They approached the hut at a slow pace. Aurora was taking the lead with Sarah following close behind her, wringing the hem of her shirt as she went. The cottage itself sat on a hill that overlooked the small village below and was close enough to be still considered part of the community yet far enough away so that it was seemingly isolated. Aurora appreciated the vast garden in front of the house. The plot held very little due to the time of year but Aurora knew that it held dozens of fruits and vegetables in the summer as well as a wide variety of flowers. In the back, a small grove of bare trees could be seen. The building itself was quaint, with whitewashed walls and a sturdy oak door and a white picket fence surrounding the property. Sarah moved around the goddess to let herself into the building, calling out that she was home and with a guest. Aurora looked around, finding herself in a small foyer that had to be one of the cleanest areas she herself had ever seen. The house, she noted, smelled like baked goods.

"You're home? Excellent. Who do you have with you?" a woman answered, beckoning to the teenager's call as she wiped her hands with a towel. The goddess' eyes flicked towards her and gave a grand smile. The woman was in her forties, with graying red hair and a small, simple dress hanging on her frame. Around her waist was an apron and behind her a cauldron simmered slowly. The woman's eyes, a bright blue, lit up at the sight of Aurora and bowed graciously. "Oh, it is a pleasure, dearest Aurora, for you to visit our humble home."

"This is a very nice place, I have to say. It is truly, well, quaint. Thank you so much for your hospitality. Your fortune actually does read well, Ariah. I swear I am not just saying it." With this, the Goddess wandered around the house, letting herself fall into a nearby couch in the living room. Ariah frowned slightly at the the goddess' back but did not say a word. Here, she called the inhabitants forward, urging them to sit down. Both of Sarah and Ariah heeded the goddess and entered the living room after her. The woman sat down cautiously, looking back and forth between the Goddess and her adopted offspring, who was sitting in a rather comfy chair and looking out the window as if in thought. Sighing, she furrowed her brow and rose towards the kitchen in the silence. Moments later, she came back with cups of tea and a plate of blueberry muffins that she placed on the small table, which they each took in turn.

"Now, I know I can not not to kid myself that you are here for me. If you were, you would not have come into my home with my daughter in tow. I want to know what is going on." Ariah asked. Aurora took a sip of tea before looking at the woman, thin-lipped and dreadfully serious. Sarah turned her attention towards the Ariah.

"She knows how I can get a soul," Sarah replied, causing her mother to widen her eyes in shock.

"A soul? What the heck are you talking about? That is definititely not something that people just have lying around. Where do you expect to find one? The supermarket? Honestly, Sarah, quit it with your stories."

"I never tell stories, Ariah," Sarah replied, looking at the woman. "When have I ever told a story?"

"Why are you so upset, Ariah? She has a very set-in-stone future. A very solid fate that allows her only two choices. On one side, the girl is to become complete within the year-- on the other hand, if she stays the way she is then she very well will die. Those are the only two choices that this girl has. And here you are getting positively angry over it. Honestly, I thought you were a nice person," Aurora smirked, taking a big bite out of the blueberry muffins.

"Because I will not allow her to participate in anything that has to do with your blasted red moon!" Ariah snapped, slamming her tea cup back on its saucer, her hands shaking. The goddess merely laughed.

"Why not? Of course, there is no other way than for her to participate in the Ceremony. It is the only way for this poor girl to gain the soul she needs to be complete. At least one that is human and thus functional for her. I know you do not have any experience with anyone else in her, well, situation, but this girl needs a human soul to live. You cannot hold her search off any longer. Why, do you think, she was born so close to it? It is surely fate-- it is written in stone. It's like denying someone there right to have a child or their right to live the rest of their life with the one they love."

"You mean like you denied me the right to live the rest of my life with the one I love?" Ariah muttered darkly. Aurora blinked, looking at her for a moment.

"What are you--Oh! I remember now. Hey, you made a vow of 'till death do us part.' Just because Ian had to take the guy away sooner than expected is not my fault. Ian is the God of Death, by the way Sarah. Call him what you wish, Hades, Pluto, whatever. But nonetheless, do not confuse me with something else. I am not the legislative body, I am the police man. I do not decide the fate of others-- I just make sure that it actually happens. I had nothing whatsoever to do with the death of your loved one so don't hold that grudge against me. It's not like you guys don't all die anyway."

Ariah glared at the floor, unable to say a single word in retaliation. She had half a mind to throw the goddess out of the house. Staring at the goddess, blue eyes against brown, she said, "I will not allow you to take away from me the only family I have left."

"I want to go."

Sarah, who Aurora knew had been listening to the two of them bicker back and forth suddenly interceded. Ariah glared at the untouched cup and muffin that was in front of Sarah, for a moment completely forgetting about the fact that if Sarah was not hungry or thirsty she would not eat. However, above all, the old woman was completely and utterly shocked.

