reason. It was still sad to lose such a interesting culture though.

To her surprise she saw Gippal, a strange girl, and that idiot girl that came yelling at them. Bitch. Whatever, she was too tired and just wanted to relax her mind somewhat before setting out on another long day.

She couldn't sleep. Only once in two or three months was she able to truly slumber, and even then it was against her will. She was lucky to have Abra, who fended off fiends for her when she fell into a small coma during battle. All night she stared up at the hanging sheets of the inns ceiling, finding patterns. Some would call this ritual of sleepless rest boring, but it gave Sena time to consider her travels. What had drawn her to Besaid?

It was just a nearby town, she supposed... but something felt very wrong. An ache spread from the tips of her toes to the nerves crawling along her spine. As the sun rose her body wouldn't rest any longer. She picked herself up and tied her cloak around her body, putting her hair up into its high ponytail. Her gear all put on, she walked to the center of the village, and let the sun wash its warm rays over her. It was actually a chilly morning, but to her the wind carressing her arms felt delicious, and it made her sad that most places weren't so lenient with their tropical weather. Her piercing blue gaze fell on the temple doors, and she felt drawn to it... like seeing the doors of an old friends home...

Sena climbed the few steps and entered, seeing Gippal and a dark haired girl speaking. She looked ahead, seeing... a familiar brunette, with mismatched eyes. How could that be? She had never seen her before. She shook it off and went further into the temple. Looking up the stairs from the bottom step into the cloister of trials, sealed by the door unused in many years, her ache only grew... She went up a few steps hesitantly.

Slowly the boat pulled into port and the blonde-haired young woman could not step onto land fast enough. Shoving her way to the front of the line, Isabeau rushed onto the docks, stopping only once her feet had touched the sand on the shore. Hands on her knees, Isabeau bent forward, face hovering over the ocean. She wasn't seasick, she had yet to meet someone who was, but for the duration of the boat ride to the island she was kept in confined quarters next to where they were keeping the chocobos. Cute as those yellow birds were, the stench is not blocked by wooden walls. She was regretting not going for the airship, but she only had so much gil on hand.

The older people sharing the compartment with her occupied their time by discussing blitzball. One of them asked Isabeau for her input and all she could reply was confusion on what exactly an 'Abe' was. That was the last time the passengers in the compartment spoke to her. Isabeau now made a retching sound, mostly for show as the fresh air and the island breeze was already washing away the smell and memory of the ride over. She stood up, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand. So this was it. This was Besaid. Warmer than what she was used to. More water, too.

She turned and observed the treeline in front of her, noticing a path marked by a road. Behind her, other passengers were disembarking and absent-mindedly chattering, there was laughter and murmurs and an overall sense of social interaction. Isabeau reached out and grabbed the shirt of a middle aged man walking past, holding a bag. The sudden maneuver caused the man to drop his bag and let out a little gasp.

"Hey," Isabeau spoke, her voice containing a noticeable hint of arrogance, "Take me to the village." It wasn't a question, her tone indicated that this was a command.

The man was clearly aggravated and pushed past her, picking up his dropped bag. "Didn't you hear me?" Isabeau spoke again, stepping after him, "Take me to the village!"

The man increased his walking speed, leaving an annoyed Isabeau standing on the shore with a frown. And then she remembered a lesson her mother gave her. 'When lost, find someone and follow them!' Isabeau waited, her eyes darting at the various passengers. Everyone seemed to head for the path and so Isabeau followed. As she approached the entrance to the jungle path, a signpost indicating the direction of the village entered her vision. It was fortunate she didn't admit outloud to being lost. That would have been embarrassing.

Following a slow moving group of people, Isabeau eventually made it to the village proper, pausing at the entrance to get a look at her surroundings. Her eyes locked on one location: the temple. That, above all else, was what she had come to see. The sight-seeing elsewhere on the island could wait, this could not. Increasing her pace, Isabeau practically ran up the path towards the temple, stepping around people slowly walking around the village and interacting with the citizens. Isabeau stopped before the entrance to the temple, wiping more sweat from her face. And then she stepped inside.

