Gently removing herself from Harris, Amal decided through no stretch of the imagination Sin was what the Blitzer was most afraid of in this world.  The mage wouldn't fault her, however; Sin was probably her greatest fear, as well.  And if Chiron's reaction was anything to go by, it didn't seem one needed to originate from Spira to be made to understand that fear.  Sin was a curse.<br/><br/>She raised an eyebrow at Ethan's suggestion she might wish to stay on the boat but remained silent.  In all honesty, she was torn between staying with Chiron and Harris to make sure they were alright and following after Ethan.<br/><br/>It troubled the mage in a way she couldn't describe to see Chiron so somber.  Harris, as well, was not entirely herself.  Brushing her bangs out of her face with the back of her hand as she watched Harris settle into Chiron's arms, Amal nodded her acceptance and decided she would go with Ethan.  Chiron seemed to have a handle on things.<br/><br/>Before she stood, Amal gave Harris's hand a gentle squeeze and let her eyes follow after where Ethan was making off to.<br/><br/>He was halfway across the sand, already past a Blitzball team who seemed lost somewhere between sadness and disbelief when the mage noticed he hadn't taken any weapons with him.  Rushing into the cabin, she retrieved her own and hesitated for only a moment over the priest's before she grabbed it as well.  Frowning for the weight of it in her hands, the mage shook her head and hurried along after him.<br/><br/>As she passed Chiron and Harris, she called out over her shoulder, "Be careful on your way to the village.  I'll wait for you there."<br/><br/>Of course she was worried about Ethan as much as Chiron; she'd not known him for very long but he'd never struck her as someone who would behave irrationally or act on impulse alone.  Surely he knew there would be more fiends in an area where Sin had attacked.  Every child in Spira, whether born during a Calm or after one, was raised to know that fact.  He clearly wasn't in the right frame of mind to be heading anywhere alone.<br/><br/>"Ethan!" she tried calling after him.  Amal had passed the Blitzball team and made her way to a slight crossroad away from the beach.  The priest had headed left up a steep incline of ruined machina.  Her green eyes followed the outline of his shoulders as he continued to pull away from her in the distance.  Glaring at the weapon in her hands, she sighed, "Well, at least Harris isn't here to poke fun."<br/><br/>The Moogle climbed to her shoulder and cocked it's head to get a better look at her.<br/><br/>"You're right, of course," the mage resigned, starting the climb up the pile of ancient machina while still managing to bring the priest's weapon along with her.  "She probably would have carried it for me."<br/><br/>Once at the top, there was a long and narrow path that led away from the beach towards a more elevated portion of the island.  If Ethan was still on that same path, he'd made enough progress to be out of her view.<br/><br/>"Yevon's name that man walks fast," Amal shook her head while dusting off her leggings.  She was straightening the dark blue skirt around her waist when a low growl from her right caught her attention.  Narrowing her eyes, she frowned, "I don't have time for you."<br/><br/>Two fiends appeared; one looked like a wild dog and the other a pile of blue goo.  Laying Ethan's weapon on the ground at her feet, Amal stood slowly.  She reached up to her shoulder and the Moogle hopped into her arms.  Truth be told, she was more worried about the dog than it's friend.<br/><br/>And as though looking to affirm her suspicions, the creature leapt at her.  Amal couldn't stop herself from falling backwards with the dog on top of her.  She cast the first spell that came to mind, Lightning, and scrambled back to her feet when the dog whimpered and hurried back into the woods.  Biting back a small smile, she murmured, “That wasn't so bad.”<br/><br/>The Water Flan drenched her with a torrent of cold water and the mage groaned.  Clenching her hand into a fist over her heart to keep herself from yelling, she almost growled when she cast the Fire spell at the remaining fiend.  It was enough to dispense of the enemy.<br/><br/>“Alright!” Amal smiled.  But when her eyes settled on the horizon, there was a huge winged fiend emitting black smoke and screeching.  She could feel the smile melting off of her face.  When she made to take a step backwards, she tripped over Ethan's weapon and wondered why in the world she'd decided to follow him.