It must have been quite funny to Tiffany that Shinu had absolutely no travel experience. Mieli was sure giving him a hard time that night about thinking that you could just get to Besaid in a matter of minutes. Mick was such a calm pilot, and nothing brought him more joy than flying at night. It was the most quiet and peaceful time to him, and so their trip started at a great time. It would take a good amount of hours to make the trip from the western half of Bikanel all the way to Besaid, and certainly enough time to sleep. With the advice of Mieli, he, Tif and Shinu nodded off to sleep in separate rooms for the remainder of the evening. There would be plenty of time to get to know one another, but this was a great time to rest, and that would come in handy later on.

While Shinu was sleeping, the airship reached Besaid Island. The day was perfect in Besaid. It was a wonderful sixty nine degrees fahrenheit and the sun was softly warming the village and its beaches. The beach has beautiful soft white sand along the shore of the beautiful crystalline blue water. The cool, calm breeze causes small waves and ripples, but nothing too much. The temple here is an architectural masterpiece in its own right. It isn't the most advance structure, but the classic layout and design command appreciation from its viewers.The village is compiled of a collection of small huts similar to those in Kilika. The sky was radiant with streaks of pink and orange dashing across the cloudless blue sky.

An artist could not have compiled a better image for Shinu as the entrance of the airship slid down and crashed on to the shores of the beach. It was such a sight to behold for young Shinu. He'd seen some beautiful things in his years, but this sight was a first for him. It wasn't so much the sight of the water, the glow of the sky, the radiance of the air, but the feeling that Shinu got from being here in Besaid. The way the wind gently swayed and nestled itself under in between his defined muscles, in his hair, and in through the tiny holes in his mesh shorts was calming to Shinu. It sort of took his problems away from momentarily, a much needed second of relief.

Shinu reached down and took his shoes off, folding the expandable material down to fit in his pockets so that he could feel the sand in between his toes. The cool sand tickled his feet slightly, and he wished he could just stand here forever, taking in all the beauty Besaid's beach had to offer. Shinu closed his eyes and walked slowly out towards the shore. It shocked him just a little when the cool water crashed over his feet and up to his ankles. It dragged the hair on his lower leg straight down as the salt water pressed up against his already cool skin. Shinu kept his eyes closed and walked out a little further, just enough to get the tip of his shorts wet and slowly started to raise his arms. He rose them up to just above his neck, his palms opened up towards the sky. He was tempted to fly, just fly around the ocean for a little while and come back, it didn't matter, he just wanted to soar.

Before he was able to open his eyes and turn back around to get back to Mieli and Tif, he heard a voice in his head. An all too familiar voice, the voice that belonged to his beautiful mother. Anytime Shinu didn't live up to his expectations or doubted himself, he was always met with the same few words his mother would never forget. "Shinu baby, you can be anything you want to be." Shinu smiled, and sent a kiss up to the sky with his eyes closed, hoping his mother would get it and smile. With that, he turned and looked back at Tif and Mieli who seemed content to let Shinu have his moment. He was glad they weren't looking at him like he was weird or anything. He walked past them and shook off the water on his feet before slipping his shoes back on.

Hey, thanks for waiting up for me. I just want to make sure I enjoy every place we go. For now, I have some business in the temple, and I think it's best if I can go alone. Mieli, I know how you feel about temples, and Tiffany, I think it would be easiest if I did this alone so we don't have to worry about starting our journey dealing with racism. Besides, it's nothing major, I just need to get it done quickly and then we can relax before we move on. Tell Mick I said thanks for the ride.

Mieli already knew what Shinu had to do, and wasn't worried about Shinu being alone. Tiffany agreed that it would be a good idea for her to not go into a temple if it was necessary. Shinu bid them farewell and began to walk down the beach towards the small path leading north to Besaid's village. The sand finally stopped as he looked off to his right and saw a large cascading waterfall amidst some grasslands. Seemed to be a dead in, but definitely a nice place that Shinu would love to visit one day. He imagined sitting on the edge of the waterfall, overlooking the lake below and relaxing with some good company. He wasn't sure when there would be time for that, but it was a nice thought.

He pressed forward as he climbed up a few fallen ruins on his way to the elevated path that he could see stretching north for a fair amount of distance. It didn't bother Shinu, he was in at a crossroads between being in a rush and wanting time to slow down. Admittedly, Shinu was a bit afraid to be doing this alone, but his two companions didn't seem much like the temple type, and sadly, neither was he. Shinu was pretty humble at this moment, something quite new to him, and the only other time he got this way was when he dealt with destiny. He just didn't feel like it was his job to try to change destiny, but to embrace it and make the best out of it. He walked through a few more waterfalls that fell off of a cliff overhead and off into a river that surely lead to the ocean. Shinu was starting to get off balance trying to walk straight and stare straight up at the waterfalls at the same time, and turned just in time to notice a bridge. He happily crossed it and continued on to the final descending path that led to the village.

