Aritist

~two months before the events of Chapter 1~ 

Ari blinked against the setting sun, watching a group of parrots fly across the sky. She loved Dove Rose's fields. Ahead she could see the blood orange sun dipping into the ocean, ready to let the moon take over for the night. 

"May I join you...?" Footsteps approached her. It was Pixel. 

"Of course, tell Sterloin to come too." Ari answered. 

She relished in the soft grass. Some moments later Sterloin came too, sitting down beside her. The three of them, just like when she first came to Hive District. 

"I like the grass. It's soft and soothing, and when I'm feeling lost I feel like it's supporting me." Ari broke the silence.

"I feel the same way with swords." Sterloin said.

Then Ari remembered. A similar moment, from such a long time ago. 

~ ~

It was some years before now, another warm spring day, just like this one. Ari was also lying in the grass, also watching the sunset. Not too far away, her friend Velvet is practicing wielding a sword against imaginary enemies.

"Look, Ari! I did the cool slash thing that Deputy Wanderlust did against the zombies yesterday night!" Velvet called. 

"Ah, nice!" Ari sat up to see her friend do it again. 

"Isn't Wanderlust so cool?" Velvet sat down beside Ari. "You haven't seen her fending off those attackers!"

"I think I was asleep." Ari tried remembering what she was doing last night. 

Quintessence District faced constant mob attacks, and as such a special group of residents, called the Warrior Quintet, are selected to fend them off on nights. Velvet had always wanted to be a part of the Warrior Quintet, but Ari wasn't as interested.

"Well, stay up today. Although Wanderlust might not be there tonight. You'll get to see Deputy Skysand instead, he's cool too!"

"I don't think my parents would let me." Ari shook her head sadly.

Velvet nodded in understanding. 

Ari wanted to be a fashion designer more than anything else. Her parents were totally against that though, they thought she had to be a warrior in order to be useful. But they can't control my life forever. That's what Ari told herself every time her parents forced her to do warrior things.

"Speaking of which...it's late. Sorry, Velvet." 

"Alright, bye, Ari! I'll stay out here for a bit longer."

Ari said bye to her best friend and took the forest path back to her village. 

Valor Village has to be the village facing the most mob attacks in all of Quintessence. Its residents have all too long ago gotten used to their noises through the night. Ari was home before any mobs were out though. "You trained today, did you, Ari?" Her mother asked once she got home.

"No," Ari was honest. "I watched Velvet though."

"How many times do I have to tell you? Someday Velvet will become better than you, ahead of you, and maybe she'll be selected to join the Warrior Quintet, and you won't!" Her mother called from the kitchen.

"Velvet is already ahead of her," Ari's older sister, Gleny, said while walking down the small spiral staircase. "Although don't worry, once you learn with me you'll catch up in no time," she added to Ari.

Gleny is a part of the Warrior Quintet, and has already established herself as a senior warrior. Of course their parents favored her over Ari.

"Speaking of which, Gleny, you are on guard duty tonight, right? Why don't you take Ari out with you so she can learn?" Their father called from upstairs. 

"I will!" Gleny answered. 

"Oh, but I just want to sleep tonight." Ari complained. She was tired.

"Ugh, you sleep all the time. Actually make yourself useful." Their mother called.

Ari only sighed. "Alright..."

"We can leave now," Gleny looked out the window. "I'll be with Skysand and the other senior warriors today."

~ ~

Ari had to hurry to catch up with her sister, "can't we slow down a little?" She called.

"We're supposed to meet at the glade at dusk, we're almost late." Gleny answered.

Ari was careful around the senior warriors gathered at the glade, and aware of the fact that she was nowhere near as strong as them. "Skysand," Gleny told the Deputy, "I'm bringing my sister Arianna with me tonight, is that alright?"

Ari hadn't been called by her full name in such a long time now. She watched Skysand nod his approval. "But what am I going to do?" She whispered to her sister.

"Just follow along!" Gleny replied excitedly. 

