A.N. This chapter alludes to the tenth episode of the third series where Musa gets her Enchantix but it's from Riven's point of view and deals a lot with the Specialists because they're cool. However, this story isn't really based on the series. The timing's off for one thing and it's more or less an unofficial sequel to Unattainable and it will probably have scenes that wouldn't even fit in with the third series.
Warnings: Contains minor Bloom bashing because it's from Riven's POV and his view on the fairies isn't too complimentary.
Memory Box
By: Zadien
Chapter Two: Riven's Turn
Riven had never felt completely at home in Red Fountain during his first year there and again in his second year, he still hadn't come to grips with his demons. And it was funny, he thought, looking back at that time of his life and then comparing it to the present. He'd always resented Sky his royal life style and riches and he resented his friendship with Brandon more. He didn't like how Brandon followed Sky around because out of everyone, he'd always felt a sense of kinship with the brown haired boy. Out of their small group, Brandon was the easiest to get along with. And Timmy, well to him, Timmy was a pathetic weakling who didn't deserve to be at Red Fountain, never mind in the same patrol unit as him.
However, that changed. Ultimately it had to. He had to spend nearly every waking moment with those three boys; if they weren't on missions, they shared the same dorm room and the same chill out spots and even their training regime was the same. Sometimes he believed that the suffocation he felt being around them constantly leant to that resentment brewing within him. They were always so cordial and nice; it was no wonder that, for someone who had such issues with letting people close, he tended to want to drive them away.
He wanted to see how far he could push them, and he pushed them a lot. He mocked their relationships with the girls because he couldn't understand why they wanted to be around them so much. Didn't they have better things to do than to pay mindless compliments to silly, vain fairies? He always could think of better, more interesting things that they could be doing. Like training with the dragons or mucking out all stalls. All of the above seemed preferable to hanging out with those annoying, self involved fairies. But the boys hadn't been able to see that. Instead, they had merrily paired up with them within the first couple of weeks. It sickened him.
The worst part was that he could feel himself being drawn to the quieter member of their group with the sassy temperament and the secretive glint to her eyes. Despite her laughing and joking, there had been something withdrawn about her, something that had tugged reluctantly at his curiosity. That had been a pain in the ass. The female species hadn't exactly interested him before. They were all out for one thing, money. So for all his beliefs, he had fallen just because of a pair of pretty eyes and nice legs –or so he told himself.
And he had been jealous. His 'friends' –because they had only been annoying roommates at the time but they had been better than nothing- had fallen for each and every one of those girls with their long hair, flashy jewellery and short skirts. They didn't spend that much of their free time at Red Fountain anymore. His dorm room had become incredibly empty and he couldn't stand the silence. Training was a farce; half the time he felt as though the guys would rather be somewhere else so he tried to push them to fight harder. It didn't work. They still remained congenial despite everything he said and he still felt like the outsider of the group. He didn't seem to fit in anywhere.
And then he'd fallen under Darcy's spell or hypnosis. He really didn't know what happened to him, just that one day he was himself and the next it was as though he was
trapped inside his own body powerless to regain control. And his taunting of the boys became more vicious. He lashed out at any fairy that got too close to him; especially the navy eyed one. He went about his daily classes and chores but it was as though a fog had descended upon him and his thoughts always seemed to circle around Darcy and the witches. Every time he heard something about the jinx club's plans, he felt compelled to run to Darcy to tell her; as though he were some kind of lapdog. Part of him hated himself for turning into a mindless slave, the other part just wanted to hurt the guys and their girlfriends too.
After a long time, the fog had finally lifted and he found himself in the middle of Cloud Tower faced with the three bitches and unsure of what had just happened. Yes, he vaguely remembered but he couldn't figure out why he had been there. Or, more importantly, why he had done what he had done. Vengeance, maybe or pettiness, perhaps he had seen it as a way to settle the score. Whatever the reason, there had been no justification for betraying Red Fountain and in turn the whole of Magix. He had come to Red Fountain to become a hero, hadn't he? What kind of hero sold out his comrades and, in turn, innocent people?
So, bombarded with great self loathing, he had been imprisoned away within the dungeons of Cloud Tower to repent for his sins. Surprisingly enough, when you had nothing to look at but stone brickwork covered with moss and slimy slug trails and spider webs, you found yourself doing a lot of soul searching. And he had his epiphanies. He couldn't say that everything changed within that cell, listening to the loud thud of the marching army of Decay and the low buzz from the security lasers in the corridors –often accompanied by anguished screams of creatures that got too close to the golden beams. However, he did realize some things that he had either been too blind to see or simply didn't want to see. It wasn't just the boys who had been at fault; he hadn't helped himself, constantly pushing aside their offers of friendship and companionship. He didn't make any effort to spend time with them and his frequent jaunts off by himself hadn't helped either. But they didn't have to abandon him so fully when the girls appeared on the scene. Sky was always with the red head and Brandon with the blonde and Timmy with the smart one.
Who was he supposed to hang out with, the flower girl or... the music lover?
That had brought him to his second epiphany. Once he got out of Cloud Tower –and he would get out- he would need to apologize to the blue eyed fairy after he apologized to his friends. Of course, he didn't like apologizing but he had felt she was owed one since he had allowed the Trix to isolate her and attack her. If her friends hadn't come when they had...
"Hey Riven!"
He jolted out of his reverie and narrowed his eyes at the brunette waving his hand before him.
"Move your hand before I remove it for you, Brandon." He snarled grumpily, embarrassed at being caught daydreaming.
"Quit your wool gathering and tell Sky that he's wrong. He's got this warped idea that we're going to have to wrestle dragons in our final exam. I'm telling him it can't be that easy. We accomplished that in our second year."
Riven sighed and shifted in his seat, casting the blond a look. "Seriously? You think that?"
"We learnt to wrestle dragons from the stable," Sky pointed out. "They're as close to tame as they're ever going to be. I think Codatorta might wrangle up some wild ones and set us up against them."
There was a definite gleam in the Eraklyon prince's eyes. Riven sat up, a quiver of excitement curling in his own gut at the idea of wrangling a real, wild dragon. Now wouldn't that be something? "It'd be handy to have our own dragon if some of us are going to the Elites."
"You're going to the Elites?" Brandon piped up, with something between alarm and awe in his tone as he dropped down into the seat opposite him. "Seriously?"
Riven's hackles rose. "What? You think I wouldn't be good enough or something?"
"Not all, I know you'll be good enough, more than... but Riven, the Elites, they go on really tough missions and..." Brandon trailed off helplessly and Riven sighed.
