Cait Shelter.
Wendy's guild.
The truth behind her guild was brought to light. The guild master, Robaul, called himself Nirvana's creator from four-hundred years ago. The Nirvit clan from back then ended up killing each other when darkness nested in their hearts, leaving Robaul as its sole survivor. Wandering aimlessly and waiting for the day when Nirvana would be destroyed, his specter kept on waiting for someone strong enough to destroy it, a feat finally achieved by the alliance.
Aside from Wendy and Carla, the whole guild was made up of a spirit and numerous illusions that each had different unique personality. It was a guild created just for Wendy when she was left behind by young boy who begged Robaul to take her in. Now that Wendy was surrounded by real people who she could call friends, Robaul could rest easy and finally depart from the world, officially disbanding Cait Shelter.
After sobbing over the loss of her guild, Wendy went to go pack up her things with Carla who were accompanied by Erza. An invitation to join Fairy Tail was given to them by Erza who resonated with Wendy's feelings. The scarlet haired mage wanted to fill the void left in her heart by surrounding her by the new people she called friends.
Jura and Ichiya went off to look around the remains of Cait Shelter, curious about how the illusions lived. Ren and Sherry were talking somewhere near a tree. Happy and Natsu went to look around as well. This left Lucy, Karissa, Hibiki, Even and Lyon in the central area to wait for the others. Once again, The rest of the Trimens was trying to get close with the Fairy Tail girls.
And once again, Gray had to tell them off.
Karissa and Lucy stood behind Gray with a deep frown. The Trimens were annoying when they don't take a hint. Hibiki was much pleasant to be around when he wasn't in his damn playboy mode. Lyon just stood on the side watching the show, uninterested in taking part.
"Seriously, buzz off." Gray groaned as Hibiki tried to get close to Karissa again who just stayed in Gray's shadow as he blocked Hibiki's path. It was just like when they met up at the meeting place, Gray was getting annoyed when Hibiki didn't get the message. Meanwhile, Eve was interacting with Lucy on the side who just looked tired of it all.
With a sigh, Karissa stared down at her clothes. She was wearing a dark blue skirt (much to her dismay and embarrassment) with a small split on the side with white leggings. She was grateful for that at least. She was also grateful that Virgo came out and gave back her shoes that she practically confiscated back in the forest. She wore a dark green sleeveless top that had a turtle neck underneath a long beige open jacket with a high collar.
"Karissa."
The black haired mage blinked and glanced at Lyon who approached her. He beckoned her to step away from the group a couple of feet so that they could talk in private. Gray was too busy with Hibiki, leaving only Lucy to notice the two step away. The blonde was curious as to why Lyon wanted to talk to her until she remembered what Gray said when they were on Galuna Island. Lyon and Karissa used to like each other. It made Lucy place a curious hand in front of her mouth.
"... What?"
The older mage shifted his eyes away and placed a hand thoughtful hand under his chin, he was trying to figure out how to say something. Karissa just stood there, waiting, watching him with curious eyes.
"I just want to make things clear, just to be sure."
Karissa just stared at him in confusion.
Lyon closed his eyes and rubbed the back of his head, trying to formulate the proper words. Unlike with Sherry, he didn't feel like playing ignorant with Karissa. "What we had when we we're kids—"
As he kept talking, Karissa just stared at him, eyes enlarged, completely in disbelief of what she was hearing. Her mind could barely pick up what he was saying, it was befuddled and having a hard time with how it was starting to malfunction. He was seriously talking about this? He really wanted to talk about that immature love they had as kids?! She thought it was an unspoken rule to never bring it up!
He's talking about it. HE'S FUCKING TALKING ABOUT IT!
OH HELL NO.
Memories of her and Lyon acting all cute flashed in her mind. She was remembering all the times she would sneak a peck on his cheek and how he would return it after looking all bashful.
And then there was the ones on the freaking mouth...
How. Freaking. Embarrassing!
AAAHHHHHHHHHH!
"I'd hate to give you the wrong idea, and I hope we are completely on the same page." he opened his eyes and found her staring at him like as if he grew another head. She was blinking dumbly, her mouth was repeatedly opening and closing like some fish, she couldn't quite express what she wanted to say to him in response to his words.
Finally, she reacted. Her foot stomped when she took a step back away from the older apprentice, her eyes staring at him in pure disbelief. "Hey, shut up!" she all but snapped and flailed her hands in front of her face as a way emphasize her words. It was too late though as he already finished saying what he needed to say. "Talking about this like it's no big deal?!" she said rapidly, her mind still in the process of rebooting after receiving a major shock. "Aren't you embarrassed?!"
Lyon shrugged casually. "Well, kind of. But it's better than not talking—"
She dropped her arms and slouched, her face twisting in exasperation. "Boy! I would have preferred that!"
"Boy?" He deadpanned.
"I could have gone my whole life without hearing that." Karissa groaned.
Sure, she liked Lyon but she didn't like him in that way! Kid Lyon and Kid Karissa that held hands and shared secret little pecks no longer existed today. Therefore, there shouldn't be a reason to bring them up only to embarrass Older Karissa. She thought it was obvious that she wasn't trying to pick up where they left off.
"I told you, I was just making sure." he crossed his arms.
Karissa gave him a suspicious look. Lyon sighed and held up a hand as he shrugged. "What benefit would I get by bringing this up?"
"Pleasure from my torment."
"I'm not a sadist."
"Okay but like... I-I... We-! Look...! I don't feel like that!" Karissa's eyes darted everywhere as she stared at the ground. Then, she decided to simply still and just fix her gaze on the ground. Maybe another reboot was going to be necessary.
Seeing her state made Lyon sigh heavily. "Alright, calm down. I was just making sure. I get it, sorry. Relax."
Stiffly, she nodded dumbly and bowed her head to hide her face from him, she could feel her neck and arms prickling with heat from the embarrassment as she turned around to start walking back. She wanted to just hide away until Wendy was done packing up. Lyon followed behind her and decided to pat her back to try and calm her down. He felt a little bad and maybe just a little amused by her reaction, he wasn't expecting her to react like that.
"That's not making me feel better."
"Can't say I didn't try."
Karissa looked ahead and found Gray and Lucy looking at them, judging by the looks on their faces, they overheard her and Lyon. Great. She wanted to end it all. The Trimens? Man, she didn't even care where they were at the moment.
