((Fonn Mhárta supposedly means 'from your heart' in Gaelic.))

A strange, amphibian-looking human creature was standing before a pitch black machine. It was sleek, yet blocky, made entire of Gummi components. There were a few customized items on the ship the Verdalin had invented herself. This was no stock Gummi, but rather personalized for Jollin's personal driving enjoyments. She had a radar, to not only scope out on-coming enemy ships but nearby worlds, and hyper speed. There were small, specific lazors, not meant for quantity damage but rather quality. The lady stood there for a few more moments, before throwing the last of her luggage in and climbing into the cockpit.

Nobody came to say good-bye, and in some ways, Jollin was glad for that. She didn't have to say any long-winded departures, or think about the next time she'd see this tropical planet. With a few buttons clicked and a double-systems-check, the Verdalin took off into space. It was so different from undersea, honestly, that Jollin always thought of moving through it as a dream. She put her ship on auto-pilot, pulling a small, rounded rectangular piece of equipment from her pocket. Clicking it on with a tablet pen, Jollin checked her manual space map, looking for the nearest world. Several of them had been swallowed but... there! A small one, and it seemed to have a habitat similar to her own, Jollin re-set her autopilot for the world's coordinates. Destiny Island, huh. Quite a potential the name had...

After flying for some time, for the partly aquatic creature was trying to reserve her hyper fuel, she took manual control over the Gummi Ship. The Island wasn't far from now, she knew, since the ship's map now showed it on the mini-monitor, and Jollin pulled up the existing scopes for it. Bright, a twilight scene currently. Jollin groaned, pulling her tinted mechanical goggles from a compartment space, throwing them on. Her sensitive eyes couldn't stand direct sunlight from years of living under miles of water. Were they a branch off the Verdalin race here, too, she wondered? 'I'll have to find out, then...' the woman told herself, finding that it was still a couple minutes until reaching the port of the world.

((cool, i wondered what the name was from ^^ sorry for the long post btw))

The girl opened her eyes, then closed them again, the brightness of the sun stinged in her eyes. She once again opened them and squinted against the bright scenery. She nervously looked around, the landscape was one she was not familiar with. Being used to red mountains and dry heat. She stretched, her muscled hurt, the girl wondered how long she had been lying there, in the dry and warm sand. She stood up, facing a turqouise sea, around her were palmtrees. She straitened her skirt, it was of a soft shade of pink, the texture was soft. Her legs walked into the direction of the water, whern her feet touched the cold water a chill shot through her body, but the waves soon started feeling pleasant against the dry skin, her copper hair in the wind. She felt like she wasn't. She just wasn't.

It didn't take long before Macha's memories returned. She did not like them, she wanted to puch them away, and stick with the oblivion that had felt so pleasant. She wanted to forget about everything she felt, everything that had happened. She wanted to be reborn, reborn into an innocent being, a being inaware of the worl resolving around it. But it was far too late for that, far too late...

She sat down in the undeep water, fighting against the torturing memories her mind was forcing her to see, forcing her feel and forcing her to remember, remember the darkness pressing against her body, moving her, like a shell in the sea, helpless again the tide, sweeping it wherever it wanted it. Remembering the girl, the panicing girl, the girl that resisted the tide untill the tide became annoyed with the shell and buried it under layers of sand, never to be found again. Remembering the tide moving her toward the shore, and stranding her on the wet sand. Remembering the tide wash away, the sun removing all marks of the tide.

That is how she sat, the tide once again pulling her, but she did not give in, she stayed with the sun, refusing the tide, abandoning the tide that had faithfully brought her toward the sun. The sun was her lord now, the sun was the hero, the protagonist. Unthankfull making the tide the villain, the antagonist, refusing the tide that had faithfully delivered the shells to the sun. But that was only the fate of the tide, the purpose, the chorus that was sung over and over again. That was all the tide was, all the tide would ever be, never would the tide be more than what the master has woven into it's pattern. While the sun wasn't a cloth belonging to the master, no, the sun belonged to a child, and the child played with the sun, never making it the same thing, the sun could become everything it wanted. The child drew on the sun what it wanted it to become, and then erasing the things it had not want it to be. Withy that thought the girl closed her eyes, letting the sun warm her and the tide pull her, but she would not give in.

Soon enough, the small island-world came into view. Jollin slowed down, gliding into the port of the world. It was inside, oddly enough, unlike most docking, which she found strange for this world which didn't seem completely aware of the others. Grabbing her hand-held device, a bag of useful items, Jolling jumped down. Following the single, narrow tunnel she came to a handle-less door, and pushed it open into a small, secret place. The seven-foot woman had to bend over, and eventually crawl, to get out.