So he hadn't gotten off to the best start with his friends. They came through that. He had apologized; they had fought together in the final battle and in every battle after that. It took a while, sure but they were all the stronger for it. And they had added members to their group, he thought with a quick glance at the silent member leaning against the wall in the corner: Helia, Professor Saladin's passive nephew. The boy didn't seem as though he should fit into the group but he did, seamlessly too. He had slotted into the pairing up system with the Alfea fairies too, his attention immediately gravitating to the flower fairy with a quickness that had disturbed Riven but at the same time tickled his humour. It seemed only natural, since she was the only one left now that Riven had accepted his feelings for Musa.
"I think you'll be good at it. You're smart enough and you have good strategic capabilities, not to mention that you think quickly on your feet and you thrive on the chaos of battle. Out of all of us, I think you'd be the best suited for the Elites." Sky spoke up, stunning Riven with the sincerity of the words. They may have gotten over their difficulties but there was still that unspoken rivalry between them.
"Definitely Riven and Saladin will give you a great reference and you have all your missions for Red Fountain and the battles against the Trix and Darkar to show for your experience. You'll be a shoo-in." Timmy added enthusiastically, taking off his glasses to wipe them on the hem of his shirt.
"What made you want to join the Elites?" This question came from Helia, the quiet, thoughtful member of their group. He never really spoke unless he had something important to say which made him easy to be around, especially for Riven who tended to flare up at the slightest provocation. He was trying to tone down that aspect of his personality.
"I've been thinking about it for a while. I don't have anywhere to go after Red Fountain and I'm not going home." He pointed out harshly but he knew his friends would understand. His 'home' wasn't exactly a place of warmth and comfort. He never went home if he could help it, often staying in Red Fountain with Helia if he could during the holidays and working off his debt by working in the stables with the dragons. "Besides, there's stuff I haven't learnt yet and more dangers out there than we've experienced."
"You could join my guard." Sky offered quietly. It wasn't an order, all of them knew that.
Riven shook his head. "No, thank you but no. The palace life... it isn't for me."
Brandon's lips quirked. "Good thing Musa's not a princess then."
Riven glowered at him. "How was I to know about the ins and outs of the Melody's politics?"
"What about Musa? Have you told her about your plans?" Helia questioned, once again showing he was thinking harder than the other three dweebs.
"I'll tell her. She'll be fine with it. She's got to finish her final year in Alfea so..."
Brandon frowned. "Are you going to break up with her? It's not like you'll see her much."
"I'll cross that bridge when it comes to it." Riven bit out, flopping back on his seat and sulking. Just once he didn't want to think about the end of this year and the start of next year. He'd never been in a long term relationship –the one with Darcy didn't count; he'd been under a spell-, he'd never had to think of someone else when he made his decisions. He didn't like it. And while part of him wanted to say it had nothing to do with Musa, he couldn't quite believe that.
"But Riv-"
"Leave it." Helia stated quietly, taking out his phone as it buzzed quietly in his pocket. The quiet but happy smile that curved his lips told Riven who it was from and his depression deepened. What were the other guys going to do when the year was over? Sky and Brandon had no choice; they were going to Eraklyon to become a prince and a knight respectively. But Sky's parents had met and approved of Bloom so it wasn't unlikely that he would be allowed time off to visit Bloom and he'd take Brandon with him naturally. Helia had made mutterings about staying at Red Fountain with his uncle and becoming a teacher of evasive manoeuvres for a year before he and Flora went off to work with nature. (Or so Brandon liked to joke, even though Helia hadn't made a move on the shy flower girl yet –Riven wanted to tell him to just get it over with but who was he to say anything when he waited so long with Musa. Still they would be finished school soon; maybe Helia had the right idea.) He didn't know about Timmy, though, but with his strategic abilities and technological know-how, it wouldn't surprise Riven if the guy was snapped up to work in security.
Either way, the boys would all be close enough to the girls. He, however, wouldn't be if he joined the Elites. He would be gone for the entire week and he might be able to have a few days at the weekend off but the likelihood of him wanting to do anything but sleep was slim. This also meant that he'd have to go looking for some place to live before the summer too. He couldn't stay at Red Fountain this year, even if Saladin had approached him about running a short summer school for potential heroes. He might do it though, but he couldn't stay there. It would be best to get an apartment to live in for the summer and just cut the ties as soon as possible so he could get used to living on his own completely. He snorted at the wiggle of fear deep inside at being truly alone for the first time in a long time. Maybe Musa would vis- he shook his head abruptly. He couldn't continue relying on her. If she visited, she visited and he'd like that but there would be no pressure.
The door to their dormitory burst open and Bishop strode in, surveying the room with a quick surreptitious glance taking in all their positions and making a note of all the exits just as every Specialist had been taught. "Saddle up, boys; we're moving out!"
"What's the mission, Bishop?" Brandon jumping to his feet and hurrying out after the taller boy with a purple pony tail.
"The witches of Cloud Tower are attacking Alfea; we're to provide back up and aide wherever needed."
Riven's brow furrowed as his eyes swept out the window as the seven of them marched down the corridor. Alfea was in the opposite direction of his dormitory so he hadn't seen the grim clouds or lightning gathered over the fairy school but now he could clearly see the spears of lightning and the volatile vortex of purple light. Valtor, he growled mentally. If that bastard had laid one hand on his Musa, Riven would make sure he paid. His hand clutched compulsively around the purple medallion hidden down inside his top and yanking it out, he pressed it to his heart activating the magic suppressed within. Instantly and subtly, he was encased in the uniform of Red Fountain.
His gloved hands fisted as they made their way down the stairs and merged into the flow of students making their way towards the hanger.
"Why would the witches attack Alfea? I thought they were on friendly terms?"
"They're witches," Riven growled. "Who knows what goes on inside their heads?"
Brandon and Sky exchanged a quick, pointed look before quickly averted their gazes when the subject of their thoughts glowered at them.
"Be that as it may, our mission is to provide backup for Alfea and to disable the witches. No killing them. Saladin infers that they may be under a spell."
"Valtor?"
"Affirmative."
"You know, I'm really beginning to hate that bastard."
"Brandon! Don't curse." Timmy chided earning a bemused look from the brunette.
"Valtor's lured Faragonda away." Riven heard a specialist mention as he and his group marched up the ramp into the Airship, Alpha 02.
"And their barrier has fallen." Lance added as he fell in behind them. He was a tall specialist with broad shoulders, slate blue hair and lighter bangs framing his face. He was also an incredible marksman with a bow and energy arrow. "Looks like something really bad is going on there."
"Valtor could be synonymous with bad." Brandon mused. "But I prefer evil bastard."
"Brandon!"
"Brandon! That kind of speech is for a sailor, not a Specialist."
Brandon winced as Riven chuckled. Codatorta sent them a grim look as he climbed into the carriage and took a seat in the back, strapping himself in. Up front, Helia slid into the pilots' seat while Timmy took his seat at the communications booth.
"Estimated time of arrival, five minutes."
"Make it three and I'll give you a break from training tomorrow morning." Codatorta challenged.
"Yes sir!"