The Celestial mage patted the black haired girl's back and walked off with her towards the left. Part of her wanted to accompany her to wherever she wanted to hide herself while another part just wanted to get away from the Trimens who were bound to come back. They were called by Ichiya and they ran off.
While the two girls walked off towards a tent, Gray and Lyon stood together, watching the two leave in silence. Gray had his arms crossed over his chest, he felt a little sorry for her since he knew she was feeling so much embarrassment that was going to need some time to cool down. He's had a front row seat of those moments.
"So, you and Karissa, huh?" Lyon suddenly spoke up next to him. Gray stiffened, blinked, and then turned his head to give Lyon a puzzled look. "What are you talking about?"
The bluish silvered haired ice mage just breathed through his nose and crossed his arms. He would never openly admit it, but he attended the Harvest Festival in Magnolia. His friends thought it would be nice to bring him there since he never really witnessed anything like it due to his time being purely focused on reviving Deliora and achieving his goal. He was literally ignorant of the world outside his dream.
The Fantasia Parade was a beautiful and exciting thing to witness. According to Yuka, it was a popular festival that attracted many people from outside of town. He saw his two former classmates during the parade and sometime after it. He walked by them while he and his friends were visiting the food stalls. Karissa and Gray were sitting at a table across from each other. He saw the way she held his hand on the table and how the two looked at each other. It wasn't hard to see, their close relationship was plain to see. A random stranger could easily mistake them as a couple.
The way they care for each other and fret over the other's well being and the way they interact. He's seen it on Galuna Island and after Gray found them in the forest.
Lyon shut his eyes and turned his head away. "You better not do anything stupid to hurt her." he opened his eyes and glared at the younger mage. "Or else I'll make you regret it."
"The hell?" Gray dropped his arms and glared back at him. "It's not like that."
"Are you seriously trying to say there's nothing between you two?"
"Yes." Annoyed, Gray groaned. "And why the hell would I hurt her?!"
"Oh, please, you used to take her kindness for granted when we were kids. Who knows if you still do."
"You don't know jack shit! I know better today. I'm not stupid. Why are you acting like some protective ex?!"
Lyon shrugged nonchalantly and looked at where Karissa was sitting down looking like she was having a mid-life crisis. "I'm just looking out for her."
That made Gray's eye twitched. Why was he acting all concerned for her like as if he had her back all these years and wasn't spending the last ten years solely focused on Deliora?
"Like I said, our relationship isn't even like that."
Lyon arched a brow at his claim. "You tell yourself that?"
"Why the hell am I having this conversation with you?!" Fed up, Gray shoved his hands in his jacket's pockets with a click of his tongue and walked off. Lyon Vastia, of all people, shouldn't be the person talking to him about this.
He didn't need that guy to remind him of what's been occupying his mind lately.
The time to part ways came. With the help of Blue Pegasus, those who carried belongings on the trip to Master Bob's retreat house was able to get them back. How? The wonders of magic. Nobody really questioned it.
Lamia Scale and Blue Pegasus took different routes to get back to their own respective guilds. Fairy Tail took a boat that Cait Shelter owned to Hargeon. According to Wendy, they used to use it for fishing. Taking the boat was Fairy Tail's best option since it would bring them straight to Hargeon so that they could take the train back to Magnolia.
Presently, everyone was on the boat which Erza checked on every now and then. No one really knew how to steer a ship so they just trusted Erza the S-Class mage. Natsu was running around across the boat with vitality thanks to Wendy's Troia spell. The young dragon slayer seemed much better compared to her state an hour and a half ago. She was all smiles with eyes full of excitement. She couldn't wait to reach Fairy Tail since she heard so many things about it. Lucy was enjoying the breeze with beaming smile while Gray was leaning on the edge, peering down at the water.
Karissa, however, couldn't join them as she chose to remain more distant from the others. She easily played it cool and told them she wanted to look at the sea from the side. She apathetically stared at the horizon with her mind clouded with the one thing she tried to keep out of her head for as long as possible. Unfortunately, with everything settled and nothing more important to keep her mind busy, she couldn't brush it aside any longer. It was weighing heavily on her mind. It was worse than what she was used to.
With a soft groan, she casually moved away from the edge of the ship and walked across the wooden floor, her footsteps made no noise as she walked towards the door to of the cabin. She didn't hear anyone call her name, they didn't notice her, their conversation went undisturbed as she slipped inside. It was relatively big cabin with a big table in the middle, two beds and some chairs. After shutting the door behind her quietly, she strode towards the bed in the far back next to a window, a perfect place to just settle down and lose herself in her thoughts.
She opened the window next to it and proceeded to pat the bed to throw up some dust, she didn't know how long this boat remained unused for, and then blew it outside with wind. She decided to leave it open as she plopped herself on the soft mattress and faced the wooden wall below the window. As her eyes closed, she could hear the calming hymn of the waves trying to soothe her mind, a hard feat to achieve if she were to be honest.
Her dark brown orbs slowly opened again.
"... Cla...vis." she spoke softly as if to test a foreign word on her tongue. "Clavis." she repeated, this time, with more confidence.
Clavis...
She tucked her face into her elbow pit to completely hide in the dark.
...
...
...
Erza blinked when she noted that someone was missing outside. She curled her scarlet hair behind her ear and looked around to make sure she didn't just overlook them. No, they weren't outside.
"Has anyone seen Karissa?"
Gray looked up from Natsu's pathetic state on the ground who was suffering because the Troia spell wore off. He looked around to try and find any sign of her. Nothing. She wasn't outside. A moment ago, she was standing near the steps just staring out at the ocean.
"Now that you mention it..." Lucy whipped her head around. "Where did she go?"
"I saw her go inside the cabin." Carla informed them. "She looked rather glum if you ask me."
"Did something happen?" Wendy wondered curiously, a little worried. "Is she also sea sick?"
"She doesn't get sea sick. She's not like Natsu." Gray answered, he was a little concerned. He was already on his way to the cabin door after he pushed himself off the beam he was leaning back against. "I'll go and check on her." he simply said.
The others just watched Gray enter the cabin and shut the door behind him.
"I hope she's still not feeling guilty about Hystoran." Lucy spoke, a worried frown on her face.
"The guilt is still fresh so it might take some time for it to settle down." Erza said, watching as Gray entered the cabin and shut the door behind him. "As her friends, we just need to help her remember that it's not her fault."
"Yeah."
...
...
...