Arising in the bright sun, she was glad to have her goggles out. Even then it pierced through, causing the Verdalin's eyes to dilate and become unclear. The human-shaped creature stretched a bit, showing a slender body that supposedly had no muscle to it, though that was highly incorrect. Her skin was a strange white, like the face of a full moon, with wavering white-blue markings like the reflection of water. Her hair was thin and light, so white it seemed transparent, held up in a high ponytail. Ultimately, the woman looked strange, her skin soft and moist.

Walking forward with a slightly loping gait, the foreign lady spotted a young child a yard or so outward, sitting in the shallows of the place. The more Jollin moved into the sun, the brighter her skin reflected the golden-yellow rays of the sun, giving her a fiery aura. Though, Jollin wore a pale blue cloak wrapped around her torso, of a light linen construct, but it hid her strange attire from the natives. A cloak, itself, must look strange on a beach, but supposedly no stranger than the gadgets she had everywhere about her. Jollin liked being surrounded by her homeland's technological accomplishments.

Once the woman silently came to the other being's side, she stepped into the waves, her feet being bare. The water pushed back the cloak, showing that her skin was the same everywhere, and not just her face. Also, that she was wearing shorts, for no pants seemed to reach below her knees. "It is nice here, is it not? Reminds me of a paradise untouched," the Verdalin whispered, loud enough for only the girl to hear her. The lady's voice held an accent, making her words separately punctuated and richly told.

Macha looked up at the creature, fro her mind denied it being human. "Are you a ghost?" she asked, her voice was soft and her appearence seemed delicate, her state was delicate. Her two-coloured eyes stared at the stranger. "Do you know where I am, I don't want to know where I was" The sea was soothing and she felt light, like a burden had been removed from her. A part of her brain was telling her she wasn't acting normally, she had to get herself together, but that was the same mind that had tried to force her to remember those painful memories so she did not trust it. She rejected it's logic and kept feeling light, thinking things she would never think. Enjoying the moment untill she was to come back to earth. Come back to the Palace. No, she was staying where she was, she did not want to wake up form this dream.

"Will I ever become myself again?" was the next question her delicate voice asked, she sounded much like a lost child, too much like a lost child and she couldn't find her path. "Or can I stay this way, please let me stay like this" she looked the woman deep in her eyes, for she wasover the fact that it was creature, she knew it was a woman. "I asked if you were a ghost, but you might be an angel too, which one is it I do not know which one I prefer" She tore her eyes away from the being and stared out at the ocean again.

Jollin snorted rudely upon being called a ghost. Ridiculous! "Do spirits have toes and fingernails?" the Verdalin asked, raising a brow down to the little lady. Recognizing that the poor girl was fragile, in both her mental and physical state, she reached down to pull her out of the water. "Come with me, I am one who can help," the mechanic urged, still in her undertone voice. Practically pulling her from the water and across the sand, Jollin -still be unreasonably gentle- picked Macha up and set her upon a crate. "You are on a world called Destiny Islands," Jollin explained.

The next question put the woman off, and she blinked. "I wish to check something, please. I think you may have hurt your cranium," Jollin informed, and with soft fingers, the sort one would use on a newborn, tilted Macha's head back. Through tinted goggles, Jollin spied her eyes, and then felt along the back of her head, making sure there was nowhere that the girl winced. "You seem to be of good condition." At the next sort of dazed ramble, the Verdalin shook her head. "I cannot assure you, child, if you are yourself or not. I can, however, offer that you may stay here, upon this Island, for as long as you desire." The aquatic land-creature gave her best smile, not showing her teeth for they could very well frighten the girl.

"I do not know what people of your land call me. However, I assure you I am not deceased," Jollin commented. She reached under her cloak, pulling out a strange sort of food wrapped in a sparkling green wrapper. Unwrapping it, Jollin handed the hard candy over to Macha, still smiling. "I am called Jollin, what is your name, little one? Do you have any place to go, to stay, here upon this island-world?"

"Angels and ghost do not have to die to become themselves, they just are, like you and I, or maybe they aren't, that is possible too, my name is Macha, I have just arived in this place, the dark tides have brought me here against my will, though ti wasn;t really against it. I shose to swim in the sea, but it pulled me away. It drowned my friend you see, she paniced and drowned in the tides. But the sun rescued me, or more the Tide gave me to the Sun to keep" she told Jollin. "My mind wants it's territory back, but I want to keep it. Maybe my mind wants to keep me, but I want my mind back, I do not know which one it is, but I'm confused, this is not the real me. I think I'm in shock but I'm not sure" she took the candy and chewed on it.