Riven seethed. He could make it there in two minutes but it wasn't his turn to fly the machine. Why couldn't the witches attack next week? He could get them there and back in two minutes.
"Alright boys," Codatorta took charge as the ship began to rise from the ground, thrusters making a loud thrumming sound forcing the tall brash man to pitch his voice over it. "Here's the plan, you get in there and you give the fairies whatever support they need. Valtor is not to get into Alfea!"
"What if this is a trick?" Rick, a short blond haired specialist sitting on the other side of Lance, demanded. "What if he's using this as a decoy to get us to lower our defences?"
"That's why we haven't left our place unguarded. Just the three troops have been deployed and Saladin is capable of keeping Valtor out."
Yeah, 'cause the old man made such a great job of keeping the Trix out, Riven thought sourly only to yelp as a large hand slapped the back of his head. "What the hell?!"
"You shouldn't doubt your superiors, Riven. You'll make a damn fine hero boy," the gruff man stated, "but only if you learn to respect those who give you orders."
"Yeah, yeah, old man. I got it." It wasn't that he had any disrespect for Saladin. He was quite spry for such an old man but he did have his odd, pensioner moments. Like that one time he forgot to put on his pants or the time he announced to the entire school his love for prune juice or the time he'd lose his staff only for it to be found sitting in the bathroom where the old man had left it. Riven shuddered. The hell if he ever wanted to become that old and forgetful.
"Hey Sky, don't worry. Bloom will be ok. Valtor's probably fighting Faragonda; he's not going to be anywhere near her." Brandon stated to the morose blond who nodded quietly.
"Far as I saw, those fairies could take care of themselves. I don't think there's anything you need to worry about." Bishop stated.
"Like you're not worried." Riven snorted.
Bishop shifted uncomfortably as the others studied him with growing interest. Given that Bishop always gave off an aura of detachment and dedication to nothing but his fighting and studies, the implication that he might actually have a girlfriend was a surprise to all the boys.
"That's not important boys. We're here for a mission, not for you to pick up a few lassies."
"That's just a bonus." Brandon grinned cheekily causing the others to hide their amusement when Codatorta fixed him with a narrow look.
"Aye, a female will be the death of you, you mark my words young man."
"Well, if I die in the arms of a pretty girl, then I'll die happy."
"And Stella will bring you back and kill you herself if you do." Riven muttered.
The ship pitched to the side and they shouted their complaints while Helia fought with the controls.
"Sorry about that, looks like we're not going to be getting a friendly reception."
"We're probably going to be knocked out of the air by friendly fire!"A voice crackled over the radio.
Riven unstrapped himself, ignoring Codatorta's protests and orders to get back in his seat and stumbled his way to the front. "What's going on?" He demanded as he reached Helia's chair and held on tight.
"Some of the witches are attacking us."Helia replied soberly as his fingers deftly ran over the controls, "Shields are up but they're not going to last for long under this duress, not to mention the friendly fire Aster mentioned."
"We can't land." Riven surmised.
Helia shook his head. "It would be impossible. There's no clearing even if we could get down there, too many allies on the ground and they're erecting the shield again."
"The fairies can't call off their attacks; that would be leaving an opening." Something caught his gaze and Riven narrowed his eyes just as Timmy cussed quietly under his breath drawing surprised looks from the others.
"It's the Trix."
"You're surprised?" Brandon wondered, bemused. "Don't they always turn up whenever there's a chance to attack Alfea?"
"Sir, what do we do? There's nowhere to land!"
Riven scowled and reached for the radio. "You're not going to land. You're going to find a nice place to hover and we're going to use ropes to get down to the ground."
"That's too dangerous Riven. With this much fire power flying around, some of the ropes are bound to sever."
"Our ropes are spelled against such events." Bishop growled, holding tight to a strap wrapped around his hand as the ship bucked to the side. "Just hold on tight and you should be fine."
"What about the hover boards?"
Riven looked at Sky and nodded, picking up the radio again. "All those with long range weapons take the hover boards and provide air support to give those on the ropes time to get down."
"And this is why he's going to join the Elite." Brandon joked but there was an air of pride to the words as Riven stalked to the back of the ship, his hands already working on the straps holding the hover boards to the walls of the cargo hold. It didn't take long to unbuckle them and while the other boys set them up, he moved to the winch in the corner.
He took hold of the end of the rope and began to unwind it. "We need to anchor this and then we need to open the door."
"I hate heights." Rick muttered earning a dark look from the red haired Specialist.
"Do you think any of us like heights? Swinging from a rope wasn't exactly what I planned to do today."
Brandon grinned having heard the sharp words. "Yeah, but you love this kind of thing."
Riven smirked darkly, feeling a twinge of excitement as his blood began to pump warmly. Despite the situation, Brandon was right. He lived for this sort of thing, the heat of battle, dare devil stunts. It's what broke up the mediocrity of life for him. God knows how he would have coped if he followed his father into such a mundane job such as counting other people's money for them.
"Right, prepare to disembark."
"I'm going to be sick."
Riven shot a dark look at Rick. For all his tall intimidating looks, Rick could be such a whiner. He whined when the food was too cold. He whined when people didn't move fast enough for him. He just whined!
"Well be sick on a witch!" Bishop snapped, grabbing the rope and feeling the weight in his gloved hands.
The ship pitched once more and Helia muttered under his breath as he struggled for control. Something was burning somewhere, Riven could smell the acrid stench of smoke and feel the electricity charged air; a clear sign that magic was being used as it caused the hairs on his arms and neck to stand on end.
"If you guys are going to do this, you'd better do it, now! Once their shield goes up, it won't be coming down just to let us in."
Riven nodded abruptly and headed for the hanger door, yanking it open and feeling the gusty wind tugging and pulling at him as he stood in the door way surveying the damage. Rain soaked the air, spitting on his face and casting dark splotches on his uniform. Smoke billowed from the craters of earth and fires licked at the shrubbery. Lightning struck the ground causing dust to fly up from the impact while pure pulses of fairy magic soared into the sky.
He took the rope bundled around his arm and tossed it down, watching it snake its way to the ground, the air causing it to whip around in an utter frenzy but as soon as the weight at the bottom hit the ground, the rope steadied enough for them to get down.
Sky stepped up and launched his cyan blue boomerang into the air, knocking out two witches who were slumped close to them.
"Right, air team, go!"
Their postures were wrong, Riven thought, even as he stepped aside to allow the four boys on the hover boards to launch themselves out of the ship. He watched as Bishop and Lance approached the door, Lance already activating the energy bolts for his long bow. Both boy exited and left Timmy to take his own spot, and after Helia put the ship on auto pilot, he took his own hover board and headed for the door; his gaze meeting that of his friends. Sky smiled, Brandon gave him a thumbs-up and Riven merely nodded his encouragement. They'd been in this position time and time before; they knew what they had to do.