Ari was close to a hundred percent sure that she would just fall asleep somewhere through the night. From the looks of it, this group was going to guard for the entire night. "Everyone ready?" Skysand called. 

The "yes" that answered was a collective one. Ari wasn't used to hearing it. She stuck by her sister's side as they silently crept through the forest. Ari tried her best to not touch the leaves on the ground, but she made the most noise despite her efforts.

"Gleny, is that your sister?" Someone else whispered to Ari's sister.

"Yup, this is Ari, she's coming with us tonight." 

"Nice to meet you," it's someone with lavender-colored hair and bright purple eyes. "I'm Heather, Gleny and I are batchmates."

"Batchmates?" Ari asked.

"Quieter," Heather reminded her, "and yes, we are made apprentices, warriors, and senior warriors all on the same batch." 

Ari was beginning to trust the older girl. "Where are we going to go tonight?" 

"Around Valor Village, Skysand will assign us positions for the night." Heather answered. "Just follow me and Gleny. You'll be fine."

Ari nodded. Her home village came into sight. "The bow goddesses are up on the walls as always. I'll lead the swordfighters around the back." Skysand ordered.

"Follow," Gleny told Ari. 

"Wait, huh?" 

"So you know what a bow god is? It's an informal term the tryhard warriors give to people who never touch the sword. Skysand calls us the bow goddesses." That was another voice, "I'm Tempest, we're all batchmates."

"That makes us sound really powerful." Heather thought aloud. 

Gleny took out her bow. Ari had seen her fiddle with it a lot at home. "I'm glad our job is so much easier."

"Not really," Heather stopped to listen. "There's a big wave coming."

"Honestly." Tempest was the first to start climbing up to the top of the wall built to guard the village. "We should start controlling our mob spawning problem."

"Wanderlust has been saying that for years, we never did anything about it." Heather replied. "The Warrior Quintet wouldn't have anything to do if this problem was solved."

"Here they come." Gleny cut them off. The tip of her arrow was scorched with blazing fire.

"Ayyye." Tempest said.

"Ari, feel free to fall asleep." Gleny looked back to Ari, who was going to fall asleep anyway.

She'd gotten used to the constant noises long ago, and within seconds, dreams came under the sound of firing arrows.

~ ~

Ari was awoken suddenly and without warning. The sky was barely dawn. "Huh?" She called through sleepiness.

Orange light shone from outside the walls. Ari got up to see her village. It was burning. "Wait, what's happening?"

"Ari!" That was Heather, coming her way. 

"What's happened to Valor Village?" Ari asked, frightened.

"It's burning down!" Heather answered over the wind.

Duh! "But how?"

"Ari, go find your parents and Gleny. Jump down the wall!"

Ari was barely as tall as the wall, she glanced down. "The grass will catch you." Bracing herself, she jumped. It hurt a little, but she was able to stand up straight. "Gleny and your parents will be waiting for you at the village back entrance!" Heather called from above the walls.

Ari ducked through the heat. She inwardly froze from fear but that's also what's driving her on. A burning branch fell just as she took off, and she barely avoided that.

The village wasn't too big, and soon she was on the other side. "Gleny!" She called desperately.

"Ari!" The reply was there, over the sound of burning.

"We have to cross the bridge on the ravine." Gleny was in sight now, "I told our parents to pass first."

Ari nodded, taking her sister's hand.

It almost happened in slow motion, like all those stories Ari had read while she was supposed to be practicing fighting. The fire had reached the narrow bridge just as she and Gleny passed halfway, and once they were almost on the other side, the bridge fell.

"Hang on!" Gleny screamed through wind. 

Ari was holding on to the ravine's edge. "Gleny!" She yelled for her life.

"I'm right beside you!" Gleny answered. Ari turned, she was trying to pull herself up.

"I don't think I can hold on much longer." Ari whispered.

"You can!" Gleny exclaimed.

Footsteps rumbled, and Ari almost lost hope. The sharp edges of the ravine - it was hurting so bad.

"Gleny!" That sound was their mother's, peeking over the edge anxiously. Ari could see her now, fire casting shadows on her face. 