This path was rocky, making Shinu laugh at how versatile the terrain was. It went from sand, to grass, to rocks and water all over the place, beautiful. Shinu made his way down the slightly steep downhill path, making sure he didn't go too fast and get out of control. When he finally made it to the bottom of the road, all that stood in front of him was a few huts on the side of a dirt path leading to an amazingly humble temple. It was gorgeous from the outside, and strangely, Shinu wondered what was on the inside. Along with that, he felt a brisk sense of deja vu sweep over him, as if he'd seen this place from this exact view before, but he shook it off, knowing that it was impossible.

He strolled onwards towards the temple, acknowledging the hut to his left. From the window, he could make out a young lady who seemed to be preparing breakfast. Not just a young girl, but a rather beautiful young girl. Shinu gave her a grin and a wink as he passed, and made a mental note to be sure and see her again to try and get to know her better. He kept that image of her pretty face in his vision as he continued on towards the steps of the Besaid Temple. Before he ascended, he noticed an elderly Guado man also climbing the steps. Suddenly, Shinu got a brilliant idea, and decided that perhaps he wouldn't have to do all of this alone.

Excuse me sir. Do you mind if I have a word with you before we enter the temple?

Besaid. They were finally in the isle of Besaid. The island known as The Beginning to many Summoners of Spira. Tif heard short stories of the isle's tranquil properties, but now she finally understood what the fuss was all about.

Tif stood there, in the pearly, white sands of the beach. It was small, but the size was fit for her liking. She slowly shut her eyes as the cool, misty breaze raced across the sands and into her hair, which flowed with the same amount of energy as it caressed her milky, white skin. She opened up her eys and watched the clear, cerulean waters wash up on the shore and roll back quickly into the safety of the waters. A coral reef with a variety of exotic colors lied on bottom of the ocean floor, imprisoned by the sea. Schools of fish swam in unison, while others hid from predators within the confines of the coral. Mini-cliffs remained stationary, as flora of paradise rested on the surface. Ruins of an ancient city were slowly but surely being swallowed by the greenery. Seagulls flew overhead, under a sky so blue...

"...and Tiffany, I think it would be easiest if I did this alone so we don't have to worry about starting our journey dealing with racism. Besides, it's nothing major, I just need to get it done quickly and then we can relax before we move on. Tell Mick I said thanks for the ride."

Tif snapped out of the island's hypnosis spell when she heard her name escape Shinu's lips. She never knew he was in his own little world, just like she was.

"O-oh, right! You've got it, big guy!" Tif turned to the sight of Mick standing on the pier. He, too, seemed to be lost in the island's beauty. "Thanks for the lift, Mick!! Hope to see ya again!"With her words in his mind, Mick nodded to Tif as he entered his airship. When the airship's door closed shut, it began to move, creating massive winds in the process. Tif watched as the ship rose into the air and take off in flight. Shinu had left for the village. Now it was just Tif and Mieli, alone with nothing else but each other's prescence.

"So, what shall we do now, partner!?" Tif grinned at Mieli and did a little dance as he stood calmly stiff on the beach.

Mieli definately took the time to rest. He knew Mick was smoker, so he smoked out his room on the airship. He had plenty of weed leftover that he wasn't into sharing so before he went to bed he light up a couple bowls and helped himself to just a little bit of the liqour Mick had on board. Eventually Mieli passed out face down on the couch in his room and started dreaming.

"So you've destiny in motion haven't you Mieli."

"If the world doesn't turn out differently this time, then i didn't set anything in motion now did I? Everything would be the same with different names, am I right?"

"Well, if you don't try to change anything you change nothing at all right?"

"That's a motivational way of looking at it isn't it?"

"I think we may have sent the wrong one if you can never look at things from the positive aspect."

"I don't view things postively or negatively, only realistically."

"Fair enough, I guess that's why you're moving around and not me right now."

"I doubt it..."

Mieli heard a pounding on the door. It was Mick.

"Rise and shine pal. You only get offa' this train you're on at the end of line and here it is."

Mieli kept his head nearly face down in the pillow. He was badly hungover.

"Can we fly around for thirty more minutes."

"Haha, no. Get out of bed your way, or I'll be forced to bounce you my way."

"Shit."

Mieli got out of bed and made his way down to the beach where he listened to Shinu say a few incomprehensible things to him before he headed off.

"What to do eh? Well there's no point in going to town, it's a long walk to nothing. To be honest with you I kind of worry about Shinu going to a temple all alone, but Besaid is any easy temple so it would just create a whole bunch of drama of temple priests meeting a controversial Al Bhed girl and an angry hungover drunk. Yeah he's better off without us for right now."

Mieli sensed Tif was getting tired of his mumbling.

"Since we're not going to town. Do you wanna just hang out on the beach for awhile?"

Mieli light up a cigarette and sat down on the nearest fallen log on the beach.

"Well I don't suppose you've been to Besaid before Tif. What do you want to do? Sadly all the main attractions are within eyesight."

"You know, I think I'll for I swim. I've never seen so much water before! All there is really is that oasis in the desert."

Tif sat on the beach's soft, white sand and unlatched the leather straps that kept her boots together. After they were completely off, she walked slowly to the waters. The sand creased between her toes and all around her feet. It was so different compared to the sands in the desert. She could really get used to the cool weather and the beautiful scenary of Besaid.