Both boys dived from the hanger spiralling down through the sky before using their heels to tilt the tip upwards and slow their descent before they urged their boards up and
soared into the air. Using their weapons to stun any witch and shield any spell that got too close to their ship.
"I guess this is our turn." Brandon stated quietly, his own gaze running over the scene of destruction. "Where do you suppose Faragonda is?"
"Never mind that now lad. That woman is strong enough to take on ten men, Valtor made a mistake taking on her."
"Still..." Brandon murmured before shaking his head. "You're right. Let's do this. There are damsels in distress to save."
"And distressed damsels when they see who's come to save them." Riven muttered to Sky who snorted a quick laugh but his blue eyes remained sober. Riven knew why. Bloom was everything Sky wanted in a girl –then again, next to Diaspro, anything was good- but the girl had a nasty way of attracting trouble and in turn leading her friends into trouble with her. While the logical part of Riven knew that it wasn't Blooms fault, she never asked for the 'Dragon Fire'; another part of him blamed her for putting Musa's life in danger so many times. Not that Musa ever saw it like that. Then again, Musa was just stubborn and refused to see things clearly because she was constantly ruled by her emotions.
"I resent that." Brandon grumbled before taking the rope. "Looks like it's all clear. See you guys down there." Without anymore ceremony, he turned his back to the open doorway and launched himself out of the ship.
Riven, clutching the side of the ship as it hummed softly, peered down to watch his friends' descent and once he was half way down, Riven nudged Rick. "Go!"
The blond balked before summoning his courage and taking hold of the rope, he too pushed himself out the door. Sky glanced at Riven and met his gaze.
"Just like scaling the Pinnacle Cliff."
"Except there're no jagged rocks, spikes or blood thirsty birds." Riven agreed, "Just a lot of spell happy witches and fairies with bad aim."
Sky reluctantly smiled and began his own journey down not that Brandon was on the ground and holding the rope steady, it movement was quicker and easier. Riven glanced at Codatorta. "Do you want to go next, sir?"
"And say I left a student in charge?! Hell no, boy. Off you go!" Riven jerked a shoulder and taking the thick rope between his gloved hands, he turned his back to the open door and kicked out from the soles of his feet. For a moment he hung perilously in the air as his feet fought for purchase around the slender rope and then he began to move down, the rope sliding easily through his hands. He swallowed thickly as the rope began to stir with the wind as his body began to twist with it. Lightning and fairy lights flew through the air around him, lighting up the darkness for brief moments as the rain continued to fall to the ground, soaking face and sliding down his back.
His head tilted to look at the ground and he let out a sigh of relief as he saw the faces of his friends looking up at him just as the he felt the rope tighten above him as Codatorta begin his own descent. Around him, he could see the other Specialists making their way down as others intercepted attacks with their shields or knocked by spells with their weapons. A fleeting grin crossed his face as he witnessed Helia's neon ropes fastening themselves around the waist of an overeager witch, yanking her away from a young fairy. Seemingly, while still remaining passive, Helia had gotten over his urge to treat everyone with courtesy. To Riven's point of view, that was a good thing, manners weren't exactly a focal point of war.
A flash of light caught his attention and he reached automatically for his shield knowing too late that he was probably going to have to take the hit, when there was a low hum and an audible 'zing' as lightning clashed with Brandon's green broad sword. The brunette swiped his sword in an arc and deflected the blast away, shooting Riven a quick grin.
"Gotta be faster, buddy."
"Brandon!" Sky shouted just as another spear of lightning lanced towards him. Riven growled, reaching for his shield once again, only for a large burst of light to explode above them. Riven lifted his hand to cover his eyes as he squinted up into the sky.
"Leave my boyfriend alone!"
Riven sighed, his shoulders slumping. Typical fairy. Brandon just smiled in that goofy way of his whenever Stella was around. The blonde slowly floated down to them and place a perfectly manicured hand on her cocked hip, shadowed by the dark skinned fairy that always seemed to have a problem with him. Even now she was glaring at him. Riven rolled his eyes.
"What are you doing here?"
"Red Fountain and Alfea are allies; if you're in danger, we're here to help." Bishop stated formally before Riven could open his mouth. He pretty much would have said the same... only a little more caustically, because come on, why did she think they were there? They'd hardly come for a picnic!
"Aye, lassies, now where's Faragonda?" Codatorta demanded, yanking down on the end of the rope so that Sky could untie the anchor and then Codatorta released it, sending the rope zipping back up into the Alpha 02. The ship slowly began to shut the door and then with the slow precision of the autopilot, the ship took off back to Red Fountain.
Layla's expression fell and Riven quirked a brow. Maybe she wasn't as tough as she acted. "Valtor lured her away."
"And before we could help her, those stupid witches started attacking us. I mean, what on Magix is wrong with them? We're supposed to be friends, yeesh!"
"When we were leaving Red Fountain, I noticed a purple light over Cloud Tower... like the sign, you know, his sign." Rick mumbled, shifting uncomfortably.
"He means the sign of Valtor." How on earth was Rick going to be a Specialist if he couldn't even say the bad guys' name? His and Her would get awfully confusing after a while.
"Yeah, and check out the way they're moving. It's like they're just suspended in the air, there's no life to them; they're just hanging there, moving as if they're on strings."
"Puppets." Riven muttered causing Brandon to nod.
Brandon nodded. "I'd say they've all been marked by Valtor, which means-"
"Griffin's been captured. Oh no!" Stella flopped down onto her knees. "This is just so unfair. How can Valtor do this?"
"I don't know, Stella, but come on, if we stick together, we can beat him."
Or Bloom would, Riven thought snidely; wasn't that always how it went? They took on the army and she saved the world and got all the praise. As if guessing the route his thoughts were taking, Sky sent him an inscrutable look. Riven rolled his eyes but mustered up a wane 'everything's fine' smile.
"Where's Bloom?"
Come to think of it, where was Musa? Usually she would be quick to pop up and make a snarky comment about his rush to the rescue. It would always be in good humour, of course, she'd never turn down the chance to be rescued by him. His smirk died off as he scanned the skies. No really, where was she? He couldn't see or hear her anywhere. Nor could he find the star of the damn show.
"Bloom and the others went to check the school and we're to keep the barrier going."
A sudden movement to the side garnered Riven's attention and he slipped his hand inside his cloak, pulling out his mace and after swinging it over his head, he released it. It flew through the air before wrapping round another witch about to attack. She fell to the ground, flopping and writing like a landed fish.
"Ok, we'll go check on them." Sky volunteered, though everyone knew that was code for 'I need to make sure Bloom's safe so she can have my babies and be my queen'.
Riven sneered.
"Fine, I'll go with you."
"I'll stay here." Brandon offered, sending Stella a quick but reassuring hand squeeze. "I'll help the grounded fairies that don't have their winx yet."
Stella nodded. "There are only a few fairies that don't have it and there's a few who haven't had a chance to change, if you could provide them with some cover, it'd be much appreciated."