"I'm fine, save Ari!" 

Ari was barely holding on now, reaching up to her mother as hard as she could. But her mother was intent on saving Gleny first. The presence beside her disappeared when Gleny reached safety with the help of their mother. 

"Ari!" Gleny immediately turned to come for Ari, but Ari was slipping down, further and further.

"Gleny!" Ari last called before letting go.

Then she was falling, falling so deep. 

~ ~

Ari was on a ship. 

Around her there are only seas. And sunshine. Sunshine that was supposed to be warm - she could feel it - but it's hot. An unbearable amount of heat.

The ship was a pretty small one. Ari leaned over the deck, looking for something on the horizon. Anything.

She did see something. An island. It was a lot different from Quintessence. Or at least, it was different from her region in Quintessence. So many bright colors. So many giant flowers. And bees. It was resplendent. 

She willed the ship to go faster, but it only drifted slowly with the push of the wind. At last, she was so close. She could see a beach and so many people on the beach. 

A giant steamship steadied itself in front of the beach. That steamship did not belong to the colorful nature of the island. Despite its size, it seems that it was only occupied by two people. Those two people did not belong either, they looked fiercer. In a way that Ari couldn't describe.

Slowly parts of words drifted towards her, and she could hear more. Someone was on the beach, someone with authority. His words were cool and formal towards those on the steamship. Their words were both so polite, but almost having an argument at the exact same time.

Ari searched the crowd. Shock reached her as her gaze landed on someone who looked exactly like her. Except...older. A more determined look in her eyes. She tried to catch herself's eyes, but the other her was concentrating on listening to the argument.

Now she could hear the leader on the beach's voice so clearly, ringing out through the seas. "Hive District can take care of its own problems."

She blinked. Where even is she? Isn't Hive District all the way on the other side of the planet? She had never been out of Quintessence. 

Then she remembered. Valor Village was burning down! She and Gleny had got to the ravine, but their mother saved Gleny first, and Ari fell. 

A dizziness overcame her head, almost like a storm on the calm ocean. So suddenly. And she was falling too, even on the flat deck of the ship. A distorted voice reached her before the storm did. "But Hive District doesn't exist anymore! So swallow your pride and accept the offer!"

More darkness. 

~ ~

Ari was alive. Somehow. She was on a beach. Not the beach on the island with the colorful flowers. A familiar beach. She was back at Quintessence.

Quintessence! She sat up, almost as if she just ran a mile. 

"You're awake!" A kind voice. Ari turned to see Wanderlust, coming towards her. 

"Where's Valor Village? And my family?" 

"Your mother just took Gleny and fled." Wanderlust answered. "I saved you before you hit the bottom of the ravine." 

Oh. Ari sighed. "Where are we now?" 

"We are on the beach of Aredia. Frostveil is pretty much completely burned down."

Quintessence was divided into five sections. Ari lived in Frostveil, and had never been to the other sections except when she was really little. 

"Ari, did you dream?" Wanderlust asked.

"Yes...it was a very disturbing one."

"I thought so." Wanderlust tilted her head. "Tell me about it."

Ari tried to remember, although her head hurts when she tries really hard. "I was on a ship, I was drifting towards a resplendent island. A lot of people were gathered on the beach of the island, and two people were on a steamship, arguing with the leader of that island."

"Ah, that's probably Hive Island. They're mostly known for being resplendent." 

Ari thought about it a bit more.

"You had a prophetic dream." Wanderlust continued. "Not all of us have them, so it's great that you do too. Basically what you saw in your dream is likely to happen in the future unless something or someone changes it."

"But they were talking about Hive District. I'm not concerned with Hive District, especially when my home just burned down."

"They might need saving." Wanderlust looked out to the seas. They were so vast. There is so much more to the world than Quintessence.

Now Ari remembered the dialogue she heard in her dream. But Hive District doesn't exist anymore! So swallow your pride and accept the offer! That voice still rang as clearly as a rushing stream in her head.

"Ari, you should go to Hive." Wanderlust broke the silence.

