Aria sat near the edge of the cliff that overlooked the sea. She sat on the ledge, her legs pulled up to her chest. Aria rests her chin on her knees and sighed, wrapping her arms around her legs a little tighter. She was stuck here, wasn't she? It seemed like it was only a few days earlier that she was held in her mother's loving embrace and working around her house in the small town of Liensein. Now Aria was in another world, another time, forced to live the life of a witch.

She sighed. The young girl's fingers trailed down her side and on the ground until they brushed against the hard leather of her spell book. Aria relaxed slightly in relief. A few months ago she had accidentally cast a spell on some of her possessions that caused them to move around with their own will. The effects of the spell hadn't quite reversed just yet.

A rustle in the bushes behind her alerted Aria that there was someone approaching, but she did nothing to show that she knew of the new presence. Footsteps came to a stop behind her without moving. She flinched as the person patted her head and mussed her dark hair. Aria looked up with wide grey eyes at the person messing up her hair, only to grumble in frustration and put her head back down on her knees when she realized who it was.

"Hey now, what's with the cold welcome?" Zack teased and plopped down on the ground next to the upset witch. His bright blue eyes sparkled with a curious gleam. He swung his legs over the edge and swung his feet happily, looking out at the rolling ocean. He stopped suddenly and looked over at his friend, his happy expression changed to a face of worry. "What's wrong? Aren't you used to Tazi yet? You've been here for almost a month." He asked, reaching out his hand near her shoulder as if to touch her.

Aria shook her head and turned away from him. "It's not that simple. Just because I've been in one place for a while doesn't mean I've adjusted to it. I… I miss my mom." She whispered and looked down. Her eyes and part of her face were hidden by the fringe of her bangs so it was impossible for Zack to tell what was going on in her head.

Zack bit his lower lip whilst he thought. He was never very good at comforting people and always tended to say the wrong things. He ran a hand through his messy black hair and huffed in exasperation. Aria didn't bother to even look up. Zack opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it. This continued several more times and gave him the appearance of a gawking fish. Finally, he grumbled something to himself and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Look, I know it's hard. I missed my home life too when I first got here. But you get used to it, trust me." He said in a happy tone and smiled at Aria, attempting to brush some of the hair out of her face. The little witch looked up slightly from under her bangs at the goofy expression plastered on Zack's face. Her face pressed against her knees again as she tried to stifle a laugh, but it forced its way out as a muffled giggle followed by a snort. Aria's head shot up as she clasped her hands over her mouth in horror. Zack only laughed. "It's fine. Besides, it was funny. The look on your face was priceless!" He chuckled. The laugh earned a hard punch from Aria. Zack let out a small whine and rubbed his now sore arm and gave her a kicked puppy look.

The raven-haired girl only stuck out her tongue in response. "That's what you get for laughing at me." She said and crossed her arms whilst unfolding her legs. It was clear that she was feeling better than she had earlier. Zack laughed again and flopped backwards so he was lying down, his arms folded behind his head. He let out a rather loud and exaggerated sigh before looking over at Aria.

"It's been real tough lately around the village. They're always sending us on all these missions and crap. Why do we get to go on all the harder missions? Whatever happened to the advanced members doing those for us?" Zack whined. Aria rolled her eyes once again at how lazy he could be. After all, the missions weren't THAT hard. Slaying a few monsters here and there, but with a witch and a elf that was no big deal.

Aria leaned over and prodded Zack's cheek with her finger. He flinched and swatted her hand away. She laughed and leaned backwards before also falling down on the ground with a soft FWUMPH. Her hands folded behind her head and she stared up at the fading sky, deep in thought.

However, her thoughts were interrupted by a rather loud shout from somewhere in the forest. "Aria! Zack! It's time to come back to the dorms!" A feminine voice yelled. Zack sighed and sat up, rubbing the back of his neck as he did so.

"Shall we go?" He asked. Aria nodded and grabbed Zack's outstretched hand to help herself off the ground. Once upright on her feet, Aria dusted off her pants of the loose dirt that may have clung to the fabric.

Starting to walk back with her friend, she glanced over at him with a sly grin. "Race you there!" She laughed and bolted in the direction of the dorms.

"What? Hey! No fair!" Zack whined and chased after her.

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My first actual story on Fictionpress! Yay! Anyway, I may write how she got to Tazi after I finish this story. I know it's confusing and I'm sorry. If you have any questions (and I know you probably will), please don't be afraid to ask. Have an awesome day people!