Karissa held Lyon's hand as she walked with him to the warehouse.
Lyon held the door for Karissa so that she could slip in after him. When he made sure the coast was clear, he closed to the door quietly behind and walked deeper into the warehouse. They were in Ur's warehouse that was located not too far from her house. She had a lot of things inside but the thing that Lyon was so eager to show Karissa was the magic spell books that Ur kept in there. Karissa looked around curiously as Lyon went off to some shelf to grab some books that he talked about.
"Here, check it out." Lyon grinned as he carefully put them on the ground. He brought out like eight of them.
"These are all Ur's books?" Karissa sat down in a criss cross way and reached for a random book.
Lyon took a seat next to her. "Yep." Lyon picked up a book and started flipping the pages to show her a list of ice spells. "See, look at all these powerful spells!" he dragged his finger across the page to emphasize the list.
"Whoa." Karissa grabbed the book from him and started reading all the names of the spells. They were all ice based and not necessarily molding types.
Ur taught them ice molding magic, a form of ice magic. They were more experienced in the field of making ice not freezing things. When asked about if they were capable of doing simple ice magic, Ur had told them that it was indeed possible since they were ice mages themselves. They just needed to learn to do just like how they learned to mold ice.
"How come Ur doesn't teach us any of this? Aren't we capable enough to learn magic that is a bit stronger by now? All we do is reinforce the strength of our molding magic."
"I dunno." Lyon shrugged. "Maybe she still wants to wait before we learn them." He grinned and picked up a book from the pile and opened it. "I think it's not going to hurt to learn some powerful magic by myself. It'll give me to advantage when we finally learn it."
"Geez, Lyon." Karissa chuckled when she put the book down. "You're always trying to get ahead of us."
"Well, duh! I want to be her best student. If I'm not, how can I surpass her then?" Lyon said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Gray would definitely be interested in these books since he keeps complaining that Ur isn't teaching him real magic."
Lyon shook his head. "No, this stays a secret between you and me. He can't know about these books."
"Huh? How come?"
"… Ur doesn't know I come in here by myself…"
"But you let me in here."
"W-Well, yeah, I mean because I figured it wouldn't hurt to show you."
Karissa pursed her lips. "You and I both know that we're better than Gray, I could easily snatch away that dream of yours, y'know?" she said jokingly with a smirk on her face. But she knew that he knew that she wasn't going to do that to him. She worked hard to improve but she never did it in a way where she was aiming to be Ur's star pupil.
While Lyon was indeed Ur's star pupil so far, Karissa was actually just behind him since she was better than Gray. Lyon and Karissa's sparring matches always brought their number of victories to a tie while Gray rarely beat Lyon in his match. She supposed it was because he was good at using single handed molding magic even though Ur reprimanded him for it.
Lyon scratched the back of his head and looked away nervously. "Look, I just wanted to show you these books too, that's all. It has to stay our little secret no matter what!"
"Fine, fine." Karissa giggled before reaching for a book. "What's this? Punishment… of Absolute... Zero?" she angled her head in confusion while blowing the dust off the cover.
Lyon frowned. "I already looked into that one. It's pretty dangerous."
"Really? What does the spell do?"
Lyon took a book titled 'Iced Shell' and started flipping the pages until he reached a specific one. "It's supposed to freeze the caster's body to get powerful but it slows them down. It's a powerful spell but it has too many drawbacks, and it's dangerous. I didn't like it." He said while reading his page.
Karissa quirked an eyebrow.
What drawbacks?
She opened the book and started reading what it was about.
The Punishment of Absolute Zero.
For three minutes, the spellcaster's body temperature begins to drop significantly until they reach absolute zero. It has an area of effect due to how cold the spellcaster becomes. Anything they touch will freeze away. For the first minute, the spellcaster's body heat will begin to fade away. The second minute, they are the physical embodiment of absolute zero. For the third minute, they get a bit slower due to the numbness.
The spellcaster must slowly undo the spell to thaw out; the slightest mistake can harm the body.
If the user goes over the time limit, with every second, it becomes increasingly difficult to stop the spell, risking hypothermia. One must be very careful when using this spell.
Karissa cringed. It definitely sounded unpleasant. She could remember how cold she was when she first started training with Ur. She was so cold that she thought she was going to pass out and freeze to death by the end of their training. Now, she had resistance against the cold. She was slowly forgetting what exactly being cold felt like. Imagining freezing to death sounded so scary. Ur did say that it was possible to still get sick if they were exposed to extremely cold weather for far too long, they were still human after all.