"What did you just say?" she asked in disbelief.

"I want to go. I can't deny myself a soul when I learn that I can have one. I honestly want something. It's strange," was all Sarah said. Aurora clapped, clearly happy at this choice and grinned towards the other human in the room. Ariah hid her face as she bit her lip and glared at the lamp. How dare this goddess come in here and put her child in danger with-- mere fantasies! This girl, who would never make a choice and has never wanted anything in her entire life, going off on her own towards the temple why that was--

"Oh, she will not be going alone, "Aurora intruded. Ariah looked at her, clearly taken aback. Sarah stood up, excusing herself for a few moments, and left the room, going done a hallway and out of sight.

"What do you mean that she will not be alone? I certainly will not be able to go with her. There is no way I can protect her on that trek," Ariah said, her voice straining on the politeness. Across Ariah's face sprang many quick-moving emotions. Fear, sadness, anger-- all interchanging with each other as time went by. The Goddess merely downed the rest of her tea in response before looking at the woman.

"All I can tell you is that she will not be alone. There really is nothing more that I can say. Although she will be alone in the beginning of her journey, the seeds of destiny have already been sown. She shall not be alone for long and her company will provide her with everything she needs."

"You want me to just let her out all by herself and hope that fate and every possibility goes the way that it is supposed to?" Ariah demanded, staring down at the goddess, who shrugged in reply.

"I expect you to trust that the way things are supposed to be will happen. People have tried to fight fate before have they not? Have they ever succeeded? Absolutely not. Honestly, I am getting sick and tired of arguing with you. She is not even your daughter. Obviously you can't think you her mother as your actions and what you want her to do will surely and absolutely lead her to her death. If she does not follow her path to her fate, she will surely die. If I ever had a child, I could never bare the thought of that. Let her go, old hag. She's a big girl who can handle herself." Aurora stood up abruptly, her eyes flashing. Slowly, Ariah backed down, looking towards the floor. A mumbled apology left her lips and she resigned to closing her eyes. Soon after, Sarah re-entered the room, a pack in her hand. Her green eyes locked on Aurora, and she completely ignored the woman that had taken care of her for a long time.

"I am going to need a map, if you can provide it," she said simply. The Goddess nodded, and whipped out a piece of paper in midair. Ariah got up from the chair and went into the kitchen where she subsequently started to make a lot of noise. Aurora watched as Sarah took the map into her own hands and laid it down on a near by table. Her eyes perused it before going to grab a pen. Slowly but surely, the goddess noted that Sarah was trying to map out the quickest route, making as close to a straight line as possible. Aurora grinned slightly and began talking to her, making suggestions here and there that Sarah thoroughly used.

It was several hours later when Aurora picked up a shall that had appeared on the chair and draped it around her shoulders. Ariah looked at her Sarah, a bundle of food in her hand. They both looked at Sarah, who was staring at the map in what they both decided was thoughtfulness. Sarah knelt down, grabbing a pack that was by her feet and hauling it over her shoulders before looking back at the map. When Aurora placed her hand on the teenager's shoulder, she looked up.

"And so your journey begins, child," Ariah beamed. Aurora, who had seen many such meetings, reminded herself that she would not be receiving a tear-jerking scene of separation. Not this time. Sarah's green eyes merely drifted towards the package that was in Ariah's arms and arms reached out to take it, knowing it was for her.

"Thanks. Good bye," the girl said, turning to leave the door.

"What? No hug? No good luck? Nothing? You're just going to leave?" Ariah stammered, looking at the girl. Sarah paused, looking back at her, her face the same emotionless state that it had always been.

"Of course. What point would it be to do anything but?" she replied simply, walking out the door. Aurora coughed, looking at Ariah. Ariah stood there, looking at the back of Sarah, tears welling up in her eyes.

"That is sol...ungrateful. I made her food, I did so much for her..." she murmured. Aurora folded her arms and looked at the woman.

"What were you expecting? She can't feel any emotion. Sadness? Doesn't faze her one single bit. Of all the people you should know that. And to think that if you were expecting anything more well, that really is stupid." And with that, the goddess also exited the house, appearing besides Sarah moments later. Aurora met Sarah's gaze, who had looked up to see who was suddenly standing right behind her.

"I just have to tell you this. In three days and four nights, you are supposed to be in Clyn. There is an inn on the border, with a huge red roof and a lake behind it. I want you to go there, and stay there for five days. Got it?"

"Why? That doesn't make any sense."

Aurora laughed, finding thise comment truly amusing. "Dear girl, when will you learn that life itself doesn't make sense?" And, with that, the goddess disappeared, leaving the girl in the cold winter night.