When he got inside, his dark blue eyes easily spotted her at the other side of the cabin. She was lying down with her back facing him with her shoes still on her feet, and she didn't make any move to acknowledge that she heard him come in. It made him wonder if she was sleeping. He called her name first as he stepped further inside, he was glad she turned around enough to see him with a hum in response. She didn't look like she just woke up.
She looks okay.
Her eyes watched as he walked over to her while unknowingly stripping off his jacket and dropping it on the table in the middle of the cabin, leaving him only in a light blue turtleneck. Normally, she would have reacted in some way, but not a single comment went through her mind. She just wasn't in the mood to find it amusing.
"What's wrong?" Gray asked her as he stood next to the bed. "Are you feeling okay?"
"I'm fine." she answered normally.
Gray's dark blue eyes searched hers. "Are you sure? Not bothering you?"
Karissa's eyes looked away.
Honestly, I rather keep it to myself... but I feel like the longer I keep this inside of me... the more freaked out and confused I'll be when I potentially explode.
Gray took a seat on the bed after she didn't reply. He knew something was on her mind now, it was bothering her. He propped one leg on the bed so he could face her as she moved to rest on her back. Her hands rested on her inflating and deflating stomach and her knees were pulled up.
"Is it about Hystoran?" he guessed. It was the first thing he could think of.
Karissa shook her head. "No. It's not that."
"Then what is it?"
The black haired girl's mouth tugged towards the right and she bit the corner of the inside of the bottom lip, her gaze skittered away from him.
He breathed through his nose and scrubbed the back of his head with his fingers. "I won't force you to talk if you don't want to. But I'll be here to listen if you do."
Her eyes shifted back to him. "Like a therapist?"
He chortled. "Whatever you want me to be." he shrugged.
After a brief pause, she shut her eyes and exhaled through her nose just before pushing herself up into a sitting position, her legs were crossed on the bed and she dropped her locked hands in the gap. Her head hung a little, letting her hair curtain around her face to block his sight. She let out an annoyed sigh and just gathered her hair to throw it over the shoulder so she didn't hide from him.
"Brain said... that I looked like Clavis." she finally spoke. "Do you remember who that is?"
Gray's eyes widened at the name. That name wasn't a name that was often uttered. It was rare to speak of it, and yet, he still knew the person who bore that name. He never met them, but he knew that they were important to the Sinclost family. They were an existence that they couldn't forget.
Another child of Domilia and Zack.
The child who shared the cradle with Karissa.
"Your twin brother."
Karissa stared at her hands. "Yeah." she breathed and started tracing circles on the bed with her index finger. "The last time we talked about him was when we were around twelve."
Gray frowned. "Why would Brain know that name?"
"That's what's bugging me. There was no way Brain could have known that name."
There was no way for Brain to know Clavis let alone look at his face. It was impossible. There was no way Brain could have had a reason to say that about her.
Clavis Sinclost. The third child of Domilia and Zack Sinclost. He wasn't destined to live a long life. Karissa didn't know all the details aside from what her parents and sister told her. Clavis died not long after they turned two years old. The cause of death? Her parents made it easier for her to understand by referring to it as a 'sickness'. But Pandora gave her the true reason for his death. Much like his twin sister, he was born with too much magic power. He died because his body couldn't handle it. When her parents visited a doctor to seek help, he died from the fever not long after being taken in for care. A tragic story really.
"I just don't understand..." Karissa scratched the back of her head. "Why would Brain know the name of deceased toddler?" she nearly raised her voice when her eyes squeezed shut, her hand dropping back down with a soft thud. "If he did... then that would mean Clavis was somehow alive. And that... my parents lied."
"Why would they lie to you about that?" Gray furrowed his eyebrows. She only shrugged in response to that question.
Karissa looked at him with solemn eyes. "You know... for years, I tend to think back to that day when my siblings and I were just left in the streets as my parents left us behind. I just can't help it sometimes. Before they died, they would act strange and often leave Pandora in charge of me and Van for a long time before returning home after being away for a long time during the day. But one day, we were out together having fun until they told us to stay put and wait for them. We waited. They never came back. It rained hard. We went home without them. We waited even longer for two days. Then, we find out that eye witnesses reported them dying and disappearing." she recounted to him. "Sometimes, my mind thinks about how it was highly possible that they just abandoned us on purpose. And when I think of what Brain said..." she raised her hand and massaged her forehead with her fingers.
Every few months, that insecurity of not being able to confidently believe that her parents did not abandon her would come to disturb her. But this time, it was making her feel worse.
Gray watched her let out a hollow chuckle with a pitiful grin. She was resisting the urge to burst. This was the first time he was hearing this. Karissa wasn't the type to openly show her feelings of vulnerability, she would rather keep it neatly tucked away to try and deal with it on her own. Sometimes, it worked. But it was only when things got tougher and harder to contain did she crumble and reach out for the need for support. Those moments were rare as she didn't really have any reason to end up in such a state. But in those instances where she did feel lost and vulnerable, he was there to help her and try to make her feel better the best way he could.
No matter how much she tried, there would still be cracks that revealed her concerns. He didn't think that this was what was bothering her yesterday when they searched for Wendy. Mentioning Clavis' name out of no where must have broken the dam she built to keep it locked away.
"I don't want to believe that they abandoned me, Van and Pandora after abandoning Clavis. But if they did abandon him, that might be the reason why he could be alive which explains why Brain knew how he looked like me. There had to be a reason why Brain said Clavis' name. Did they not want him? Did... they not want us anymore? Did we do something wrong?"
She paused. Her memories of her mother and father being kind towards her appeared in brief flashes, they were good parents. Never did she doubt their love for her.
"I... I know they loved me. I mean... it looked like it did?"
At least that's what I believe.
"But if things were different... would I not even be here? Would Clavis be the one in my place today?"
Thinking about that possibility freaks me out and it hurts me.
"There are so many questions in my head and I just don't know what to do with all these thoughts." Karissa gripped her bangs. "It happened a long time ago but it still bothers me... I just want to know what happened."
Her inner child is still left confused and sad about the experience. It still wonders what went wrong. It just wants to know, it wants answers to heal. It's still crying in confusion after being left in the rain that day. Its sadness brought a single tear falling out of her right eye as she just stared directly at the bed sheet, not bothering to wipe it away, she just stilled. It slid down her cheek, but it didn't fall. Instead, it was caught and brushed away by Gray whose hand lingered near her face. She blinked, letting wonder show on her face. He brought his other hand to the opposite side to brush away the next tear that fell when she blinked.