Bishop nodded and unsheathed his twin swords while Rick sighed. "I could go with you guys. Provide backup."
"No!"
"Stay here, you'll get more battle experience." Sky added to gentle Riven's unnecessary harsh words, not that Riven thought they were unnecessary or harsh.
"Right, Riven and Sky, you two check the school and make sure there's nothing amiss there. Stay in contact; the rest of you men, follow me. Maybe we can go check on Faragonda and make sure she's ok."
"Sir, permission to stay on the ground to help the younger fairies?"
"Aye, permission granted. Just don't trip over yer own tongue."
Riven sent a smirk in the brunette's direction just as a shout went out over head.
"INCOMING!"
Riven fired up his shield and braced it against the lance of lightning zigzagging over the ground, making a 'zzzap!' sound as it bounced off the flat panel of purple energy. Beside him he could see Sky gritting his teeth as his own blue shield flickering to life while the two fairies over head floated back to back with their arms outstretched to repel any incoming attacks.
"When we say go, make a run for the school!" Aisha ordered over head as she and Stella slowly revolved mid air. Side by side, the two girls lined up their attacking hand and with their brows furrowed in concentration, their bodies began to vibrate with the tension and a bolt of white light burst from their open palms.
"CONVERGENCE!"
Riven shook his head lightly at their combined outcry. He would never understand why the fairies needed to label and call out each and every attack they fired. It was time consuming and unnecessary but he couldn't tell them that. They had their way of working and the Specialists had theirs.
"Now!"
Sky and Riven wasted no time, running full out towards the school, ducking and dodging any in coming attacks though as they progressed further towards the building looming before them, the attacks became less frequent as the shield the fairies were working upon gathered strength.
They raced up the steps, taking two at a time before they burst in the front doors and into the entrance hall. They came to a stop, eyes flickering from left to right as they tried to work out which direction the girls would have gone. Riven's attention focused on Sky to make the decision.
"If you were Bloom, where would you go?" After all, Bloom would be making the decisions, not Musa; she would just follow the other girls.
"It depends..."Sky mused, his eyes trailing up the grand staircase before him. "I don't know the situation of why she came in here or who was with her."
"Well given the fact that I didn't see the flower girl, your Sparky, Tecna or my Muse around, I'd say those are the ones in here." Riven drawled. Honestly, it was pretty obvious who was with Bloom.
"But may-" Sky broke off suddenly. "Did you hear that?"
Riven nodded. Footsteps coming from their left. Both boys turned with their weapons raised in defensive stances as out of the corridor to their left, three girls burst out. "Specialists?" the first queried.
Riven had never seen her before so he had no clue who she was but the wings told him that they were certainly fairies.
Sky smiled at them and stepped forward, hand raised in the Eraklyon salute. The guy was such a prince! "My names Sky and that's Riven."
One of the girls from the back stepped forward and Riven's eyes narrowed on her. She was faintly recognizable, which meant that he'd probably seen her talking to Musa once or twice but again, the name escaped him. "Bloom and Musa's boyfriends, right? My name's Nessa. What are you doing here?"
"Looking for Bloom and Musa." Riven muttered and refrained from rolling his eyes. Why else did she think they were there? If all the fairies in Alfea were this stupid, it was a miracle that Alfea had survived so long. Faragonda must have been one hell of a spell caster to keep this place standing. For Musa's sake, he hoped the old woman was ok.
"Oh we split up, I think they were going to check the west block and we were going to check the east block but we lost Galatea and neither of us can get in contact with her. It's so not like her to just run off on her own."
Galatea... Galatea...now why was that name familiar? Oh. The princess of Melody. Well crap, if she was in trouble then Musa wouldn't even think twice about going to her aid. He growled under his breath. "Where did you lose her?"
"On the second floor." The second fairy (who hadn't spoken before) blurted out before blushing shyly under their inspection. Riven growled under his breath but stilled when Sky sent him a quiet look before the prince turned his baby blues on the girls and made them sigh and swoon when he smiled cordially at them.
"Thank you for your help, we'll be going now. Be careful and hopefully, we'll see you soon."
"Oh yes, take care!" The one called Nessa cried out behind them as both boys strode up the stairs followed by a wave of giggling.
"Do you have to do that?" Riven muttered out of the corner of his mouth.
"Do what?" At Sky's innocent reply, Riven simply shook his head. Of course, blondie wouldn't understand the fickle minds of the female species. He'd only ever had eyes for Bloom and Sparky could do no wrong in his books. Though he couldn't imagine that Sky had never encountered any simpering females at court... then again, with Diaspro as his bridezilla-to-be, he probably didn't. He could easily imagine the old crone scaring off any girls who happened to look sideways at her 'true love'. Great dragon damn him, if he wasn't glad he had Musa. She'd never swoon or preen around him and she certainly hadn't batted her eye-lashes to gain his attention. No she'd done that by grit and sheer passion for her friendships and the salvation of magix from the hands of the witches. That and she had great legs and she was so cute when she was angry.
"Do what?" Sky asked again.
"Act like Prince Charming and make all the girls simper and swoon? Is it something they taught you at your palace?"
"It's called chivalry, maybe if you tried it, you might be more popular with the girls too."
"Why would I want to be popular with the girls?" Riven snapped back, jogging down the corridor as his eyes scanned along the open classroom doors. Usually the doors would be closed when there were no classes going on but it was handier that they were open.
"Because it's nice to have friends, Riven."
Riven rolled his eyes. Of course Sky would be spouting the values of friendship and the goodness of having a fellowship with his peers but that was Sky. Riven didn't need that kind of drivel. "I don't need friends."
"Everyone needs fri-"
"I have friends. I have you guys and I have Musa. You're all the friends I need. The rest of those people are just that, people. I don't want to know them or talk to them or even lead them on. I'm happy with my lot."
"What do you mean, lead them on?"
Riven quirked a brow and gave Sky a flat look. "You think smiling at those girls isn't giving them ideas? Half of those silly little bints base their dreams of a nice husband over smiles and kind words."
Sky frowned and his mouth opened to rebuke the statement that Riven knew was completely true. He may not have had that much experience talking to those bubble-brained fairies but he could observe well enough to form his own opinions.
"That's not tr-" but before Sky could finish the sentence, Riven held up his hand and tilted his head to catch the sound that had garnered his attention.
"I think the girls are up ahead." He muttered, taking the lead and unsheathing his sabre holding it defensively as he stalked around the corner and up the stairs. Lights glowed merrily up above them, suspended from the ceiling while pictures and artwork from previous students decorated the walls.
"I can hear something crackling." Sky spoke softly.