"You're right, it sounds dangerous." She turned her head to look at him, expecting to find his nose in the book. Instead, she came face to face with him since he turned his head the moment she spoke. They both blinked in surprise before turning their heads away in a flustered manner.
"S-Sorry." Karissa mumbled.
"Don't worry about it…" he rubbed his nose while trying to hide his face.
This was bad. It was seriously no good for Lyon's poor little heart. He wasn't sure when it started but he was able to realize it one time when he sparred against her. It made him feel bashful around her since he didn't know how to act with these new feelings. His affection for Karissa just made him want to spend more time with her during their days off and experience a bunch of things together. Sharing his knowledge about Ur's spell books was a way to convey that feeling.
As for Karissa, she also liked him.
Their affections for each other had become apparent since Gray kept calling them gross whenever they stuck around each other and teased each other.
"Hey, can you close your eyes for a second?" Lyon mumbled.
Karissa perked up and looked at him while he still looked away. She was familiar with that phrase. With a giddy smile, she closed her eyes and waited. Then she felt it. He pressed a soft kiss on her mouth.
When she looked at him, she saw how bashful and happy he looked and she felt the same. They both grinned at each other.
This was a little secret between them. It started three weeks ago. Lyon was the one who started it when they were doing their usual thing: wandering off when Ur was giving Gray someone one-on-one lessons since he was having trouble with something. While they were just talking on the edge of the cliff, he asked her if he could kiss her. It shocked her but she still let him anyway, it felt funny and exciting. They were imitating what they saw adult couples do in town.
Lyon gasped when he saw Ur and Gray returning from the woods from a window in front of them. He bolted up and started gathering the books from the floor. Karissa just watched him bewildered while slowly handing him the book and asking him if he was okay. When he told her that Ur and Gray were coming back, Karissa was hurrying to help him put the books away. She recalled Lyon saying that Ur didn't know he came inside the warehouse on his own, she most likely wasn't allowed inside either.
Ur and Gray went into the woods to gather some firewood since they were running out. That was when Lyon took the opportunity to show her the books.
They nearly spilled the whole shelf from how fast and rough they were shoving the books back onto the shelves. They were like two little thieves trying to not get caught by the authorities. They were literally ducking around as they ran back inside the house. They were both flustered and acted like nothing happened when they sat on the couch together, pretending to read some random book they found on the table. It was one of Ur's novels, something they would never read in their spare time.
Lyon and Karissa looked at the book intently when they returned inside the house.
"What are you guys doing reading my book?" Ur asked them with a raised eyebrow.
"We had nothing to do."
"It looked interesting."
Lyon and Karissa looked at each other in a panic when the other's answer didn't match. They both looked at Ur and just chose to smile.
Ur gasped when she saw the bookmark on the table. "You took it out?! Ahrgh…" she facepalmed. "Whatever, I'll find the page later." Ur sighed when she removed her hand.
Gray and Ur dropped the firewood in the tray next the fireplace and he gave the two suspicious looks. He wasn't buying their claims, especially when he saw the two running like crazy back into the house. He didn't tell Ur though because he wasn't a snitch.
After getting firewood for the house, they went down the mountain to replenish their food stock. These trips down the mountain to reach the town always reminded Karissa of when she used to go to Grandell with Pandora and Van. As much as she hated walking there and camping outside, she had to admit that she actually loved it. Pandora always worked hard to earn money so it was a like the only time they could spend a lot of time together. It was their special bonding time. It was because of those memories that she enjoyed going down with Ur, Gray and Lyon to buy groceries.
Lyon and Karissa ran down the rest of the mountain when the town was meters away.
The three students would often end up just sitting somewhere while Ur went off to buy stuff from someone she knew.
"So, how come you two were running away from the warehouse earlier?"
Lyon and Karissa slowly looked at Gray who was just staring ahead of him. He glanced at them silently.
The black haired girl drummed her fingers on her lap. "Oh, you saw that? We weren't doing anything really… just looking around, right?"
Lyon nodded. "Yep."
Karissa didn't want to betray Lyon by exposing his little secret. However, she was sure that she might one day just let it spill to Gray when Lyon wasn't around. When that time would come, she'd have to find a way to convince Gray to keep his mouth shut about where he learned about Lyon's knowledge on powerful spells.
