[SP-01] <<Training your Friend>>

[Cordelia 0]

Cordelia crouched down and watched Pacco silently. It has seemed that the two had gotten into one of their own little staring contests. This was surely the first. It was a lot more fun than she had expected, though! ... but something about those little beady eyes almost freaked her out. It wasn't really scary, but... disturbing. 

Pacco's lower left eye twitched as he continued to stare at the blonde. "O-oh!" She exclaimed, pointing a finger at him accusingly. "I saw that, mister! You can't hide it from me," she cackled, rolling on to her back. 

Imagine if she was out in public, that would've been a real hoot. She had decided to see if she can get Pacco to actually help her in battle, but first, she needed to train the dang bird! It wasn't going to be easy... but she was going to need some accuracy soon. Real soon.

[Cordelia 0]

She was going to take on harder quests the higher she levels up, and she can't miss out on opportunities to strengthen herself.

"Alright, Pacco!" She sniffed, crossing her legs as she stared into his eyes again. "We're going to start training you today! So that means," she paused, holding up a finger, "no tangling your wings and feet into my hair," she paused again, bringing up her second finger, "no making a mess in my room when I'm not home." She held up her third finger and scowled at him, "and no chasing poor NPCs around!" She blew a sigh as her eyes averted in embarrassment. "Those poor kids didn't know what was coming to them."

She huffed again and looked back at Pacco with a grin. "Don't worry, bud, it'll be loads of fun! We can go around floor one and do some stuff, and when you're good, I'll give you a treat!"

[Cordelia 0]

Cordelia sighed in relief as she dipped her feet into the lake. "I think this is really more of a relaxation day for us," she mumbled with a relaxed smile. "So let's just... chill," she muttered, laying on her back with her feet still submerged. 

"Maybe we should've gone to the beach instead of going to floor one. How cool would that be?" She asked, a small smile spreading across her face as she thought about it. "This is fine, though. I have no problem with being at a lake, either. Actually, it might even be better than a beach!" She exclaimed, closing her eyes blissfully. 

"Who knows?" She asked to both herself and Pacco, "maybe we won't have to encounter anyone at all today. It might be fun meeting new people but even I need a break sometimes," she groaned, stretching her back and arms. 

However, not all things stay good forever. 

[Cordelia 0]

[flashback cause y not]

"Mother, when are we going to going back home?" A not much younger Amara asked, tugging on the hems as she shifted uncomfortably. They were attending another charity event, and she hated it. She knew all of the smiles her parents were giving were just bull. 

"Not now, Amara," her mother chuckled, flashing her a deadly stare before smiling at passing guests again. "Can't you spend just one day without those pathetic online games of yours?" She asked with a low voice through her teeth as she gave a nod and a smile to another person Amara couldn't be too bothered to learn the name of. "So just be a good little girl for mommy, alright?" 

"Yes, mother," the girl mumbled, clasping her hands together as her gaze spiraled downwards to the ground. She wished that she wasn't rich sometimes. She wished that her parents weren't famous. She wished she just had a regular family that didn't care about money and reputation.

[Cordelia 0]

꒰This dress is uncomfortable.꒱

꒰Why do people keep smiling like that?꒱

꒰This food tastes disgusting.꒱

꒰Why can't they stopped talking about themselves?꒱

꒰I don't care about your money.꒱

Amara shifted again in her seat as she watched her parents go up to the podium. They had left her alone at the table, again. They were going to do the same speech she had heard them rehearse so many times. It disgusted her. 

"Thank you and welcome to..." She had tuned out again. It was pointless listening to things she couldn't even comprehend yet. 

"And thank you to our lovely daughter!" Amara's eyes suddenly widened as she solely focused her attention back to her parents on the podium. "For always being with us and giving us her beloved support!" Her mother bellowed, offering the cameras a sweet smile. 

Amara clenched her hands as she watched her parents. Not once had they ever looked at her when they were talking about her. 