Riven strained his hearing to pick up the sound his friend had mentioned but if it was there, it was drowned out by the familiar shouts of the girls. He cursed under his breath and picked up his pace, jogging briskly up the stairs and onto the corridor, passing by empty classrooms and potted plants. He loped around the corner before faltering at the scene before him. The library sign above the door glinted in the light but his attention was fixed on the orange flames licking at the floor. Three figures were standing just beyond the doorway, staring into the flames and clutching each other for support. Riven sighed and slowed to a saunter.
"Bloom!" Sky shouted racing past to embrace the red haired trouble-magnet.
"Sky!"
"What happened?" The blond prince asked, brushing soot from the fairy's face while Riven frowned at the scene before him. Three fairies? Shouldn't there be a few more? Where was Musa? Hadn't she come in with them or was she off with Galatea?
"...Trix...Galatea...spells...wings...broken...Musa..." Riven tuned back in to the red head's blubbering, "We couldn't follow her."
"Where's Musa?!" Riven barked, turning his blistering gaze on the other two cowering fairies who were numbly crying and holding on to each other. The flower girl hiccupped while Tecna sniffed subtly. "Where's Musa?!"
"Riven..." Sky trailed off distraught and averted his gaze to the blazing fire inside the library. Why hadn't someone activated the sprinkler system? Why was no one getting water? Wasn't the bra-burner a water fairy? Why wasn't she in here? And where on Magix was Musa?!
"Musa is in the library. We cannot get in and we cannot put out a magically induced fire. I am sorry Riven but Musa is..."
Riven stared at the pink haired fairy, a loud roaring echoing through his ears. He could see her lips moving but he couldn't make out the words other than the first four. Musa was in the library? But why? It was on fire. She wouldn't be in there if it was on fire. That was stupid. His Musa wasn't stupid. No, she was too smart and too strong and too brave...no she wouldn't... she couldn't...
"Don't say that!"
The group started and stared at the usually timid flower fairy. "Musa will be ok! Just you wait!"
"But Flora, I couldn't put out the fire."
"This is all Galatea's fault. If she had not run back in, Musa would not have followed her." Tecna bit out, her voice terse and strained as she struggled not to release her emotions.
Riven shook his head at them. He didn't understand what they were trying to say. Even as Sky walked up and pressed a hand to his shoulder, he didn't understand. Musa was in the library? The one in front of him going up in flames? He shrugged off the hand and stumbled forward, his legs strangely weak. He couldn't seem to breathe properly, maybe it was the smoke or the stone that seemed to be lodged in his chest.
"Riven!"
"I'm going in!"
"You cannot!" Tecna snapped; her voice suddenly cold and cutting. "There is no way to put out the flames; you will just end up incinerated too!"
"So?! She needs help!"
"Musa's strong; she'll get out but it wouldn't be fair to make her worry about you too, Riven. You need to stay here and lend her your strength from here." Flora murmured, coming close and squeezing her hand. "Musa will get out of this and she'll save Galatea and the magic book of spells too."
Screw the magic book of spells and Galatea too, Riven wanted to snap but he found his throat had closed up and he couldn't seem to force out any words at all. His eyes were burning from the heat of the magical flames and his nose prickled from the acrid stench of smoke and burning books.
"Come on Musa." Bloom whispered inching closer.
"You can do it Musa." Flora added under his breath, squeezing his hand tightly within hers. He didn't have to heart to wrench it out of her grasp, not when it seemed to be the only thing holding him up. Sky was on his other side, studying the flames with an inscrutable look that Riven recognized from their practice battles. As if by just looking at it, the plan he sought would come to light.
"Look!"
Riven snapped his gaze to follow the direction of Tecna's pointing finger and frowned. He couldn't see anything but flames and smoke. He opened his mouth to growl at her but a pulse of light caught his eye. "What is that?"
"Purple light? But..."
"Oh my!"
"What's going on?" Riven snarled, he hated not knowing things and these fairies always seemed to be keeping things from him.
"Could it be?"
A breathless laugh burst from Flora's lips as she smiled. "She's done it!"
"What? What has she done?" Fear clawed at his throat even as something warm blossomed inside him.
"Musa has gained her Enchantix." Tecna's voice was filled with pride as she swallowed thickly and blinked back the tears in her eyes.
"Everything's going to be ok now!" Bloom added, pressing her lips together.
The purple light seemed to gather more force, becoming so bright it almost turned to white light and amidst it; he could work out the silhouette of a figure gracefully twirling inside. Musa.
"What does that mean?" He asked hoarsely, the lump in his throat made it hard to speak.
The light suddenly dispersed and Riven waited with baited breath. The air was suddenly heavy with magic and his hair stood on end as the flames seemed to die down around the library. Lower and lower they fell until, as though a breath of air had blown over them, they were gone.
"Wow."
"So that's the extent of the Enchantix." Bloom mused. "It could put out the fire that I couldn't even stop."
Riven sent her a flat look as he stalked into the library. Did she believe there was an unwritten rule that she had to be the one to save the day all the time?! He shook his head. Now wasn't the time to fight with her.
"It cures blindness, breaks mind controlling spells and extinguishes fires... hmm; no wonder the Enchantix is so important." Flora murmured, inching closer to the library.
Riven barely heard her words as he swept the room with his gaze. The library looked none the worse for wear. In fact, if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have believed there had been a fire. There were no burn marks on the carpets and the library books shelved along the wall were utterly fine except for a few that showed a lightly bruised and sooty appearance.
But the library and its contents were the least of his worries, no his attention was focused on something much more important to him. His fairy. Musa. She was at the other side of the library hugging a platinum blonde tightly. He figured she must have been the Princess Galatea that the girls had mentioned; the one that had run back into the fire and almost killed his girlfriend. He clenched his fists tightly. What would have happened, he wondered, if Musa hadn't gained her Enchantix? Would the prissy blonde princess have done anything? Ha, probably not, he thought with a dark glower. The girls separated and Musa began to guide her towards the door only to falter when she caught sight of him. Her brows furrowed in confusion before her face lit up and her pace quickened.
However, Riven found himself looking away from her face and instead concentrating on her outfit. His lips parted and his mouth went dry. What on Magix was she wearing? Where was her winx outfit? Gone was the red sparkly outfit that was just modest enough to be decent and instead...
He swallowed hard and slowly ran his gaze up and down her body.
Her hair, which had already been growing out to begin with now reached her knees and was in its usual bunches. The top was magenta with frilly tangerine ruffled strips decorating it, though it didn't cover much. Her skirt was just as short, the same warm magenta with the tangerine strip fluttering from the left side. Her impossibly long legs (he was sure they were longer than ever before) were no longer encased in platform boots but in strappy sandals and her arms were covered by translucent shoulder length gloves. She looked amazing, a little too naked for his liking but stunning none-the-less. It sort of made him wonder where his tomboy girlfriend had gone. However, the most definitive part of the outfit was the large yellow wings spreading out from behind her, speckled with purple sparkly stuff.
"Hey." She greeted breathlessly.
