Tida Rios

Tida is an entirely enthusiastic, friendly individual. Talking to other people and goofing around with them comes naturally to her. A true extrovert, the more socializing she does, the happier she feels. And she loves to make others feel happy and comfortable as well. She thrives in team dynamics and is adept at helping her companions get along well with each other. While very good-natured, she does have a weak spot for hearing drama and spilling tea, though she draws the line at spreading untrue rumors herself. These qualities made her one of the more popular kids in school. Having grown up in a large family, Tida is used to playing the role of a caretaker to her siblings. In many ways, this extends to her relationships with others; Tida enjoys bringing out others' potential, even at her own expense. She's not the strongest or smartest Catalyst, which affects her more than she cares to admit, but prefers to hide these sentiments by taking care of the others and helping them succeed.

Before Arriving on Eranocta

Tida was born in Arizona, the middle child of five (her brothers Juan and Angelo are younger, and her brother and sister Antony and Isadora are older). She and her siblings are third-generation citizens; her grandparents emigrated from Mexico. Due to being from such a large family, she has always sought out ways to stand out. Thus, in school, she worked her way up to being a part of the popular crowd, and dreamed of one day being one of the first in her family to go to college to become a nurse—growing up always having to take care of her reckless siblings left a positive mark on her. Though money was tight most times, Tida had a generally happy upbringing. In the August after her 19th birthday, her parents surprised her and her siblings with a cruise vacation, and it was one fateful storm evening where Tida discovered she could control the rain droplets, and even quell the waves that were thrashing the ship. While trying to learn more about this strange power, she and her family were visited by Lythios and Val, who explained that her ability was a result of being a Catalyst destined to save his home planet, Eranocta. After talking things through, her parents were persuaded to let Tida take a gap year or two to understand her powers and travel to Eranocta.

The Fire Within

Tida acclimated to her new home and lifestyle on Eranocta very easily. Though physical training wasn't her favorite thing in the world, the promise of growing stronger alongside others who were just as passionate helped power her through it. Val was instrumental in showing her around and helping her have a good time, though Tida also got along well with Gravel and Lythios. Aeran viewed Tida as ditzy, but Tida's endless patience and enthusiasm ensured that Aeran didn't feel disgusted by her for all that long. Several weeks after her arrival (which was about a month later on Earth), Lythios caught wind of another Catalyst to recruit, and decided to bring Tida along to earn their trust. They tracked the Catalyst down as she set a fire in a supermarket, used the cover to steal supplies, and escaped into the woods. Finally, Tida was the one to locate her hiding in a tree, and after some difficulty, the Catalyst introduced herself as Ember, the Fire Catalyst, and was convinced to join them on Eranocta. Tida, Ember and Val formed a very close friend group that not only did much of their training together, but also spent a lot of time together outside of training. Eventually, the Light Catalyst, Solyss, was discovered, and being about their age, he wiggled his way into their friend group. Unfortunately, this shifted the dynamic. Tida had been crushing on Val for nearly all the time she'd known him, and she considered Ember her closest friend, but she didn't know where Solyss fit in, and something about him made her feel uncomfortable. It didn't help that Ember was curious about him, and Val despised him, which was ruining their friendship with each other. Tida and Ember gained their elemental partners together, and shortly after, the group was split up; Tida and Val wind up part of the same team, which allowed them to grow closer. After they regrouped, Ember confessed to Tida that she had a crush on her, which took Tida by surprise. It was not reciprocated, but it made Tida realize that if Ember wasn't interested in Val, then she could be more bold about making a move on him. Alas, Ember, Solyss and Gravel wound up betraying the group on the summer solstice, which made Tida feel even more hurt than before.

The Fire Unleashed

Tida grew desperate to have any sense of stability and order in her life after the double loss of her best friend and the disappearance of half the group. To fill this hole in her heart, she asked Val out, and he said yes. However, the relationship was not good for either of them. Tida wanted someone to listen to her, let her cry on their shoulder, tell her that everything would be okay, and Val was... not that person. He was angry and bitter and often took it out on her. When Lythios' crew headed east to aid a town ravaged by a hurricane, they came across Kaltath's Catalysts, and Tida did her best to stay far away from Ember, though the encounter later turned into a squabble that she did not want to be a part of. When they returned, Val revealed a plan to act as a spy for Lythios' crew by weaseling into Kaltath's group. Tida did not support this, but Val did so anyway, Tida desperately wishing she could warn Ember. Several weeks later, Val succeeded and lead them into an ambush with Aeran. Tida saw no choice but to tell Lythios about Val's secret plan, which he disapproved of, though he admitted that the information Val gained was useful. Tida broke it off with Val shortly after, utterly disgusted by all the traits that had made him so attractive to her in the past. They headed to the island Jhu, not realizing that it was a trap set by Kaltath. After the volcano on the island exploded, seemingly killing Kaltath, Lythios' crew headed to Kaltath's base to recruit the remaining Catalysts. Tida ran ahead to warn Ember, and in the morning, the Kaltans were prepared to defend themselves. However, in the battle, Tida and Ember wound up fighting, though their hearts weren't in it. Despite this, Ember inadvertently set a tree aflame, which fell on and knocked Tida comatose. When she woke up several weeks later, she found that her water powers are gone. Kaltath's Catalysts informed her that they found the Scepter of Hope on Earth, and that they will be challenging Lythios to a battle for it in Urdythsh—a final standoff for the fate of Eranocta. She agreed to join their team and spent much of the battle helping the injured, alonside Ardere. When Kaltath won and sacrificed himself and Lythios, Tida makes amends with the other Catalysts and chooses to return to Earth.