ID: 123461

CD: 4

[Cordelia 0]

"Look, father! I drew you and mother!" An even younger Amara exclaimed as she held up a white piece of paper with small stickmen scribbles. 

"Amara, we're busy. Why don't you go show it to the servants?" Her father muttered without even sparing her a second glance. 

"B-but, I already showed them!" She chirped as she held up the paper even higher. "They said it was really pretty and that-"

"Amara, I have no time for your petty fun and games," her father snapped, cutting her off and giving her a deadly side glance before he went back to working. "Go bother some of the servants or something, just don't bother me again."

The girl flinched as she nodded her head stiffly. She lowered the piece of paper and mumbled a meek, "sorry," before scurrying off. Why were adults so confusing? She just wanted to show them her picture of them... Why did he get so mad?

[Cordelia 0]

"Thank you and welcome to..." Amara paused, taking the smile amount of time to put up a convincing smile. "Welcome to my family's charity event!" She cheered, closing some of her hands together as she heard dozens and dozens of people clap. She shuffled closer to the mic and looked over to her parents among the vast tables, who to say, were giving her bittersweet smile. Her voice almost cracked as she looked away from the two and continued. "I hope that all of you enjoy the services and the...-"

☆ - ☆ 

Amara threw herself at her swivel chair located at her desk. "I hate those things," she mumbled angrily, her hands reaching up to take off her earrings and necklace. Why did she even have to go and give that dang speech? Her parents were completely capable of doing it themselves! 

"Don't forget that we have a banquet to attend next Thursday!" Her mother called from downstairs in her shrilly voice.

"Yes, mother!" She hollered back, throwing her earrings and necklace carelessly on to her bed.

 

[Cordelia 0]

Cordelia's eyes snapped back open. That was a weird dream-

Where was she? 

The white marbling. The never ending hallway. 

She was back at home.

Home. It was such a bittersweet word for her for some reason. Why? What was even a home anymore? Did she have one? This definitely was not her home. Her inn room wasn't her home, either. Home was supposed to be the place where she felt safe, right? That didn't apply to anywhere. So... did she not have a home? Did she really ever have one? She wanted one. She wanted to feel safe again. 

Home was just a simple word to use when it came to having a place to sleep. If you slept there, it was your home, right? A lot of people made it seem like that. Maybe home was where you grew up? Or was home somewhere you're living? People made it so confusing.

[Cordelia 0]

Cordelia's slender hands trailed along the pure white walls as she walked down the never ending hallway.

Fake. All of this was fake. Just the pigment of her imagination. This wasn't real. It couldn't be real. Who knew her imagination could spew something like this?

But why did it feel like it was? Her house had hallways just like this. Long and twisting hallways. It scared her sometimes. 

All the things that 'decorated' seemed to be there, too. The priceless paintings and pottery, the disgusting carpet. It was all here. She sighed and leaned her back against the wall. She hated it here. This wasn't her home. It felt more like a prison decorated in luxury, but still served the same purpose nonetheless. 

She remembered.

She had spent hours upon hours running back and forth down a hallway just like this when she was a little kid.

Her parents didn't like that.

[Cordelia 0]

She felt like she only had one friend growing up. Someone she trusted more than anyone in the world, even her own parents. She didn't know how long Rosie had been working under her parents, but she's been there ever since Amara could remember. Rosie was practically the closest thing she had to a parental figure in her life and pretty why she didn't end up like a total snob like the rest of her 'family'.

She missed her.

The closest thing she had to a friend growing up was out of her life. Forever. It's been sixteen years, but dang- she still couldn't get rid of the emptiness in her chest whenever she thought about it. Maybe... just maybe Rosie would've stopped her from making the worst decision of her life all those years ago. Maybe she wouldn't have ended up who she was right now if Rosie had never life.

What do you know, huh?