"What a shabby place," she spoke aloud as she entered, eyes taking in the decor and statues lining the halls, "Can't believe this is where she started from."

Isabeau was shaking her head as she continued to look at the statues, ignorant of those around the temple.

Urick woke up with a mayor headache. Might have been due to the position he slept in. No beds were really meant for someone his size around here, so he slept on the floor usually. Which he was fine with. All those days sleeping on the side of the road made him used to it. But he managed to tweak his neck on a rock.

He groaned as he got up and moved towards the door and pushed the cloth out of the way. Wincing as the sun blared in his eyes. He closed his eyes and took a second to wake up more when he heard. "You don't look like a morning person." A familiar voice sounded in front of him." He looked down and saw Persephone standing there in some soft flowing shirt and pants. What you would see a monk wear, but meant for a girl.

He sighed and moved out of the hut and said, "just bad sleep... That's all. I have a headache right now..."

"I'm sorry bout that. I can help you get rid of it fast though..." She said with a smile. As she placed her hands behind her back and twisted back and forth.

He gave her a queer look. "Really... Let me guess... Step on my foot?" Something Gippal would always threaten as a joke when he had a headache.

Persephone laughed and said, "No.:. That's for when someone is being a jerk." She moved up to him and took his hand in hers. She opened his hand palm up and ran her cool fingers down his wrist to the middle of his palm and said softly.. "This might hurt." She then took her finger nails and pinched hard in the center of his palm. She held it for 30 seconds during which Urick raised his eyebrow.

She then let go and then asked " how do you feel now?" He was about to say the same but then he realized.... His headache was gone. " how did you do that?" He asked surprised.

She gave a crooked smile like he said something stupidly funny. " I pinched your palm duh. "She giggled and them said "my dad taught it to me. Works every time."

She Changed the subject. " wanna go to the temple with me? I like to pray before I travel."

He then asked, " you still pray? To who?" Wih that she shrugged and turns towards the temple.
"I don't know.. But there has to be something higher than us... So I pray for someone to listen..."
She then made her way to the temple at which Urick followed.

Hate double posting

An hour before the sun rose, a certain, black-haired swordsman was already up, making his way out of the village, his blade clinking quietly in its scabbard with every step. Once he made his way back to the beach, a ways away from the docks, he stops and takes in a deep breath, enjoying the tang of salt on the air from the sea. Looking around, he says to himself, "Well, this looks like as good a place as any."

Reaching over his shoulder, he draws his blade, the cool steel rasping against the interior of the scabbard. Holding the weapon in front of him with both hands, he closes his eyes and lets out the breath he took moments ago. He holds the pose for a few moments before, in a flurry of steel glinting with the early morning sunlight, he begins swinging at invisible enemies. Forehand, backhand, thrust...each move comes right on the tail of the last one, the speed of the swipes revealing his skill, despite his unfortunate spill the other day. Every swing, he takes a step forward, as if beating back an enemy.

An hour later, he returns his sword to its scabbard. Normally, after an hour, he'd still have barely broken a sweat, but practicing on the unfamiliar terrain, he had to put a bit more focus into maintaining his balance. Looking back, he looks at the prints he left behind, some of which were slightly askew, showing when he had momentarily lost his balance. "I'm gonna have to fix that," he says, rubbing the back of his neck as he looks at his mistakes with disdain. "If I ever have to fight on a beach and I lose my balance, I'd be done for." Shrugging, he crosses his arms behind his head and starts back for the village, adding, "I'll take care of it later. For now, it's time for breakfast!"

Gippal looked behind him when he saw Sena and then Alex walk in. He looked to the Tallia and said "Excuse me" at which she nodded and he made his way over to Alex slowly as he looked around the temple. As he reached her he asked. "How's it going? You ready for the trip today?"

He looked over at Sena who was walking slowly to the trails. There was a strange look on her face he cocked his head to the side as she took a step on the stairs.