"Is this candy from your world? You don't seem ot come form mine, though I haven't met anyone form this one. You aren't from this island are you? you seem non-human though you might be more human than I. You seem like you belong in the sea, I can hear it calling your name, but you seem reluctant to get into the water. Are you afraid the tides will take you like they did me? Do you want to stay in the sun a little more. The tides will not have me back, though they want me for a different reason. I believe there is too much sun in me for them to accept me. Maybe that is why I did not drown like the other girl. I am not that much of a child though, not in the measurements of my race" She looked into those eyes. "Am I confusing you?" she asked innocently as the battle in her head continued.

Jollin listened, inspecting the girl occasionally to make sure she really wasn't hurt. Finding absolutely nothing wrong with her physical condition, the mechanic noted it simply must be mental trauma. So, she stood back and listened to the little one talk. Her words were confused, the terms strange to Jollin, but her explanations were adequate. "Yes, you are making perfect sense, Macha," Jollin assured. She took a deep breath, preparing herself to the long-winded response to all the girl's questions.

"For now, do not focus upon the fight in your mind, little Macha. It will tire you more than you are, and I have a feeling you will need your energy in the near future. I am not sure what has transpired within you, but it seems as if you've been touched by darkness -or what you call the tide. It is a rarity to see that your light -rather, Sun- naturally fought against it, I admit, but comforting.

"Yes, that is a sweet candy from my homeworld, and my homeland. I am not from here, no, nor have I seen its natives. My race is quite aquatic, yes, however I have a good reason to be staying upon land for this moment. My race is neither angel nor spirit, but rather a cross of amphibian and human. We call ourself Verdali, meaning I am a Verdalin. No, I do not fear what you call the tide, I call the darkness, but I do not agree with it. I enjoy the sun very much, though it does hurt my eyes." Jollin paused, licking her lips with a dark blue, pointed tongue, before continuing, "The other girl? She was swallowed by what you say is the tide?"

This worried Jollin, for if another was taken in by the darkness, it meant the army was beginning to rise. The Heartless were planning something, she could feel it. At the mentioned of age, Jollin had to laugh a bit, her jolly expression a bit louder than her speaking voice, but filled with the moment of surprised enjoyment. "Yes, I know, but my race lives at least three of yours!"

Macha nodded "She was the one that made the stream, the stream that ended in the sea. But she oversaw the tides and when it pulled her she paniced. I let myself get pulled away from the place thatw as rather my prison than my home and it placed me in the sun. I am thankfull toward the sea, though I reject it. It is only nature though, nature shaped the tide to seperate the sun's children from the tide's. She is one of the tide's children now, the creatures with the yellow eyes, she has become one, while I am one favoured by the sun, she has brought me to her shores and washe away the marks of the tides. I think the tide is rebellious though, it does not want to be what nature made it, it is rejecting it's purpuse. It is gathering it's children, it is making puppets trying to fight the sun. The sun has been challenged by the tide multiple times, though it was never the tide alone. The tide has to have his master, Poseidon, the master of the seas steers the tide in it's direction. Poseidon is never the same, Poseidon is never alone. There is always someone else, sometimes more than one. Let us pray the sun can stand the forces of Poseidon and the tides. Let us pray to whoever you believe in"

"you must be very wise if you live that long, you must have seen many sights. Many things that have been revealed for you, do you think you should aid the sun? Would you aid the natural enemy of you race? If the light of the sun hurts your eyes so much, do you think you should aid the tides instead, it would be easier for your body, but would it be easier for your mind? That is the question" She looked deep in the woman's eyes. "My time like this si short, I will soon not remember our meeting. I have said most I needed to say, but there is one message that I have to deliver to you. Following the desire of you body is the easiest of the three; following your mind's desires is harder, but mostly the more honourable thing to do; following your heart is the most difficult task, you have to be able to know what your heart really wants, and see through the desires your body it wants you to believe. Which one will you chose, which path will you take? Will you deside, or let the tides take you. They will deside for you, the tides will guide you, but it might be against your will. Choose not for the tides but for the sun and your decisions will be your, but you might nor wish them to be yours. Many tchoices are there in a human, or Verdalin, life, but not many are actually important. Remember to think of the important ones, and weight your choices heavily, for they will not be reversable"

Jollin listened to Macha describe what her friend became, once more wondering how this girl survived such an amount of darkness. As Macha named a god, Poseidon, the Verdalin tried to remember where the name came from. A pagan god, she knew, of the sea, brother to Zeus and Hades, who ruled the sky and the underworld. He must be her way of explaining the ruler of the Heartless, Jollin figured, and went back to listening intently. The poor girl, she could assume, was in shock, and right now needed sugar in her bloodstream and sleep in her head.