Ah, I don't like keeping secrets from Gray... I feel caught in the middle or something.
Gray didn't believe that for a second. He knew that they were hiding something from him. But if they weren't going to tell him then he wasn't going to be persistent about it. It was their business.
"Whatever, I bet you guys were holding hands or something in there."
Lyon and Karissa flinched and supported a blush on their faces.
"You guys are gross."
"Well, you're a weirdo!"
"What we do is none of your business, droopy eyes!"
After dropping off the grocery bags with her students, she quickly went into a bookstore to get herself a new book only to return and find her students munching on some fruits that they found.
"Seriously?" Ur deadpanned.
"We were hungry." Gray chewed his apple.
"It was Lyon's idea." Karissa snickered.
"Was not!" Lyon bumped her side with his shoulder. She did the same to him while popping a piece of orange in her mouth.
The three of them groaned when Ur knocked them square on the head with her fist.
"Don't eat the food!"
"Sorry..."
…
…
…
A young boy with black spiky hair that gravitate towards the right was looking around him. The girl in front of him with long black hair was his sister. He was accompanying her to the ticket booth since he didn't want to be left alone in a sea of strangers. They were getting ready to board the train that would bring them to the next country to the west: Fiore. There was nothing left for them in Iceberg. He and his sister had spent the past month and a half working for an inn in order to save up money for the trip and their living expenses when they finally left for Fiore. Still, leaving Iceberg was a big step. He adjusted the bag on his back and sighed.
"Van…? VAN!"
Upon hearing his name, the ten-year-old whipped his head around and looked for the familiar voice. He spotted a familiar lady with brown hair jogging towards him with a relieved smile on her face.
"Oh, Miss Lilith." Van smiled for her. "What are you doing here?"
His older sister turned to see what was happening behind her.
Lilith gave him a smile of her own. "I'm moving to Fiore. I cannot continue to stay in Iceberg out of fear of Deliora causing a rampage in Grandell. Thankfully, I have a relative who lives in Fiore so I don't need to worry too much about where to go."
Pandora gave her small smile that didn't reach her eyes. She hadn't been able to smile much these days. "I see, that's a safe choice."
"What about you three? Are you leaving as well?"
When Pandora heard the incorrect number siblings, she lowered her head and frowned. Van glanced at her and then put a hand behind her back to try and soothe her.
"I don't see Karissa, where did she go? Don't tell me she ran off." Lilith laughed as she remembered the several times Karissa would wander off on her own when Pandora wasn't looking.
"Karissa is dead…" Pandora said shakily. "She died back in our hometown because of Deliora…"
Van lowered his gaze and just stared at his shoes. No matter how many times they heard that undeniable truth, it was always so painful.
"We looked for her among the rubble, we checked the shelter, nothing." she prevented from saying what she truly thought: Deliora had literally destroyed her little sister and there was no trace of her existence. The only thing left of her was her bag that they found in the rubble when they went back to try and salvage some of their belongings. Her bag was carried in Pandora's hand as a way to try and soothe her own sadness of loosing her little sister.
"No," Lilith gave them a confused look. "That's just not possible. I saw her alive and well after the incident. I even spoke to her, she was asking for you."
Pandora and Van's eyes widened. They grew still when she said that, staring at her like she just grew another head on her right shoulder.
"What…?" Van finally spoke and lowered his hand.
Pandora dropped Karissa's bag and she slowly stepped closer to Lilith. When she was within reach, she held onto her arms desperately. "What do you mean?! Do you know where is she now?!"
A WEEK LATER
Karissa watched as Lyon sparred against Ur. Their teacher obviously went easy on him to give him a chance. She was amazed at watching them both. Ur was such an impressive mage while Lyon was clearly the better student (even though he kept using one hand to cast his spells, resulting in bumps on the head from Ur). Next to her was Gray breathing heavily, he had just finished his own little match against Ur but he was still casting spells to try and improve. She pursed her lips and stared at him with concern.
"You should take a break Gray…"
Gray wiped the sweat off his brow and glared at his hands. "I have to get stronger. I have to get powerful enough to beat Deliora. I can't rest."