He looked away towards the door when he saw Persephone and Urick walk in. He waved them over and Urick came over, he nodded and said "Morning you two..." Gippal smiled and replied " Morning. "

Alex gave a little yawn as she stood up from her prayers, twitching a little as she heard some girl practically insult the temple. "What a ungrateful spoiled bitch." She said out loud, her thoughts and mouth getting the better of her. Always speaking her mind, never fails really. Nor did she care if she was heard. Soon though, the tall woman's attention turned toward her childhood rival, Gippal, whom had come to greet her.

Yawning a little again, she stretched her arms over head before having them rest behind it. "Meh could be better. Still hard to get a decent sleep with uncomfortable beds. But I'm ready as I'll ever be for the trip. Though the rival teams I'm sure are not going to enjoy having the two of us on the same team." She smirked a little. Pausing a little she looked at the statues before looking at Gippal.

"Still make prayers too huh?" She questioned a little before looking towards Persephone and the tall bodyguard.

"Morning, Urick, Perry." The red head greeted.

Sena twitched. Oh... no... no, it couldn't be...

She ran into the abandoned cloister of trials, her katana drawn. The gasps of the priests behind her, former protectors of the sacred ground, resounded down the halls as she pushed through. Fiends were here. Not that they mattered. She had to to reach the interior, to reach the Fayth. She just prayed her premonition wasn't true.

Gippal looked up at Sena as he heard the Former priests yell at her to stop. "Son of a..." He said under his breath. He glanced at Urick and then bolted for the cloister due to the Fiends that resided in there. Also no one was allowed there. He had always wished to see it as well but here now was the opportunity to see it.
He pulled his sword from his sheath and bounded up the stairs.

What was with this woman? Hopefully those katanas were not just for show. He could feel Urick behind him, at which he was comforted, there was nothing they couldn't handle together. They entered the trials ready for anything.

Isabeau, however, did overhear the freakishly tall woman refer to her in unpleasant terms, and though she had come to observe the temple, to get some sort of frame of reference and history behind Yuna and her journey, Isabeau couldn't let such a petty insult slide. With a scowl and stomped steps, Isabeau approached the red head and who she assumed to be the red head's friends. Isabeau reached out and tapped the girl on her shoulders.

"Excuse me?" Isabeau said, her hands on her hips in anger, "Watch your mouth, you vulgar, freakish sow! Are you so uncultured, so unrefined to not know where you're standing? This is a holy place, no fit for ones who can't watch their ugly, pathetic mouths. Have some decency!"

With a satisfied huff, Isabeau turned away from the girl and stomped away. stopping as she noticed a girl rush into the Chamber of the Fayt. Isabeau, who naturally assumed such locations were off limits to the public, simply looked on in confusion, which only increased as two others ran in after her. Well, that wasn't very fair, if those three could go inside, so could she. She was the daughter of the savior of Spira, after all.

Without waiting for the red haired to respond, Isabeau ran after the others, calling out that she wanted to be part of the tour too, shoving past the monks who were desperately trying to maintain the order.

The red haired woman simply turned and raised a eyebrow at the girl, smirking as she victoriously got a rise out of the little brat. "This coming from a outsider who disrespects such a holy place just because of looks. What sort of spoiled brat are you? Sorry but you can't suckle on anyone's tit just because you think you know what's best." She countered calmly but loudly. She sweat dropped however when the girl moved away instantly.

"Cowardly bitchy brat." Alex huffed before watching that strange girl enter the temple. "What the...." She started before watching the others follow suit. Although she always did want to be a guardian and enter there, she respected the temple's rules. But be damned if she was going to miss the action and let Cottonhead go in without her.

"Bah screw it. Valefor I apologize in advance." She muttered before quickly dashing into the temple.

"Hey! Stop! No ones to enter!" The priests called, though she knew they especially didn't like her entering here. They always thought she was a bad omen... They never told her why, but they always looked at her funny whenever she visited.

"Talk later, action first!" Alex called before drawing her sword. "I hope this is worth it. They will rip our asses a new one when we get out!" She barked.