"I have a lot longer to live, too. I do not know about wise, but I am intelligent, and that is enough for me," Jollin answered, revealing her pointed teeth with a good-humored grin. As the next part was revealed, the strange amphibian-lady seemed to listen extra carefully, realizing this as advice of the sort she'd never heard. Jollin, after it, slowly nodded. "I do not know all of what you mean, I admit. However, I know what I am doing right now is where my heart fits, and wherever it shall take me will be my future," the girl answered, standing and helping Macha down from the crate. "You must have done a lot of thinking, little dancer, and I shall do a lot, too. But for now, you need food, and sleep, for you to recovery properly. Thankfully, there seems to be a nice place to sleep up there, and I have some tasty treats in my pack."

Jollin, with one of her gently, clammy hands upon Macha's shoulder, guided the girl along the windy beach path, up some stairs, and then up a long, twisting path made of boards. They came to a hallow in the tree, with a wide balcony over-looking the beach they had just been upon. On the wall was a large piece of cloth, which Jollin put on the floor for comfort. She brought a canteen of clear water out, handing it to Macha, deciding she must be thirsty, as well as some pieces of salted jerky and dried fruit, giving it to her as well. "Eat, and drink, as much as you desire. I will feel more at ease, knowing there is some sugar in your body," Jollin informed, giving her another warm smile before wandering to the entrance and staring out. The sun did blind here, even here in the shade with her goggles on, and the salty winds of the sea seemed to sing her name... Yet here she must stay, to protect the abandoned, and lost child.

Macha eagerl;y took the water. She gulfed down some water and ate a bit. "Do you think me weird Amphibian One? I am to leave now, the girl wants her body back. you will have to explain to her what she is doing here and who you are, but please do not mention me to nayone. People mmight think you spoke with an evil spirit." the girl smiled mysteriously. "Remember my advice, it is precious for not many people are blessed to hear it. One more thing; stick to the path you chose, good or bad. If you change paths it will only prove you will wonder from any path. You will become a Lonely Wanderer and you do not want that. Lonely Wanderers are creatured even the angels can't help. I have become wiser today, and so have you. I have learnt of your race, a race I did not know existed. How you have become wiser is for yourself to decide. Farewell Amphibian One, that we might meet again some day. If we will, you will know to recognize me, no matter how I look." The girl blinked then her eyes seemed to lit up a bit and closed.

Macha grunted, her head hurt and her vision seemed to spin in front of her eyes. When she opened them it took a while before her view returned to normal. "Whoa!" was her reaction to the abnormal woman/ "What.. uhm who are you?" she quickly corrected herself. "Where am I, what happened?" she grunted again when the memories returned to her. "Oh god.." was all she could say.

Jollin turned at being called Amphibian One, a crooked smile on her face. "I do not think you weird, no," she answered encouragingly. When it mentioned she would leave, the woman furrowed her brow at first, confused by the wording, until she realized this was not the true consciousness of the body. "Farewell, then, helper. I will take your advice to heart," the mechanic assured, giving a light bow and watching the transformation.

As Macha, the true Macha, came to, Jollin slowly walked forward. "I am a branch off the human race, called Verdalin. My name is Jollin, and I am your friend. I found you unconscious on the beach, and brought you here to eat, sleep and rest." Once more, she was talking in the whispered tone, meant to soothe those who had not seen her kind, careful to keep her lips covering the sharp rows of teeth that many found frightening. Jollin reached out a tender hand, setting it over Macha's head, trying to be comforting. "When you finish eating, I suggest you at least try to sleep. Thinking right now will only make things more confusing." Jollin gave her a soft smile, walking back to the entrance and taking her cloak off to hang it over the door, blocking out the bright light.