He would love to give her those answers she sought just to finally put those thoughts that pester her to rest. Unfortunately, the dead keep their secrets with them.
"I can't answer all those questions." Gray told her. "But from what I remember, your parents definitely loved you."
He remembered how her father would always put her on his lap whenever he played the piano that was situated in the central plaza of town. Zack sometimes took her small hands and would use her like a puppet to play notes with a big smile on his face. Domilia always looked happy when giving her children affection. Why would they fake any of that?
"I don't think you should doubt that. I also don't think you did anything wrong at all." he wiped away another tear when she blinked. While Gray was relieved that she wasn't full on crying, he could see the emotional pain and insecurity in her eyes when she looked directly at him, it tugged at his heart. He didn't want to see her like this.
"I don't mind being alone sometimes. But being alone is different than being alone after being left behind. That thought of it... kind of scares me." Karissa admitted with a murmur.
Abandon her? Never. Not her. The Sinclost family was, without a doubt, an important presence in his life because of their shared history. Admittedly, the youngest child had a special place in his heart for being the one that stood by his side all these years. But if the world were to fall around her and she found herself amid a dark place, then he would grab her hand and pull her out of that cold place called loneliness. He could only hope that would never come to pass though.
"Our guild won't let that happen. Pandora and Van won't leave you alone. I definitely won't either. Shouldn't you know that by now?"
"I do... but it's still not a pleasant thought." she turned her face as if to try and hide, basically nuzzling her face into his hand unintentionally. Seeing this, Gray moved his hands away from her face and put his leg down, causing her to blink and pull away when she believed she got too comfortable and overstepped a line. To her surprise, she felt him grab her arm and tug her into him sideways. It was obvious to him that she was in need of a hug right about now. His arms circled around her with one hand resting on her head to keep her tucked into his shoulder.
She was hesitating to fully yield to him, but the more she thought about receiving potential warmth and comfort, she eventually found herself nestling into him. Hugs were never a bad thing.
Karissa shut her eyes, already feeling a little better. "You're warm." her voice was muffled. Her brain that was racing with unanswered questions was slowly coming to a stop as it began releasing happy endorphins.
"Yeah?" Gray turned his attention to the open window.
"Mhmm." she nodded against him, making her bangs slide and cover her left eye.
He rested his chin on top of her head. "Listen, don't let those thoughts linger for too long. Think about it once, and then try to drop it, or else you're going to dig yourself a hole and you'll find yourself drowning in it. Trust me, you don't wanna get there. Can you try to do that?"
She nodded against him silently. His hand on her head patted her softly.
"... But do you think Clavis is alive because of what Brain said?"
"I can't say."
"Yeah..." she paused. "Great... I just thought of something. What if Brain knew his name because he was like... following my family like a creep or something? Maybe he saw Clavis? That might be why he said that. But why would—" her voice was stopped when Gray muffled her with his hand. She looked up at him in confusion and met his impassive face.
"Enough. I think you've done more than enough thinking about this for one day."
With her mouth covered, she chose to remain silent instead of spitting out muffled sounds. Her head turned and she hid her face in his shirt. She was pouting just a little.
She raised a hand up to her face to scratch her eyelid after his hand slid off her mouth. "Do you think it's silly for me to be troubled over this?"
"Nah. If it bothers you this much, then it's worth being troubled over. You're not exactly the type to show how you feel either, so this gives me an idea of how much this is bothering you."
"Thanks." she mumbled, her voice carrying relief. She definitely enjoyed being hugged by Gray. Being held by him like this felt nice enough for her to just fall asleep and forget everything else, a wonderful respite that she had been craving for hours.
"Just... if it gets too much, don't try to keep it in."
"Mhm."
A comfortable silence fell between them. The familiar sound of waves filled the cabin through the open window and overlapped the sound of their breathing. Karissa said nothing as she let herself be lulled in his hold. Gray's dark blue eyes shifted to the window to fix the ocean horizon.
It was a peaceful calm.
He swallowed as he lifted his chin off her head and stilled. He kept staring out the window, feeling the way she softly breathed against him.
When did it start?
When exactly did he start feeling something? When did his want to keep having her by his side gradually become a desire? A desire that bloomed from something he hesitated giving a name to.
Was it after she threw herself off the cliff to protect them? Was it sometime during the Harvest festival? Was it when he got super annoyed when Hibiki wouldn't get the damn message that he was being annoying?
'You never know how important something is until you nearly lose it'.
Was it back then? The threat of the loss of her life? Or maybe even before that?
He just knew that he first became aware of it sometime after the living nightmare. Moments spent hanging out with her were always great. One of his best memories from being a teenager was just hanging out at her house with other friends from the guild. He just enjoyed being with her and passing the time, letting him forget about everything else for a while. But this time, he wanted to be around her a bit more which is why he hung out with her more before the Harvest Festival. Perhaps it was because the incident made him want to make sure he didn't take her for granted even though he was pretty sure he never did. Maybe the trauma from the incident just made him want to stick by her side a little longer. He had to admit, he felt protective over her when she was recovering.
Yeah. Maybe it was just because he cared so much about her. She was precious to him after all.
But then he found himself thinking about her often. At first, this realization freaked him out and made him panic because it also made him realize how much he thinks about her prior to the incident. Lingering gazes was also something he caught himself doing every now and then. When she's near, he sneaks a glance every now and then too.
And just holding her against him like this to give her solace was able to give him a definitive answer and lay rest to the restless questions he had been asking himself.
He wasn't a fool, he knows what it means. He's experienced this kind of feeling at least once. It just surprised him that he didn't even realize it at first and that it took him this long to see it.
I fell for her.
Gray closed his eyes and drew his eyebrows together, drawing out a long exhale through his nose. Damn. Was he fucked?
Karissa blinked at the sound he made. It sounded almost like he was annoyed. Curiously, she slightly pulled away to look up at him. Was something bothering him too?
"What's with that look on your face?"
"What look?" His voice pitched a little, causing her to look at him oddly. What kind of face was he making right now? God, he didn't want to know actually.
"Should I back off?" Karissa started pulling away. He shook his head and stopped her. A part of him tightened his hold because he actually didn't want her to pull away, another was keeping her in place out of concern.
"No, it's fine! If you still need it, you're welcome to stay— wait... that's not right."