After losing herself in the beach sand, Tif approched the Besaid waters. She tested th temperature of waves as they came crashing and rolling onto the sand. She quickly pulled her foot back as the water was oddly cold. Even though, she felt it to be extremely relaxing. It wasn't long before she ran in and let herself fall in the water. She swam out farther into the ocean, and went under. The coral on the ocean's bottom was beautiful. She saw many shapes and bright colors, like orange, pink, red, and yellow. She swam up to the surface for air. Enjoying hersef, she let her muscles loose and floated on top of the waters, looking up at the clear blue sky as white, fluffy clouds drifted with the wind.

Kat was preparing lunch for her and her father to take to the park since she knew they would spend the day together and they would need something to eat. When she looked out the window she saw a handsome guy walking on the street, he seemed to go to the temple. She kept looking at him when she noticed that he turned his head towards her and winked to her. Kat's face became red from embarrasment as she wasn't used to a stranger winking to her, and not only a stranger, but a good looking one. He was tall, and it was obvious he liked to work out a lot. Even though she was so embarrased she couldn't stop looking at him, he wasn't from Besaid, she was sure about that, so what he was looking for here?

She had to stop thinking about this stranger when she heard her fathers voice calling her. He was out of her's hut wanting her to hurry up and finally go out. Kat smiled when she closed the door and hugged him.

Father! I am glad you are here, I believe we can go now, but let's better go to the beach what do you think? at this time there shouldn't be many people there so we would be alone"

Kat looked carefully at Asuma wanting to ask him what he was looking at, but in the end she just smiled and pulled him to the beach. She didn't want to lose time since she knew her father would think about her mother at the time they walked. The faster they were on the beach, the sooner she could show him her spells and entertain him a little, that would be for the best.

She didn't even notice when they got to the beach. She ran a little forward and turned around laughing at her father, then turned to the sea enjoying the breeze. She didn't go to the beach often, but everytime she went there she enjoyed it fully. While looking around Kat saw two strangers on the beach not that far away, one was a girl dressed like an Al Bhed, but she didn't have blonde hair. Suprised, she looked at Asuma.

"Father, I've noticed many strangers today, one was going to the temple and now these two. Don't you think it's strange? Anyway, with these questions of mine you won't see what I learned since I moved here so come, lets sit somewhere."

She pulled his arm again and walked closer to the water and sat down while waiting for her father. The two strangers weren't too far away from the spot she chosed since she was curious about who they were. Even then she was smiling kindly to her father. She was happy they could spend the time together.

"Huff... hmm?" Erk turned around at the sound of his name, stopping his laborious trek up the steps.

The young man below him seemed to be calling him for some reason... well, if he wanted to talk to him, he could come up here. Erk certainly wasn't going back down these Yevon-forsaken steps! He waited at nearly the top of the steps with a strained semblance of patience.

The man's youth almost instantly set Erk on edge. Ever since he'd found his ears starting to fail, and his joints aching when it was about to rain, he had secretly begun to envy the youth, and their ability to engage in wanton foolishness seemingly with reckless abandon.

"And what would you like to talk about, sapling? You want to speak, then come up here, and speak clearly, this ear is a bit hard of hearing."

Tif continued to float on the surface of the ocean's water. Shortly after, she swam back to the shallow waters of the beach and walked backed onto the marble sand and towards Mieli. On the way, she noticed a young woman and an older looking man close, but not too close, to Mieli. She payed no attention to them because they were none of her business, and it would be rather rude.

"Mieli, how long do you think Shinu will be in the temple? He isn't going to make us wait long, right?" Tif took a seat next to Mieli while putting back on her boots. "Maybe we should go to the village in a little while? I mean, it's not like we have much to do here, anyways."

Shinu strained to keep a straight face, but definitely wanted to burst out in laughter. He could have sworn that this old man just called him a sapling! Seriously, what the hell IS a sapling? Shinu got a big kick out of that, he would be sure to share that one with Tiffany, she seemed like she would appreciate the humor in it. Mieli, eh, not so much. Suddenly this didn't look like such a swell idea anymore, the thought of perhaps relying on this old Guado seemed rather glum as he saw his age. Well, there have been some pretty athletic old folks, and maybe he had something else to offer, experience and travel. He seemed to be willingly visiting the temple as well, and that was where Shinu needed the most help. He ascended the rest of the steps in a light jog, hoping that this spontaneous idea would work out.

Hi Sir, my name is Shinu, it is a pleasure to meet you. I know you've probably seen and experienced more than I can dream of, but what I'm about to ask of you will be a first, I can promise you that.

He scratched the back of his head. He was quite sure how he should go about this, but honesty was the best way he figured. This old man was about to call him a crazy sapling for sure.

Well you see, I am a summoner. I must obtain the aeon from this temple to start my pilgrimage, but I don't have anyone that will go with me. Would you... would you be my guardian and accompany me into the cloister of trials. I know this is hard to believe, but you have nothing to lose! If I'm a fake, then you got to legally experience the inside of a cloister, and if I am for real, there is no greater way of doing Yevon's duty than helping my pilgrimage. What do you say?