"Uh," he had to clear his throat and his cheeks flushed slowly. "Hey. Uh... what is that? I-I mean, your outfit..." he trailed off as he took in the picture she made.
"My Enchantix." She smiled tremulously before throwing herself against him and wrapping her arms tightly around his waist. He shifted uncomfortably due to the skin he could feel being pressed against him but his hormones were quickly doused when he felt her tremble against him and he heard her hitching breaths. The outfit could wait, right now she needed comfort and she seemed to want it from him. He wrapped his own arms around her and buried his face into her silken hair only to yank back as something pricked his cheek. A tiara? He plucked it off agitatedly and pressed a kiss to the crown of her head.
"Are you ok?"
She nodded but remained quiet, breathing slowly in and out as though trying to calm herself. That was just fine with him. Yeah, that was just fine with him. His hand ran up and down her back, skimming his fingers over the naked skin exposed by the skimpy top but he didn't mind the electric buzzing in his fingertips, instead he was just content to reassure himself that she was alive.
A loud commotion arose behind him and he looked over his shoulder, annoyance etched into his features as he spotted the rest of the group gathered around the princess of Melody while shooting them curious and concerned looks. Something was said that made all the girls smile warmly and the flower girl hugged the Melodeon princess tightly.
Musa sucked in a deep breath and released it slowly before pulling away, offering him a soft smile that made something inside him melt. He lowered his lips to hers, offering a gentle kiss before pulling away. They had an audience and he wasn't intent on giving them a free show.
"What are you doing here?"
"We're Alfea's allies... besides; I knew you couldn't keep out of trouble. I figured I'd have to come and save your cute backside. It'd be such a shame if something happened to it." His grin was just a step away from being a leer and instead of offending her, it made her laugh just as he'd intended.
"I should go talk to the girls." She mumbled; linking her hand with his, her lips –now glossed with something pink and glossy making them look invitingly wet and delicious- curved into a pout when he refused to budge. "Riv?"
"It probably wouldn't be very smart for me to go over there right now, Muse." He muttered tightly, fixing a glare on the platinum blonde.
Musa followed his gaze. "Riven, that's Galatea. She's the princess of Melody."
"She's also the idiot that almost got you killed; forgive me if I don't go over and bow."
Her brows quirked up before she sighed. "That's not fair. The Trix broke her wings and she ran back inside to make sure that none of the spell books could be destroyed. She was trying to do what she thought was right."
"Running into a burning room seemed the right thing to do? And her wings look fine to me."
"Well of course they do, I healed them."
His gaze snapped to her. She healed them? He might not know much about fairies but he learnt enough to know that without their wings, they were pretty much defenceless; not to mention that once broken, they hardly ever regenergated. So how had Musa healed them? "How?"
"Fairy dust, it pretty much heals everything." She replied easily, "I'll be back in a minute, ok? Stay here."
With that, he watched her walk off to be greeted by her friends who hugged her tightly and laughed joyfully with her as they congratulated her on achieving her Enchantix. He looked away as Helia and Brandon approached. "Hey."
"Hey." Helia greeted quietly, studying the walls and ceiling while Brandon sidled up to him. "Doesn't Musa look great?"
Riven sent him a dark look. "Don't even think of it."
"Don't worry man, I'm happy with Stella but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate a great pair of legs and jeez that skirt does not hurt them in the slightest."
"The fire doesn't seem to have done too much damage."
Riven shook his head. "It was unreal. One minute the flames were almost reaching to the ceiling and eating everything in its path and then they're suddenly dying down and it's like they were never there."
"Fairy dust, never underestimate it." Brandon quipped... as if he had dealt with a lot of fairy dust in his time. Riven growled at him causing the brunette to chuckle.
Helia cleared his throat and removed his jewel slipping it under his shirt as his uniform melted away causing the other boys to follow. "Any leads on who started it?"
"Well according to the girls, the Trix were in here after spell books, so I'm guessing it was one of them, maybe Stormy and her lightning powers."
"Actually, I heard Bloom say that Darcy started it."
Riven's expression turned black. "Darcy?" He spat out the name through clenched teeth. That bitch again?! "She'll not be satisfied until she has Musa killed." He could still remember the attack in Musa's dorm room when Muse had almost been trapped in another dimension of darkness.
"The Trix are becoming reckless, especially with Valtor as their esteemed leader." Brandon growled, showing a flash of the temper he so rarely exhibited.
"It surprises me that each evil sorcerer chooses the Trix as his lackeys. Surely they must realize that against the girls, the Trix just don't have the strength to fight. They're outnumbered two to one."
Brandon chuckled. "Yeah well do you see any other evil minions loitering around? The Trix probably put out an ad in the Evil Gazette. 'Free evil witches to good home.' Oh make that evil, dark, somewhere underground, home."
Riven snorted with a soft chuckle but his attention was firmly fixed on his dark haired fairy as she calmly accepted the compliments of her friends and the praises of her teachers, including a Miss Griselda who generally looked as though she'd swallowed a sour prune.
He backed up against charred wall – a good dusting and it would be good as new he figured- and slowly waited for the whole debacle to be over. Yay, the witches were gone but geez, did they have to make such a big deal of this?
"Hey Riven, you coming?" Brandon queried. "I'm sure the girls have to fix Alfea back to its original state and what with Faragonda gone, they're probably not going to want us hanging around. Helia's already contacted the ship and it'll be here in another ten minutes or so. Want to go outside and wait?"
Riven's gaze swept over to his fairy before he reluctantly nodded and began to traipse after the guys, watching as Helia's head ducked low over the comlink attached to his wrist unit.
He was just descending the stairs when there was a clatter of footsteps behind him. He backed up against the banister and glanced over his shoulder, irritation glittering in his violet eyes as he expected to come into contact with a flurry of fairies but instead he found his irritation melting away with the sight of two very long, shapely legs skipping down the stairs.
"Riven!"
He snapped his gaze up but it didn't do anything to help his hormones as he focused on the pretty, expressive face staring at him with something akin to concern and maybe a hint of fear.
"Muse?"
"You're going?"
"Since I don't live here, I can't really stay all day while you guys do your little fairy things."
Her eyes flashed with temper for a moment before she struggled to contain it. That was something he'd noticed recently, her temper had mellowed somewhat. Sure he could still get under her skin without much trouble –he liked to think of it as a talent- but she was more in control of her temper than she had been as a freshman. She was also more feminine too, something he accredited to the fact that she had been dorming with Blondie and her ilk for the past three years. He lazily ran his gaze down her body, taking in her new outfit. She looked so different in it compared to her usual outfit. So feminine and soft, almost delicate and fragile. It made him feel suddenly uncomfortable.
The silence stretched between them and he frowned as she shifted from one foot to another nervously. Now what was wrong with her? She wasn't even looking at him now! "What?" He finally snapped out, unable to deal with the sudden shift in tone between them.