ID: 123527

CD: 9, Success

1/3 Attempts Successful 

[Cordelia 0]

Cordelia felt her whole world began to shift again. 

She was in her bedroom. 

"Why doesn't mother and father ever come to tuck me in at night?" A girl that looked around the age of seven asked.

The woman in front of her smiled sadly as she ruffled the girl's hair a little bit. "They're just a tad bit busy, honey. I'm sure they'll tuck you in one day. Don't worry about it," she said reassuringly as she turned to leave the bedroom.

"Pinky promise?" The young Amara asked meekly, holding her hand out with an outstretched pinky, a small frown on her face as she did so.

The woman smiled soothingly as she turned back to her and curled her own finger around hers. "Pinky promise," she murmured, giving the girl one last grin before turning to leave, shutting the lights and the door softly.

She broke that pinky promise.

[Cordelia 0]

"You can't treat her like this forever!" 

Cordelia woke up with a jolt as she heard loud screams from downstairs. What was going on?

She threw her covers to the side and hopped off her abnormally large bed for such a small child. Her tiny feet scurried out of her room and down the long hallway, towards the growing louder voice.

"You have no right to say that, she is our daughter!" Another voice pierced through the air as she got closer. 

"Can't you see that you're ruining her life?! I'm the closest thing she has to a damn parent!" The other voice she recognized as one of her favorite servants--if not the favorite-- rang out in objection.

A loud slap rang through the air just as Amara had made it to the railings that shielded her from the two story drop down below. Her steel gray eyes widened as she stared at her mother who had a hand raised in the air and her most favorite person in the world with a red hand print on her cheek.

 

[Cordelia 0]

"I don't ever want you near this house or my family again," her mother whispered with deadly venom, narrowing her eyes into slits as she lowered her hand. "Get out of my sight before I call security."

Amara's breath hitched in her throat as she took a step back from the railing. What was going on? Why was mother hitting Rosie? Rosie wasn't bad! Rosie didn't do anything wrong, she was good! Why was mother yelling at her? 

Rosie's eyes widened as she looked up at the watching girl. Her eyes grew blank for a second before she rushed out of the front doors of the house, never even glancing back at the girl she had basically raised for so many years. 

"Rosie?" Amara whispered, her legs collapsing as she looked through the wooden bars of the railings. "Where are you going, Rosie?"

She never saw Rosie after that day again.

[Cordelia 0]

"Mother, why did Rosie leave?" Amara asked as she sat on the stairs, her onyx eyes staring blankly at the closed front door. 

"Don't ask such stupid questions, dear."

"Okay."

"Get off of those stairs. A child of mine doesn't deserve to sit on such filth."

"Okay."

☆-☆

Amara played with the spoon in her bowl of oatmeal in front of her with a blank face. The dining table was empty... again. Rosie used to sit in the chair next to her when she ate. 

No one sat next to her anymore.

The girl pushed her bowl away stubbornly and laid her head in her hands, slightly tilted to the right of her as she stared at the empty chair next to her. "Why'd you have to leave, Rosie?" She asked to no one in particular. Her eyes glassed over as she turned her head so that her forehead rested on her arms. "Why'd you have to leave me all alone, here?"

[Cordelia 0]

Amara's long hair fell to the floor as she laid her upside down on the sides of her bed. She was going to have to make some friends. She didn't want to feel like an empty husk of a body. Rosie was the only person to ever make her feel full. 

She hopped off of her bed and scrambled out of her abnormally large room. 

Time to hunt for some people!

☆-☆

"Danny, Danny!" Amara shrieked, running up to one of her servants who was cleaning up the oatmeal she never finished. 

"Miss Amara, I've told you many times to address me as Daniel-"

"Yeah, yeah, Daniel shpaniel," she huffed, crossing her arms. "Danny, let's go out to the garden and play!" She piped, bouncing up and down with excitement. 

"I can't, I apologize, Miss Amara."

"What, why?" 

"You of all people should know that you can't replace Miss Rosa, especially with me."