The sun on the horizon threw its light across the ocean making it sparkle. Khinnu stood with her feet submerged, feeling the cool water licking her ankles.
She always thought that there was no better way to start a day. Behind her she could hear the voices of her team mates the Kilika Beasts, they now had their own stadium but sometimes preferred to practice in the ocean.
She turned to greet them.
Vos, the largest of them, was the captain and the best defender on the team, he approached her with a smile and lightly patted his smallest team member on the shoulder in greeting.

"You ready for this Khinnu? it's your time to shine now"

Khinnu flashed him a smile and dived into the ocean, swimming out a small way. She turned to face them.

"The question is Vos, are YOU ready?" She replied with a wide smile.

Vos gave a laugh and dived in followed by the rest of the team, they regrouped with Khinnu and threw the large ball in the air.

Vos' voice bellowed into the cool morning air.

"LET'S GO"
.....

Khinnu had really impressed so far, she had ducked and dived incoming balls and tackles and had already scored twice, not bad for a centre fielder.
But this, she felt, was her moment as three of her team mates were heading over t challenge her.
She pulled her arm back and threw the ball into a heavy spin around her body. Her three team mates stopped in awe at the sight of the ball orbiting Khinnu.
She pulled her leg back and then fired it forward but stopped short of the ball, one of her team mates dived away for cover... one down.
She then fired a quick shot which threw the ball i to stomach of another team mate who was knocked back by the blow, the ball bouncd back to her, Khinnu then did a backward somersault and fired a two footed shot into her other team mate who too was blownback by the blow. She then pursued the ball and fired at goal. It was saved by Llor but it was clear how powerful th shot was as he shook his hand.
She looked over at Vos who simply nodded hi approval and gave her a thumbs up. She was ready.

....

Back on the beach llor caught her up and congratulated her on her new signature move.

"So what you calling it?" He asked.

She though for a moment and replied.

"Roulette sounds appropriate... yeah Roulette shot".

The Cloister of Trials was longer than what faint traces of memory recall. Were they always this annoying and obnoxious? No matter. All the paths had already been opened and fiends whom had taken nests in the corners screeched as her bare feet hit the stone cold walls. Her dark hair trailed behind her. As she rounded a corner however, she nearly fell into the fiends waiting there. A flying fiend and two ground based ones.

Senas blue eyes flared in anger. "Out of my way; or you will fall to the Black Ice!" She drew her two Katanas and ran forward, slashing one of the ground based fiends and taking the kill quickly. She lept back to politely wait for the two remaining creatures to attack. Both drew damage and one had sliced her leg well. She cursed, huddled over her legs. Perhaps she would need to use the Black Ice on these fools.

(The politely waiting bit is tribute to the FFX fighting system XD)

It was interesting to finally see what the trials looked like... Although.. Alex felt her head hurt the deeper she went. Odd, but she ignored the throbbing and continued, her long legs easily carrying her after the crazy girl who rushed by anything. That was until she ran into some fiends. Grumbling as the girl killed a dingo, Alex lept to the woman's side and huffed.

"Geez, at least look where you are running before dashing." Alex huffed before looking at the two enemies, a Water Flan and a Condor. Frowning slightly at the flan, Alex quickly moved in close, leaping up and slashing the Condor with her blade. It squealed in agony before the bird like creature fell to its death. Jumping away, she returned to her place, watching the Flan thoughtfully.

Looking at the huddled woman, she dug into her pocket, and tossed a bottle of potion at her.

Gippal ran in the trials and saw Sena on the ground. He looked up and saw the flan and condor in front of them. The flan came up to strike as the condor went for Alex at which she killed it in a slab. He jumped over Sena and slashed at the Flan.

He looked over at Alex as she tossed over the potion to Sena, which he caught instead and handed to Sena. " are you alright? What are you doing in here?" He looked up at Alex , Teancum and a blonde girl who ran in. Who had an .... Interesting style.

"We should get out of here.... Nothing down here but more fiends..." He looked at Sena and offers a hand