Karissa tilted her head with her face looking comically askew. "Welcome to stay? What are you... Hotel Fullbuster?"
Gray face palmed and sighed into it, he was embarrassed. "That didn't come out right... but you know what I meant..."
"Heh." Karissa pulled away from him so she could reach and lightly flick his ear. "Real smooth."
"Shut up." He lightly pushed her forehead back, making her giggle when she tilted backwards. Gray relaxed when he heard her laugh and saw her smile. Well. At least his dumb blunder was able to achieve something. He wanted to encourage her to smile more if it meant he could see it.
She really should smile more often. It's a pity she doesn't realize how striking her smile is.
Karissa leaned forward to situated herself close to him again, still grinning at his blunder. Now that her mood improved with his help, he inwardly sighed in relief and looked outside the window again to try and see if there were any ships nearby. If there were, then that meant they were probably getting close to Hargeon. He was getting a little hungry. All of a sudden, he felt her slap her hands over his with a groan. Startled, he snapped his head in her direction in confusion. Apparently, he was in the middle of stripping off his shirt.
No surprise there.
"Control yourself, exhibitionist!" she grabbed the end of his shirt that was already below his neck and was about to pull it down until they heard the door open. The two ice mages looked back and found Lucy stepping into the room. The blonde mage instantly froze and her mouth fell open. Her face quickly flushed.
Of course she jumped to conclusions.
Karissa and Gray were sitting so close to each other on a bed. She looked like she was taking off his shirt. And was that his jacket he just discarded on the table? The hell was going on in there?! Were they actually going out in secret and she just happened to witness something?!
"SORRY!" she slammed the door shut.
"Wait! Lucy!" Gray shouted and nearly fell off the bed from how fast he turned his body.
"Oh no." Karissa let go of his shirt and quickly shuffled off the bed. "You and your stripping habit!" she ran towards the door.
"You know I can't help it!" he ran after her while swiping his jacket off the table.
To their surprise, Lucy was standing in front of the door, still frozen, like as if she was too flustered and shocked to move. The blonde let out two yelps; one for the second the door flew open, and another when Karissa yanked her back inside. The others who heard her were left staring at the door in confusion.
"What just happened?" Wendy wondered curiously while holding up her hand to her head to stop her long blue hair from flying in her face.
It was easy for Karissa to whip up a story about how she had a little tummy ache and that Gray was simply checking on her. Lucy didn't really need to know about Clavis.
"And with Gray being an exhibitionist, you know he loves to strip even when a person was suffering right in front of him. Horrible right?"
"I'm not an exhibitionist." Gray hit her behind the head lightly, making her furrow her brows and lightly bat his hand. "I told you, I just can't help it."
"If anything, you made me even more sick."
Gray deadpanned.
The story accompanied by the easy going attitude was actually more than enough for Lucy to realize she jumped to the wrong conclusion.
Karissa and Gray were relieved when they saw their friend relax but her eyes were still darting around. She most likely felt foolish after realizing her mistake. "Sorry about that."
"Blame Gray." Karissa poked Gray in the arm while he just grunted.
Once the misunderstanding was dealt with, the three of them went back outside. With Kairssa feeling slightly better after expressing her troubles, she was able to feel more present around the others. Wendy even went up to her and thanked her for trying to save her when Brain was taking her away. She felt flustered for forgetting to thank her earlier since it slipped her mind.
"You don't need to thank me for it." Karissa waved her hand dismissively with a small smile.
After arriving in Hargeon, they went straight to the train station with their things and bought themselves a ticket for Magnolia. The train was scheduled to arrive in at least thirty minutes so that gave them time to just walk around Hargeon much to Wendy's pleasure since she spent most of her life at the Cait Shelter guild. Not long after wandering around, they decided to get something to eat while waiting.
...
...
...
"What's that?" Karissa's eyes fixed the cup in Gray's hand. She knew it was a hot drink but she didn't know what it was. "Is that coffee?"
Gray shook his head and swallowed. "French vanilla."
"It has a nice smell." Wendy remarked with a smile from where she stood. With her dragon slayer nose, she cold smell the nice aroma from four feet away. Carla was quick to tell her not to consider buying anything with caffeine in it at her age.
"It does, doesn't it?" Gray smiled. He watched Karissa shuffle closer to him, her eyes still fixed on it, and leaned closer to take a whiff from his drink while holding onto his sleeve. It was amusing. She looked like a curious little kid. Happy also took a whiff by flying up next to her face.
"It does smell good." Karissa admitted still holding him.
"Smells... sweet." Natsu remarked with a pained moan, still affected by the boat trip. He was leaning against a stone wall for support.
Lucy chortle in her drink at her childlike curiosity. "You never tried a French vanilla before?"
Karissa shook her head. "I don't drink coffee..."
She didn't drink alcohol or coffee. The first was because she had no interest in it and she didn't want to 'contaminate' herself by allowing poison into her system (exaggeration). The second was because she simply didn't need coffee to function. She did just fine without it (mostly because Pandora played a part in it by telling her she shouldn't drink coffee until she was an adult) and she had no interest in it either.
"If I recall, it doesn't have so much caffeine in it." Erza spoke. She looked at Gray for confirmation who just nodded. "Pretty light." he answered. "You can mostly taste the sugar."
When she kept staring at his drink, he held it out to her and urged to at least try it. He was basically committing sacrilege by trying to introduce a foreign entity into Karissa's pure system. She would have flat out refused if she didn't already allow her sense of smell to persuade her. She was on the fence now.
Gray couldn't help but snort at how hesitant she was to take it from him.
She took a sip.
Man, she felt like she just got blasted with rainbows.
Gray watched her eyebrows practically shoot up to her hairline. Dramatically, she slouched and dropped her face in her hands after handing it back. Her body nearly collapsed on all fours.
"It tastes good!" she admitted, almost sadly. She committed a sin!
"Wanna go buy one for yourself?"
"No!" Karissa quickly shot down Gray's suggestion. "I'm pure!"
Gray only smirked and swayed his drink lightly in front of her to tempt her. "You won't be able to resist for long with that love for vanilla of yours."
She could still smell the sweetness of it. "I have self control!"
"For now."
"Ahrg!" Karissa stepped away from him when he tried to offer her another sip. He caught her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder and brought his drink in between them to tempt her even more, causing her to hold his amused stare with her conflicted one when she leaned her head away. Defiantly, she turned her head away which only served to amuse him even more.