"What? I'm not leaving because of a stupid dream!" 

"No, for your own sake!" Wanderlust pulled Ari close. Ari could see the deep void that seemed to exist in her pretty eyes. "Did you see what your parents did? They left you. To die."

Ari was silent. 

"Hive District doesn't have prophetic dreamers, perhaps you can help them on your way. They've always been one of the last ranking districts, perhaps they really are in danger." 

But the thought of leaving her home was ridiculous to Ari, especially over a dream. The pain of being abandoned was what really hurts. 

Wanderlust leaned in and whispered, "tonight at six, a delivery ship will be leaving through the Old Aredia docks. They will pass Hive District approximately in three days. Get on it."

Ari only blinked. 

~ ~

Old Aredia should be called Ancient Aredia, really. It was almost in ruins. Ari passed the ancient writings on ancient walls, eroded by time. She brushed aside one last row of bushes to reveal sunset's bright light and the docks. The delivery ship was there. 

It was silent. Ari was careful not to make any noise before slipping onto the inside of the ship. It was filled with boxes and dust. She seriously wondered how she was going to survive for three days. 

Everything was quiet, almost peaceful, until the ship started. It was so loud, and Ari screamed, although her voice was covered by the ship's engine noise.

~ ~

It took a day for Ari to figure out that other than her, there was only one other person on the ship. An older girl who was the captain of the ship. She was pretty sure that people who control delivery ships aren't called captains, but at night when she goes out for some much needed fresh air, she could see her, and the wanting in her eyes, towards the vast seas.

Ari finally talked to her on the second night. "What's it like living your life on this ship?"

"Oh, it's nicer than not living on a ship, I wish for something more though." She answered. "What are you doing on this ship?"

"I have to get to the Hive District. Mostly it's to escape my life." Ari decided to not tell her about the dream. "What's your name?"

"Charikleia." 

"Captain Charikleia?" 

"I wish." Charikleia sighed. "I came from Lifeboat."

"They probably have a lot of ships there." Ari didn't know much about Quintessence's biggest rival district. 

"Yes, but only the best sailors get promoted to Admirals and Commanders. If you're bad, you do delivery. Like me." Charikleia sighed. 

Ari thought she should avoid that topic. "So what are the differences between Admirals and Commanders?"

"Commanders are better than Admirals. They only give the title Captain to Admirals though. There's not much more to it."

Most of the Hunger Games are won by either Quintessence or Lifeboat these days. Ari knew that Lifeboat was really strict. Not so much from her home district though. Quintessence was just selective. "You know, since we are from the biggest rival districts, we're not supposed to be friends." Charikleia thought aloud.

"What? That's a ton of muffin wrappers." 

"Muffin...wrappers?" 

"Yup." Ari nodded. She got that saying from Velvet. 

Charikleia laughed.

~ ~

Ari got along with the Lifeboat sailor so much that she almost didn't want to leave when Hive District came into sight. "But it's good for you. You'll like it there." Charikleia told her.

It was a colorful island, just like the one in her dream. Somehow, that comforted her. "But how will I stay there...? It's completely...foreign." 

"Is there something you can do that most people can't?" 

Ari thought about it. "I really don't think so."

"But you'll learn. Oh, they are really nice over there. I want to move there someday."

Had Ari even thought this through? She didn't. She just...left. Without preparing at all. She took a deep breath. Too late now. 

Hive District's warm breeze welcomed her to a new life.

~ ~

The stars in the dusk snapped Ari awake from her memories. The grass was still beneath her, as soft as ever. "Ari, it's late." Sterloin was standing beside her. 

"Oh...but there's more. So much more." Ari breathed.

"More where?"

"Oh, I was just thinking of coming to Hive Island."  

"Don't think about it too much." Sterloin said softly. 

"Probably a good idea."

But through all these years, Ari hadn't been able to forget about that prophetic dream. Sometimes she doubted it was really prophetic, especially since she never had any other prophetic dreams again, but it still remained in her mind, and she could tell too, that it was going to remain there for as long as she is alive.