Then, the Verdalin took off her goggles, revealing her large, pixie-like eyes that were completely black, from cornea to pupil. Her eyelashes, however, were as white and wispy as her hair, as if trying to give everything a photographic contrast. Jollin had left her overalls in the Gummi, so now all she was left with was a tight mid-rift shirt that revealed her childishly flat chest, and her also fitting knee-length shorts. They were both white, though the pants had intricate blue knots running up the length of it. Against her waist, and her pants, various tools or bags were hung. On Jollin's forearm was a small band, for which was meant to carry her hand-held PC. The woman did not remove these, however, she did take the gun from its hip holster, taking the ammo clip out and laying them on the ground, to show Macha she meant absolutely no harm.

Macha watched the girl with wide eyes, she seemed so alien, she had never seen anyone like her. Her voice was completely different now, it had a bit of a sharp edge to it, the voice of a daring girl. "My name is Macha, but how do you're not here to do harm" she wasn;t finnished saying it when the woman removeed her gun. "I still don't trust you" Macha eyes the woman with distrust, her Kris was safely belted around her waist. She noticed the soft pink skirt was wet. She stood up and walked to the entrance of the little hut, looking out over the ocean. she gasped. "I'm not in Saphira anymore am I?" she knew it was a foolish question, but she couldn't help asking it.

Her copper hair caught the ocean wind, the sleeve of her top also swayed a bit. She saw the sun was setting, it gave the island en errie glow, but it was beautiful nevertheless. She turned toward the woman again. "How can I sleep when I'm torn away from the place I've lived for my entire life" note how she didn't say home, for she had never seen it as thus. "Everyone I knew, is gone, they are still there, and that girl... that girl" she didn't dare go on. But also note how she didn't say friends, for she had none, in the palace there were only rivals not friends. thinking that she noticed she wasn't that bad off as she had thought. "the horizen is dark, too dark" she whispered. The shadows seemed so much more dangerpus and scary now she had felt them, taking her away like... like... a tide.

"What do I do now, I have no place to go. Everything is lost." she whispered to herself, she had completely forgotten the woman who was there also, lost in thought she looked out at the sea, the waves calmly crashed upon the shore

Jollin watched Macha walk to the doorway, and once she was lost in thought, drew her away, closing the makeshift blind. Leading the smaller woman back to the sheet, motioned for her to sit. "You are going into shock, Macha. You need sugar in your blood, and you need to rejuvenate your mind with sleep. I promise you, if you still do not know what to do in the morning, then I will tell you my best opinion." The Verdalin knew this Macha did not completely trust her, yet still held the hope a bit of the friendship she'd made with the other one would cross over.

Once the girl had sat down, Jollin moved to the doorway, slipping out on the other side of the cloak, placing her goggles back on. "I will be here, if you need me," the mechanic informed. She was also sitting here to make sure Macha did not run away, for it was the only way out. Perhaps staying outside would give the girl enough privacy, enough alone time, for her to come to her own conclusions, to figure that Jollin was -as per usual- right.

Macha curled up in a ball in a croner of the hut, since there was no bed or anything. She closed her eyes, but all that she saw were those horrifying images of the girl dissapearing in hte shadows. she felt a tear escape, though not for her homeworld, it was for the sake of the girl, who had want to escape just like she wanted, though she had made more drastic measures. She eventually fell asleep, though haunted by nightmares.

when she woke up it was early. she was sitting up srtraight for a nightmare had just awoken her for the third time this night. she walked over toward the wooden steps that lead to the little hut. she sat donw on the end and watched the sun rose. She sighed, not knowing what to do with her life now, now she had lost everything.

Jollin, in her amphibian nature, had crawled up onto the roof, also watching the sun rise. She hadn't slept, listening to Macha's nightmares, worrying for the girl, and wondering about the advice she had been given. The mechanic, at seeing Macha watching the sun herself, readjusted the tinted goggles and silently crawled down the wall of the tree-hut. Sliding back inside, she took her cloak, and her gun, and went back out to the girl.

Standing there, in the brilliance of the new sun, Jollin seemed much less human than ever. Even her hair, wet from dew, sparkled and reflected the sunrise's rosy light, making the normally pale creature glow with a golden aura. "How long do you plan upon sitting there?" the Verdalin inquired, head tilted. Jollin knew it best not to give her advice now, not quite yet, but to stand by the girl and tend to her until she realized they were friends.

During the night, Jollin had pledged to protect the lost Macha, who was suffering and unsure. Jollin knew it was a different quest from the one she set out to do, but trusted her heart nonetheless. Who knew? The two could be intertwined, as many great adventurer's journeys were. "Are you hungry? I can catch you some fish, Macha." Jollin jumped up to stand on the railing that towered over the ground, balancing there with her bare feet quite perfectly.