Gray looked at Lucy and Erza who were watching them. "Give her a few weeks."
Karissa lightly pushed his face away with a smirk. "You'll be disappointed!"
"It's not going to kill you." Lucy snickered at her in amusement.
"I'll be impressed with your willpower if you do resist considering how much you do love vanilla." Erza mused with a small grin.
"Now I'm a bit curious too." Wendy admitted with a giggle as she watched Karissa's dilemma.
"I bet five fish she'll buy it in secret." Happy said confidently, hovering behind the two ice mages. The female ice mage looked at the blue cat and vigorously shook her head. She wasn't going to go to the dark side.
"No way!"
...
...
...
Lyon, Jura and Sherry entered their guild hall together and were met with moderate chattering and people circulating around the first floor. One of the few people near the entrance was the first to react and exclaim their names happily, their face filled with relief, proof of their worry for them. Soon, the whole guild was greeting them back and praising them for a job well done. News about their success must have already reached Lamia Scale after the Magic Council collected their targets.
"How did the mission go?!"
"I bet Jura wiped them all out no problem!"
"Damn, look at all those bandages! You okay Lyon?!"
"Sherry!"
Despite being a newcomer to Lamia Scale, Lyon Vastia easily found himself climbing the ranks. All that time spent honing his skills to prepare for a fight against Deliora was not for naught. He managed to make a few friends a few weeks after he arrived and mellowed out. Joining a guild was, admittedly, actually the best decision he made in a long time.
"I wasn't worried about you guys!" Toby all but broke down in a sob that he tried to hide by burying his face in his forearm. Yuka, who was standing next to him, sweat dropped and looked at him impassively.
"Your tears tell a different story."
After greeting some members, Jura decided to excuse himself to go and find the Master of the guild to personally give his own report on the mission. Lyon wanted to tag along with the respectable mage who didn't have any complaints about it. Sherry chose to stay behind and talk with some female friends. They could hear her talking about a new love she might have discovered in her life.
"It seems like might be moving on from you." Jura remarked with a smile.
"Yes, that might be so." Lyon agreed with a curt nod. "That's good for her." he added.
Her affections for him was obvious for a long time, but he chose to not look her way nor address them since he never once reciprocated her feelings for him. For her to find someone new, who also hinted to harbor the same kind of burgeoning feelings (unless they were simply acting like a playboy), made him feel a little happy for her.
When they turned around the corner, they stopped just in time to avoid colliding into someone who was humming a tune. The tune pitched when they realized Jura and Lyon were in front of them. They stumbled back a few steps with a startled yelp and nearly fell backwards on his rear. He caught himself and looked at the two, his expression looking half terrified and half comically confused. They scratched their neck sheepishly.
"Sorry about that, Jura... and er Lyon."
"No harm done." Jura assured.
It was a young man wearing a gray v-neck underneath an open dark blue coat with white cuffs at the end of each elbow-length sleeve. He wore black pants with brown boots. He was carrying a guitar on his back, a hint that gave away his talent for music. He had straight nape-length black hair and dark brown eyes. It was also easy to notice the two moles on his face that were located near the left corner of his mouth and below his left eye.
"Have you been working on your music again, Clarus?" Jura wondered when he saw the guitar strapped on his back.
Clarus nodded and reached back to pat the instrument in the bag. "Been working a lot lately so I earned a lot of money. So, I figured I could take a well deserved break." the black haired member shrugged with a grin. "Anyway, I gotta get moving. The Master wants me to run an errand! See you!" he swiveled around them while humming a tune.
Clarus was one of their strongest mages that presently represented part of the core strength at Lamia Scale, a core that Lyon was becoming part of rather quickly.
"Always moving around." Lyon commented as they watched Clarus bounce around people he nearly ran into. He looked at Jura and found him watching Clarus with a pensive face. Something was on his mind.
"Jura?"
The said man blinked and then looked at Lyon who was looking at him curiously. "What's the matter?"
"Oh no, I was just thinking about how Karissa-dono bears a striking resemblance to Clarus. I can see why I thought she looked familiar when I took a good look at her face."
Lyon looked back to where Clarus ran off. Now that he thought about it, Jura was right about the resemblance.
How strange.
Gray slung Karissa's bag over his shoulder and looked behind him to find her rubbing her eye sleepily as she walked after him. She had fallen asleep on the train ride after finishing her bagel with cream cheese and salmon that she saved. She was sitting next to Gray and the window, and then she gradually started losing herself to sleep. Her head landed on his shoulder like as if it found its way home. Gray had to push her head back onto his shoulder every time she tipped towards Wendy who was sitting in front of her. Lucy kept stifling a laugh whenever it happened and thought it was cute how she practically snuggled onto his shoulder when he propped her back up.
When it was time to get off at Magnolia, Gray decided to carry her bag with him on the way out of the train. When they got out, Erza and the others were already walking a just a few steps ahead after they saw the two get off the train.
Karissa let out a big yawn into her hand and stumbled when she tripped over her feet. That kind of woke her up when she felt her heart rate jump from being startled.
"C'mon, wake up before you smash your face." Gray lightly rubbed her head which made her groan followed by another yawn that she let out after turning her head. She was rubbing her eyes some more to wake herself up. As he started walking after the others, she latched onto his arm and fell into step with him, still drowsy and slow. He was pretty much used to this kind of clingy behaviour whenever she got in this state. She did this to keep up or have him guide her when they walked in the dark at night.
But it made him stiffen a little this time.
The only difference now was that he was acutely aware of his heart making a little fuss. Like geez, settle down.
"You were talking in your sleep earlier."
A pause.
"No. I wasn't." she denied like as if she had proof. "The hell you talking about?"
The raven haired male just shrugged and looked at her to find her staring up at him. "You said that you thought Lyon was pretty."
"Cut the crap, what did I say?!" she glared at him.
"I just told you."
"Gray."
"What?"
"The hell did I say?!"
"You don't believe me?" he lifted a brow.
"No, because I wouldn't say that! I don't even talk in my sleep!"
"But you did. You kept saying his name."
"Gray! What the hell did I say?! There's no way I talked about Lyon! I didn't even dream about him so why the hell would I talk about him?! I mean, that's what happens when you dream right? Remember when I told you that—"
Gray laughed at her rambling. "I'm just messing with you. Relax."
