Kami held Maka a bit closer to her chest when she felt Medusa take a seat next to her. She didn't look at her.
"Are you sure about this, Meddy?" Kami asked, pulling the blanket over Maka's eyes so the harsh rays of the rising sun wouldn't hurt her.
"What right do you have to question what I do?" Medusa's voice was harsh.
Kami shook her head, ignoring the question. She knew she would never get an answer out of her friend.
"If you fail, you'll be killed." Kami reminded her.
"Then I won't fail." Medusa said, her voice low as if she were speaking to herself rather than Kami. "I planned everything to the last detail. Crona will be a Kishin and I will bring us Witches back to our former glory. It's what Mother would have wanted and what I want. Enough with your useless questions, Kami."
Kami sighed, looking over to the other witch, sitting in a meditation positiong while holding herself above the ground with her snake like hood. She was stiff, with her hands clenched tightly in her lap hard enough to turn her hands white.
"Don't be so cruel with Crona, Meddy..." Kami said, rocking Maka to her chest. "He's growing to fear you. Fear will get you nowhere but hatred. And hatred destroys loyalty."
"What do you know about loyalty?" Medusa snapped, making Kami flinch. "Your so called husband betrayed you and your daughter to Death!"
Kami's eyes narrowed and she bit her lip, fighting back the urge to scream, to yell or lash out at the older woman and cry out that she was wrong. That Spirit did everything to protect them. That they loved and remained loyal to each other until the circumstances seperated them.
But she held her tongue.
"But what if he by some chance, finds someone who he fears more than you? What would he do then?" Kami made direct eye contact with the snake woman, taking a bit of satisfaction when she saw the small flash of fear pass through her.
"It's better to be feared and respected than loved. That's the way I was raised and that's how I'm raising him. I can live with Crona hating me if he does what I say. I hated my Mother." Medusa glared at her.
"And you killed her."
A tense silenced filled the air as everything froze. For what seemed like an eternity, the world stood still.
Medusa was the first to move. She bowed her head, glaring at the ground in fury as she pulled the hood of her jacket over her head and crossed her arms.
Kami sighed, glancing down at Maka. The child had woken up and was now staring curiously up at her. Kami snapped her fingers, smiling slightly at Maka's excitement at the sight of the blankets and toys floating.
Kami layed the blanket out over the soft grass and layed Maka down on her back. She grabbed the pacifier from midair before sticking it in her baby's mouth.
Kami turned back to Medusa once she saw Maka was distracted by the floating toys.
"You're raising him to be your own destruction. If he hates you enough, he will end up killing you, Meddy. Just like you did with your mother." Kami said. "You may think that the best way to ensure loyalty is by ensnaring them in fear, but it'll do nothing for you in the long run. Eventually, someone will come and sway Crona away from you."
"Shut up." Medusa growled.
"I will not, Medusa!" Kami nearly shouted.
Maka gave a startled cry in the background, but was ignored.
"I care too much about you to let you die! You may not think so, but I love you like a sister! I refuse to let my family follow a path of self-destruction!"
"Why do you care so much?!" Medusa shouted. "What's in it for you to care?!"
"Knowing that you'll survive in the end! Making sure that someday, somehow, you'll be alive with me to see the world we're creating! Knowing that I won't lose another person who I consider family! I love you Meddy..." Kami sniffed, feeling tears of fustrastion and desperation leak out of her eyes. "Please...please don't die..."
Medusa blink, falling back to the ground under the weight of the younger girl's unexpected hug. Then, she slowly wrapped her arms around her and pulled her close.
Medusa never felt more awkward.
~~~~~~~~{Time Skip}~~~~~~~~
"What exactly do you expect me to do then?" Medusa asked, after waiting an unbearably long time for the younger witch to stop her crying fest.
They were back at Medusa's castle, sitting in the little drawing room where they could talk again.
Kami had put Maka back in her crib and instructed Crona to make sure nothing happens to her. Nothing would, but it kept the two year old busy.
"I'm not saying that you shouldn't train him so hard. If we're going against the DWMA, he'll need it. Maka too. You and I've both seen how what those kids can do." She started, laying a hand of Medusa's. "Just, ease up on him with your punishments."
"I barely touch him. My mother's were worse on me." Medusa defended, but there was no fire anywhere.
"Yes I know. And her mother did the same to her and so forth. Just because someone else did something horrible to you doesn't mean you should do it back to someone else."
Medusa didn't answer her.
"Right now, Crona is at an age where he needs affection and he will cling to anyone that gives it to him, even if it's someone other than you. If you want him to stay by you forever, give him a reason to."
Kami put her hand up to silence Medusa.
"Something stronger than fear. Love keeps you tied to someone through sickness, health, danger and death. Fear can be broken easily, but love doesn't just disappear."
"Do you really think that love exists, Kami?" Medusa questioned. "After everything we Witches go through, after what you and I have expirienced, does it really exist?"
"I do." Kami said with no hesitation. "We may have not recieved much of it, but it's like respect in a way. You have to give it to earn it. Crona can grow to love you if you give him a bit of love first."
Kami saw Medusa cringe. Kami frowned, as if reading her thoughts.
"He's not going to grow soft because of it, don't worry. You'll still train him the same and he will become a powerful fighter. Love makes you grow stronger, not weaker."
"How exactly?"
Kami smiles, running her thumb over Medusa's palm.
"Because when you love something, you have a purpose to live and to die for them." Kami trailed off, her thoughts plunging back to Spirit.
They didn't say anything after that.
Later that night, though forgien and rough on her tongue, Medusa congratulated Crona for the first time.