"But you won't be able to cast stronger spells since you keep using your magic power…"
Gray got into his molding stance. "That's because Ur isn't teaching us any real magic aside from this stupid molding magic. Ice Make: Shield!" His shield barely even lasted three seconds, it expanded in front of him and instantly shattered away due to the poor amount of magic power given to it. Gray clicked his tongue in frustration.
"Ur said that it's our job to make it stronger." Karissa reminded him, causing him to roll his eyes. "Yeah, and you believe that ice witch?"
"Well, she is the expert here."
"Doesn't change anything. This has no use." he said nonchalantly before casting another spell and failing. Karissa frowned. "Gray, you seriously should rest. Don't push yourself."
"I'm fine."
"But you're going to feel super tired."
An angry vein popped on the side of his temple and he narrowed his eyes at her. "Geez, don't you have anything better to do but nag me?! You're annoying!"
Karissa didn't answer him, she just stared at him with a blank expression. The way he spoke to her made her feel offended. She didn't like it. What was his problem?! She quickly got up and kicked up snow in his face without hesitation, causing him to stagger and sputter. He wiped off the snow of his face angrily and glared at where she was. "What was that for?!"
JERK!
She just gave him a disgusted look. "I couldn't care less if you passed out and got forgotten out here. Stupid idiot!" She spat in frustration before walking off to nearby log. The girl could not comprehend why Gray had to be so mean to her when she was just worried about him.
That's what friends do, right?! GEEZ. It's always power this and Deliora that!
She understood his hate for Deliora was justified, she really did. It killed mister Silver and miss Mika! She missed them but that had nothing on the amount of sadness and anger that Gray felt, that's why she never tried to convince him forget about his revenge.
The boy just watched her walk away from him without saying another word to him. She sat down on the log and chose to watch Lyon and Ur spar from afar, and she didn't even bat an eye in Gray's direction. Yeah, he could tell that she was pissed off at him. When he began to simmer down from his initial annoyance, he felt it. He had used up too much magic power, he was tired. Still, even if he knew that she was right he was too stubborn to admit it.
The tension in the air was obvious when they walked home. It was thick. Lyon was walking in between Karissa and Gray. Normally, Karissa would be the one walking in the middle so she could stop any dumb arguments the two would start but she chose to avoid the middle by purposely moving to Lyon's opposite side. When Lyon spoke to Gray or Karissa, they would just mumble an answer without much interest. This resulted in the elder apprentice to shut his mouth since he didn't know what to say. Then it became so quiet. This prompted Ur to stop walking and turn to them. She placed her hands on her hips and looked at Karissa and Gray who both just stared back at her.
"What's wrong with the two of you?" she asked, her tone exasperated.
"Nothing." they answered at the same time.
"Did you guys get into a fight?" Lyon guessed while he looking back and forth between the two.
Karissa just shrugged like she didn't care while Gray just huffed and stuffed his hands in his jacket's pockets. Ur sighed. She went over to Gray and gently tugged his arm to pull him along and she did the same to Karissa until they were standing next to each other. Next thing they knew, Ur had pinched their noses and they let out a squawk of surprise.
"What gives?!" Gray batted her hand away from his face.
Karissa frowned and rubbed her nose.
"I can tolerate playful arguing but not fights like this. You two will just make things awkward at the dinner table later if you don't fix whatever happened between the two of you."
"…"
"C'mon, you two are friends. Why are you fighting?" Lyon wondered.
This provoked Karissa to snort mockingly. "This idiot finds his friend annoying when she's just WORRYING ABOUT HIM spending too much magic power. I mean if he wants to pass out and get buried under the snow when no one is looking then that's fine!"
Gray looked away in an obstinate manner. "It's not like I asked you to be worried." He mumbled which did not go unheard by her. The girl silently narrowed her eyes at him when he wasn't looking. When he did sense her looking at him, he shifted his head a little to glance at her and then he looked at the snow beneath him.
Karissa 'hmphed' before marching off with her head up. "Fine! I won't worry about you ever again!"
I don't need to deal with your stupid attitude!
She didn't get far since Ur just latched her hand on her arm to keep her from leaving. The girl stopped in her tracks and just pouted.
"Gray. You have to stop acting like such a rebel or else you're going to drive away others who care for you."
Gray slowly lowered his gaze to look away from his teacher.
"Trust me, you don't want that to happen. Especially with someone like Karissa who really cares about you. Those are the kind of friends you want to have in your life."