"Do you hate it?" She blurted out.
He raised a brow. She had to be specific. He hated a lot of things. Which 'it' was she referring to? Brandon stealing his shampoo? Yes, he hated that. The witches attacking everyone? He definitely hated that. Darcy trying to kill her? Hell yes! There weren't enough words to describe how much he hated that!
She backed up a step and opened her arms wide, motioning to her outfit. "This? You took one look at me and..." she trailed off awkwardly before folding her arms around herself. It was painful.
"Well did you choose to look like that?"
The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them and even as Musa swelled up and her hands fisted, he knew it was the wrong thing to say. Girls. It wasn't like he knew how the costumes came to be. They just happened to appear whenever the girls said the magic words. Granted this was the first time he'd ever seen the costume change too, he had thought that the red outfit was her default outfit; it never occurred to him that it would ever change. Now it had and he was in the uncomfortable position of trying to reassure her... of what? That she looked good? Surely she could see that. All she had to do was catch her reflection in a mirror.
"No! I didn't even realize I was getting my Enchantix; it wasn't conscious. One minute I'm suffocating and the next minute I felt all tingly and I was dressed like...this." She tugged distastefully at the woefully short skirt and he growled feeling his mouth go dry.
"Why are you freaking out?" He sighed; even as he asked the question, he knew the answer. His little tomboy may have become more feminine over the years but she still tended to wear more clothes than the other girls put together. Even when going out to the local club she tended to wear trousers rather than a miniskirt. So the sudden skimpiness of her outfit probably wouldn't sit too well.
She shifted uncomfortably and then suddenly her expression cleared and she dismissed everything with a brief smile and a wave of her hand. "It's... never mind. You should probably be going."
He frowned, knowing that on some level he had screwed up big time. It probably wasn't even anything he had done or said but he was a guy, how did he know what to say when it came to fashion?
"Don't you think it's too short?" She suddenly blurted out. "Too... I don't know, skimpy?"
"Look, you said before that a fairies main agenda is to attract attention, right? Well trust me; any male that goes up against you will definitely be distracted." Heck he was having enough trouble trying to focus and she wasn't doing anything but standing there; if she were to fly about... yeah, he didn't want to test that theory.
He didn't even know what he had said wrong this time but her eyes flashed with irritation and her lips pursed as though she'd suddenly sucked on a lemon.
Oh man, he groaned inwardly. "This is just one of the conversations where I'm going to anger you no matter what I say, isn't it?" He made a silent sound of exasperation as he pinched the bridge of his nose before finally looking at her. "You look beautiful, now whether that's down to the fact that I almost lost you or because the other outfit just wasn't your colour, well I don't know. Honestly, I really don't care. But it's probably because you are beautiful Musa," he motioned to her outfit as his face slowly flushed heatedly. He hated situations like this, he just wasn't good at saying the right thing. "This, outfit, just shows off how beautiful you are. Usually you tend to dress yourself down and cover yourself up and you don't need to. You are by far the most striking fairy here and if you're still unhappy with the outfit then I'm sorry you feel that way because I think you're gorgeous."
With that said, he turned on his heels with the intention of stalking out of the school before he made an even bigger ass of himself. Honestly, fairies just weren't worth the hassle no matter what anyone said.
"Riven!"
He stifled an annoyed groan and turned slowly only to find himself with an armful of fairy. His hands immediately shifted to her hips to steady her in order to prevent both of them from falling. "You know," She stated, her eyes shining with laughter, "I think you're getting better at this boyfriend stuff."
He gave a reluctantly amused snort but it was lost as she brought his mouth down to hers and he could feel her lips smiling against his. He gripped her tightly in his arms and let the kiss deepen as he tried to convey just how much he loved her, how desirable she was to him and just how scared he had been when he'd thought he'd lost her. The kiss grew more savage and reckless as he pulled her tighter against him and plundered her sweet mouth with soft, frantic swipes of his tongue.
"Oi, Riven come on!"
Riven pulled away reluctantly to glare at Brandon and the constantly whining Rick; both of whom were performing some kind of dance just outside the front door that Riven had seen children do when they needed to pee.
"Are they doing the pee dance?" Musa suddenly queried breathlessly, her fingers lacing through his in that comfortable way of hers. He'd never really been one for holding hands but he found there was a strange unity to holding Musa's hand. "Maybe they want you to hold their hand?"
Riven rolled his eyes. "That wouldn't surprise me. Those two can't seem to do anything on their own."
"Riven, if you're not out here soon we're leaving without you."
"Fine." He bit out, turning to his girlfriend and tilting her chin up so he could search her eyes. They were, thankfully, dry and certainly not as glum as they had been, which was a relief. However, he doubted that her insecurities had completely died away, they were just assuaged for the moment. "I gotta go. Try not to get into any more trouble, got that? I can't keep running in to save the day."
Musa quirked a brow at him. "What alternate universe do you live in? I saved the day, remember? That's how I got this snazzy new costume." She did a little spin that made his stomach tighten painfully.
Riven resisted the urge to roll his eyes again. A minute ago she was freaking out about the costume and now she was fine with it? He'd never understand females. Instead of saying anything that would potentially ruin the moment –see he was learning- he quickly captured her mouth in a quick farewell, lingering over it for a moment before he then headed towards the door, lifting his hand in a lazy wave.
He stepped outside and paused for a moment to adjust his vision to the sudden intrusion of light. The sky was blue once more and held no reminders of the dark swirling clouds that had hovered overhead only an hour ago, such was the trait of Magix. Even the school bore no injuries; a sign that no matter what evil may attack, life would always go on.
He caught sight of his friends waiting for him by the front gate and he slipped his hands into his pockets as he approached them only to hiss and jerk back as his fingers encountered something prickly. He muffled a curse and pulled out the offending object.
What the-?
He studied the small fragile thing and smiled ruefully. Musa's crown from her costume; that was the second time he'd pricked himself upon it.
He slid the tiara back into his pocket; he might as well keep it. It would serve as a reminder to never take Musa for granted. Maybe he wouldn't always tell her how much he loved her but today had served to show him that it wasn't a crime to compliment her and that despite her attitude, she needed those reassuring words just as much as any other girl. He fingered the circlet in his pocket thoughtfully; they were probably due for a date soon anyway. He'd do something nice then.
A.N. Well that took slightly longer than I thought it would given the fact that Riven is really fun to write. Seriously, I have way more fun writing him than I do Musa because he hates everything and everyone and has a big inflated ego and gets all awkward over mushy stuff -so he's probably way OOC in this but it was still fun to write. Anyways I went through this and tried to fix the formatting problems, such as gaps where there shouldnt't be gaps but if there is something wrong with it, tell me and I'll try to fix it. I would love to know what's causing it. So I hope you enjoyed and REVIEW! I would like to know that people are reading this and what they like about it or what they'd like to see in upcoming chapters.