Her mouth fell open a bit while he laughed at her. Afterwards, she kissed her teeth and shoved him. "I hate you." she crossed her arms and walked a few steps ahead, ignoring his laughter. The thought of saying that in front of the others while she was passed out was downright mortifying. She was already mentally preparing a damn excuse as she internally freaked out. Clapping him on the nape of his neck seemed very tempting now.
Gray snickered at her sour attitude. "No, you don't."
Usually, Karissa got the upper hand with the teasing while he was the victim because she was usually more composed than him most of the time. Whenever he got the chance to tease her, he had to admit, it was pretty damn satisfying.
She turned her head and stuck her tongue out. He caught up to her and dropped a hand on her head while she just gave him a dirty look. He had a shit eating grin on his face and tousled her hair. "And look at that, you look more awake now."
"I'm about say you're a shitty boyfriend out loud." her eyes glinted mischievously which challenged his grin that quickly fell.
"Don't even think about it." He lowered his hand from atop her head and covered her mouth, and then sped up, pulling her along with him so that they could quickly get out of the station that was crowded with people that could potentially hear her accusation and give him dirty looks. He could feel her giggling behind his hand as she let him drag her along without a fight.
"You're messed up." Gray hissed.
She held up a peace sign which earned a flick on the forehead.
The rest of their friends who were waiting on them up ahead just watched the two interact. Gray was telling her something while she just looked like she was having fun by purposely walking in a clumsy manner to make him sway after her since he refused to let go.
"You know what?" Lucy mused as she put a hand on her hip. "I'm starting to wonder if those two really have nothing going on. I mean, just look at them!"
"We'll just have to wait and see." Erza crossed her arms over her armour and smiled a little.
"Those two seem really close." Wendy stated the obvious which earned her affirmative responses from both older girls.
The blonde mage watched the two, specifically Karissa to give her silent condolences in the possibility that a certain blue haired love crazy mage happened to be lurking around the corner. God knows how crazy jealous that person could be over the smallest thing.
...
...
...
In regards to Wendy and Carla's living arrangements, Erza reassured them that there was plenty of rooms available at Fairy Hills, the female dormitory. With Erza being head of the dorm, they simply needed an 'ok' from her and she would hook them up no problem (after getting the Master's approval of course).
When they got back, they were warmly greeted by people who were anxiously waiting for their return. They took that opportunity to present Wendy to the others. Mirajane was quick to go and get the insignia stamp when Makarov gave the 'ok'. After the introductions were dealt with, Master Makrov immediately announced a celebration for the arrival of the newcomers, everyone was down to celebrate. Drinks and food were brought out and music rang through the building.
"Mira-chan! Beeer!"
"Got it!"
"Let's make some noise!"
"YEAH!"
"LET'S GOOOO!"
Karissa was seated at the table that was occupied by some familiar faces. Cana was sitting next to her and throwing a huge mug of alcohol down her throat, leaving Freed, who was standing nearby, absolute astounded at the sight. She slammed it down with a satisfied gasp and grinned at Karissa.
"Come on, drink with me!"
"I'll stick with my mango juice, thanks." Karissa sweat dropped.
"I'm not going to give up, Karissa. Mark my words, you'll drink with me one day." Cana poked her shoulder with a confident smirk. Karissa didn't know if she should be scared or thrilled at the challenge to resist, but it made her smirk back at her best friend.
"You can try." Karissa sipped her juice from her glass as she looked at Cana dead in the eye with raised eyebrows as if to mock her. The brunette huffed in annoyance and snagged another mug off the table.
"Come on, drink, Karissa!" Bickslow suddenly spoke up from behind her while holding his own mug. "Drink, drink!" his little puppets echoed.
Ever since Laxus' expulsion from the guild, the Raijin Tribe made efforts to try and get more involved with the guild. They were less distant and more amicable compared to the time when they showed up and crashed the Miss Fairy Tail Contest. Bickslow was pretty easy going and he often teased her and Lucy about Gray and Loke. Evergreen still had her vain and pride, but she meant well. Freed also mellowed out and got along better with others. He had also once mentioned that it was sort of his duty to look out for Karissa considering how she was close to Laxus. Something about how Laxus would be sad if something were to happen to her. Whatever.
"Nah, I'm good." Karissa waved off his dolls that hovered near her. She looked in front of her and stilled when she saw Juvia rubbing her one of her bare shoulders against Gray's as she poured him a drink. She was wearing a strapless white and blue dress and a blue Fairy Tail hat. He was looking at her weirdly while leaning away from her.
The sight made Karissa think about how closely they were sitting when she and Gajeel arrived at the platform yesterday.
Gray met Karissa's eyes for a split second before she freaked when Cana tried to make her sip some booze, she nearly succeeded too. She was avoiding the alcohol by keeping Cana at arm's length.
"Cana!"
"Boo."
Gray flinched when Juvia shifted closer to him with a narrowed dark blue eyes when she noticed him staring at the other ice mage. "Gray-sama! Have you been cheating on me?!"
"Hah?!"
Karissa resisted the urge to look at Juvia after discreetly rolling her eyes.
Okay. Yep. That girl definitely likes him to the point where she's making up a fantasy relationship with him.
Totally not weird.
...
...
...
9 PM
The celebration for Wendy and Carla ended hours ago. The party went on for a couple hours and it took some time to clean up, they couldn't just leave everything to Mirajane. Most of the members were already at home or just hanging somewhere that wasn't the guild. Karissa, being the introverted person she was, just went straight home and took a short nap which she got scolded for by her sister who said she wouldn't be able to sleep later.
Presently, the Sinclost family was having dinner. Pandora cooked one of her best dishes: spaghetti. Her cooking was definitely something that was worth, in Van and Karissa's opinion, writing a novel about. That's how good it was. Van's cooking was about less than average. Karissa could only do basic things such as cooking an egg, preparing instant foods... and yeah, that was about it. She could also prepare a sandwich, that should count for something. She was learning how to make pasta lately so that should count as well.
The table atmosphere was pleasant. Pandora was recounting a little story that happened during one of her solo jobs. Pandora and Karissa usually had interesting stories to tell so they spoke more at the table with the first being the most talkative. Van didn't have so many great stories compared to them so he usually enjoyed just listening and laughing.
After laughing over Pandora's story, Van decided to ask Karissa to share her experience on the recent mission, they wanted to know how things went for her specifically. The youngest sibling was more than happy to share. She proudly told them how she and Gray did a Unison Raid, how she tackled a suicide bomber (that had their jaws dropping), and how she took down one on her own and made sure he was down for the count until she couldn't stand.