ID: 123528

CD: 6, Fail

1/3 Attempts Successful 

[Cordelia 0]

Cordelia sniffed as her hands curled around the edge of the bridge. 

"Did Rosie not like me enough to stay?" She whispered to nothing and no one. Her nails dug into the wood the more she thought about it. Why did no one stay with her? 

She looked over to Pacco, who was perched next to her, staring at his reflection almost eerily in the soundless and still lake water. 

"We should go train," she mumbled, holding her arm out for Pacco. Her chirped-- er, cawed and flapped up to her covered arm. 

"How should we train you?" She asked him, tilting her head. He tilted his own head at her, his glowing red eyes staring back at her. 

"I've got it," she exclaimed, hopping to her feet. Perhaps this wasn't such an off day as she thought, but she didn't mind as much now.

Maybe she finally had someone to stay with her just a while.

 

[Cordelia 0]

Cordelia hummed a small tune as she held up a handful of rocks in her hand. "Alright, this should be enough."

Setting Pacco down on a branch in front of her, she held up her five rocks in between her fingers with an excited grin. "I know how your power works," she continued, throwing a few of them into the air before catching all of them with a single swoop of her hand. "So this is how I'm going to train you, Pacco."

She clasped her hands behind her back and nodded to the sky. "Use Odin's Sight to help me catch all of these rocks in the air when I throw them, okay?" She asked, turning back to Pacco who gave her a blank look. 

Well, she just assume that he knew what was going on. 

"Alright, ready Pac?" She called, her arm slowly winding and getting ready to launch the rocks.

She wasn't just training Pacco today. She was going to be training herself.

[Cordelia 0]

She threw the rocks into the air as she can, and dang, did they fly far. 

"You ready, Pacco?" She asked, her head whipping over to her familiar, who's eyes were firmly trained on the sky. 

Guess you are, then. 

Cordelia dug her heels into the dirt. 

One.

Two.

Three.

She dashed off, bouncing from tree to tree as a whole new sense came to her. Everything was red. She didn't feel angry, actually, she felt quite the opposite. She felt exhilarated. It was as if she had a completely new sense. "Alright!" She quipped, her body twisting just as she hopped off the final tree.  

She could feel it. She felt like she had a bird's eyesight now. If she concentrated enough, she could probably see every feather on her familiar's body and he was so far away! She was clear in the air now, her coat almost having a feather-like weight as she hovered above the vast trees.

[Cordelia 0]

She felt weightless.

Everything almost went by in slow motion as her head turned to look at the sky above her. 

"Wow," she breathed, her mouth jarred open just slightly.

It was beautiful. Everything was so clear. So blue. It was so vast. So dull with life yet so vibrant with it. A bubbly feeling erupted from her chest as she stared at the marvelous sight in front of her. Above her. Around her.

How had she been missing on this for two years? Two years of being alone. Two years of nothing when she could've been doing everything? Maybe this has been what she had been looking for two years. All of the emotions she felt before diminished as a newer one crept up on her. 

It hurt. It hurt so much. Her whole heart felt like it had been twisted and broken.

Pained. 

She didn't want to leave.

[Cordelia 0]

It feel like something in her snapped when she thought about it. A guttural sound came from her throat as she already began to feel herself fall to the ground. 

"Already?" She whispered, her face falling just as her body was. "Good things can't last forever, I suppose," she muttered dejectedly.

Her long and flowing blonde hair whipped upwards as she felt gravity start to take its toll on her. Cordelia sighed as she landed softly. Her time in the air felt so long yet so short. That sucks.

Pebbles and rocks fell around her as her hair fell down.

She gently held her fingers over her mouth as she started to giggle a little bit. Just a tad bit. She wasn't crazy, right?

"That," she paused, turning her head over to Pacco to give him a grin, "was only a sample for what is to come!" She said excitedly. 

ID: 123529

CD: 6