Van chuckled with his fork in his mouth. "Everyone in this house is strong." he said merrily.
That wasn't a lie. Pandora was a tough S-Class mage, Van was a chaotic earth user, and Karissa was a fierce fighter.
After she finished sharing about what happened after she destroyed the lacrima and about Hystoran, she received a gentle pat on the head from her brother who smiled gently at her.
"I'm glad you at least tried to help him"
"It's hard to help people who lose the will to live." Pandora spoke while her eyes stared at her meal.
"Also..." Karissa began while reaching for her glass of water. The need to tell her family about what Brain said to her was itching. It wouldn't feel right to keep it to herself. "Brain, their leader, said I looked like Clavis."
Silence fell at the table.
As expected.
"Wait... he said that to you? I don't understand... wh... why would...?" Van scratched the back of his head. He paused and stared at his plate, unsure of what to say. Clavis was clearly not a girl's name. The possibility of a girl having a striking resemblance to her while bearing that name seemed very small, impossible even.
The brother of the family looked at his younger sister who just quietly sipped her water while staring down. "Do you think it was a coincidence?"
"Maybe, I don't know." Karissa spoke softly. "But if it wasn't then that means Clavis is alive, right? Do you think... mom and dad decided to leave him?"
That last question reminded them of the possibility of their abandonment. Karissa wasn't the only person to feel that way. Van and Pandora also had their feelings regarding that event. However, the topic was never really brought up often. It was uncomfortable. It was the root of their insecurities. The impact if that insecurity varied with each sibling as they had their own way to deal and look at it.
Pandora swallowed her food and sighed tiredly. "What's the point of thinking about that?"
"Well, wouldn't it be nice to know to truth? Personally, I would like to know for some closure." Van said.
"Closure?" Pandora arched a brow. "Again, what's the point? It happened years ago."
Van frowned at his older sister. "I don't think the time matters. Any closure is good."
"Well, I personally don't care about the reason as to why parents would ditch their kids and run off to do who knows what." Pandora huffed as she grabbed her drink and started drinking. "I don't care about the past where we struggled financially because of their absence. All that matters is today and the future."
Karissa bit the inside of her cheek. She was playing with her fingers underneath the table. Her sister was growing more irritable the more they talked about the topic. Pandora's sour feelings towards their parents was understandable. The oldest child, an eleven year old, was basically forced to look after her eight and six year old siblings. Maybe speaking about Clavis in this manner was a bad idea.
Van and Karissa loved their parents.
They were sure Pandora didn't share their feelings though with how she acted sometimes when they spoke of their parents.
"Okay," Van scrubbed the back of his head, ruffling his black spiky hair. He didn't want to upset his sister so he decided to drop the parent subject. But he at least wanted to talk about Clavis. "But what about Clavis?"
Pandora's dark brown eyes slightly narrowed and her mouth twitch. "What about him?"
"What if he's actually alive? What should we do?"
"Like I said before," Pandora clicked her tongue and pushed back her seat when she stood with her empty plate. "It doesn't matter. If he's alive and made it this far, then good. He's not my responsibility. He doesn't need me to look after him."
"That's cold." the brother reproached the eldest with a stern look. Pandora sighed and turned around to face her younger siblings, her hands on her hips. "I think I would want to know if he's alive at least. We're family."
"Look, if you want to search for him, go ahead. I'm not going to waste time on a wild goose chase. Alright?"
Van stared at his sister silently, truly taken back by her attitude towards the topic. They were talking about the possibility of their brother being alive, and she was choosing not to believe in that slim chance? He wasn't expecting someone like her to just dismiss the possibility of her second little brother being alive. Was it because they didn't even know him?
"Besides, if he's alive," Pandora started. "it would be best for him not to know that his parents might have given him up because, maybe, having four children would have been too tough for them to handle. Having twins isn't exactly predictable." she finished with a nonchalant shrug, but they could hear a little bitterness in her tone that she failed to mask. "I wouldn't blame them if that was the reason—"
"Are you done?!" Van raised his voice, fuming at her thoughtless words, his expression twisted in disbelief.
Did she even realize what she was saying?
Pandora let out a small gasp when she finally realized what she just implied. She was practically saying that Karissa might have been abandoned for being a twin in the first place. The very thing that Karissa was wondering back on the ship. But Pandora didn't know that. All the younger sister could do was keep quiet and just mind her own business, tuning out her older sister's words.
She wasn't going to lie and say it didn't hurt a little. Her words were tickling that sleeping insecurity that had settled down hours several hours ago. The only difference is that, this time, Gray's voice echoed in her mind, pushing it back down.
The two glanced at their younger sister and just found her finishing the rest of her meal. When she did, she picked up her plate and drank her water on the way to the sink. Her eyes didn't even look in Pandora's direction even when she said her name as she quietly just left her plate and cup next to the sink. Casually, without a word, she climbed up the stairs to the second floor and went straight to her room, ignoring the call of her name from her brother.
"Good fucking job." Van spat.
Pandora bit her lip.
...
...
She entered her room and closed the door behind her, she drew out a long sigh and just sat on her bed when she picked up her headphones off her desk.
"Man, I regret opening my mouth." Karissa muttered to herself, reaching for a pillow to bury her face in it, unconsciously trying to replicate the respite she craved. Her face nuzzled into her pillow and she imagined being wrapped in warmth again.
She wanted another hug from Gray right about now.
This chapter had beef with me since it didn't want to be written. And so many things had to modified/added since I kept hesitating on posting it.
But anyway, after 26 chapters, I finally give you some food to feed that romance itch. I just hope I did the realization scene justice... (´・_・`)
Don't worry, Karissa's time will come soon. The next few chapters will have more focus on the romance genre so look forward to that!
Clavis. Those who probably migrated here from the original version of Freezing must have realized back in chapter one of this story that this character was missing. I never planned on erasing his character from the story. As for Pandora's attitude, well... that will be explored later on.
Lyon and Karissa interactions? I'm not done with them lol. We'll be getting more of that soon and I'm looking forward to writing it. What do you guys think of their interactions so far? I'm curious.
Also, the Daphne Arc is filler so I'm not writing it. To be honest, I don't remember much of it at all so that most likely tells me how unremarkable it was for me.
Anyway, see you in the next!