The boy sighed in annoyance and scratched the side of his head. "Okay, okay. I get it." He looked at Karissa who was just staring at him. "I'm sorry."
...
...
On the way back home, Karissa took her spot back in the middle which brought relief to Lyon since he was tired of getting squished by the tension between them.
Karissa was fiddling with her fingers as she reflected on their little fight. She knew that she could get excited and run around cheerfully whenever she had so much energy to spare, so it made her wonder if that just annoyed Gray since she knew he didn't like Lyon's cheerfulness. Had he grown annoyed and tired of her? Was she really annoying? She didn't mean to. Her status as his friend was now at stake.
…
…
"Gray?" she whispered.
The dark haired boy looked at her.
"I'm sorry if I'm annoying you." She said softly while looking at the snow while a bit sullen. Her voice sounded so small.
Now he was starting to feel bad. It was pretty rare to see Karissa look so down since she was rarely sad.
He lightly bit the inside of his cheek.
"… You're not annoying."
"… Really?"
"Yeah."
"Oh, okay."
"Stop looking sad, it's weird. I'm not used to it."
"Gee, okay. What, you want me to jump up and down?"
"Anything to get you to stop looking weird."
"You're weird, weirdo."
…
…
…
"Ugh, get off!" Gray wheezed.
Karissa was on top of him after the three of them finished setting up the futons. Ur was still downstairs washing the dishes so they decided it was better to just get ready for bed. After they set it up, Gray took the opportunity to get settled under the blanket but Karissa had a different idea since she just decided to roll and lay sprawled across him.
"You can't be seriously thinking of sleeping nowww." Karissa she drawled. Gray groaned and start pushing her off him since his small body couldn't handle her weight. She was taller than both boys thanks to some type of freak of nature growth spurt. After much struggling and wrestling, Gray was able to roll her off him and she ended up in the space between where Gray and Lyon usually slept. Lyon had to stagger back to avoid stepping on her since he was taking the rest of the pillows out of the closet that Gray didn't bother taking out.
Karissa sat up in a sitting position with messed up hair from the tussle. "Hey, Lyon pass me a pillow."
"Huh? Um, here."
"Thanks." She beamed him a smile which he responded by giving her his own smile. The other student who was still in the room watched the two with a cringe. Even if they were just smiling at each other, Gray found it icky since he knew the context behind it. He could probably see hearts flying around.
"Get a room." he complained before turning away from the two. He didn't really care that the two liked each other, he just wished they weren't so painfully obvious with it.
Lyon huffed in annoyance as he tossed Ur's pillow on her futon. "You're just jealous."
This only evoked a gagging sound from Gray. "Yeah right! I don't care."
Karissa sighed and flicked his ear, making him turn his head to glare at her. "There you go again getting all grumpy." She went to her side of the bed and got settled in next to him while Lyon did the same on the other side of Gray.
"Yeah, you're always grumbling." Lyon said while adjusting the blanket on top of him, tugging more away from Gray. "So dark."
Gray looked over his shoulder and narrowed his eyes at him. "Shut it, pointy eyes." he pulled the blanket towards him.
Lyon smirked and returned his narrowed gaze. "Make me, droopy eyes." they started having a tug of war.
Karissa sweat dropped at the sight of the two having a stare off. Then they just turned their heads away from each other without another word spoken. This made the girl snort before turning on her side, away from Gray.
It had taken some time, but she had adjusted well to her new life in Ur's home. It was nothing like when she lived with Pandora and Van or with Silver, Mika and Gray. This type of home felt different but it was still home nonetheless. There was warmth that tickled her soul everyday. Almost every day was a new experience, making life adventurous and full of firsts.
She really adored Ur as her guardian. She was never her mother but she did see her as a mother figure. It once made her feel like she actually had a mother around again. The girl was so glad that she chose take the path of becoming a mage as she couldn't imagine having a better and exciting life back in an orphanage. At first, she felt a little self-conscious about not having a lofty goal like Lyon and Gray (even though his goal wasn't exactly a positive one). She had once expressed this concern to Ur while beating around the bush but Ur just told her that she was proud to have a student brimming with potential and that sometimes learning magic didn't need a goal, she just needed the desire to simply want learn. The girl embraced that simple truth and felt more confident with her identity as a mage. It helped her enjoy her days more with her two friends and teacher.
She really loved it here.
There was a slight blizzard that morning and it was colder than usual. The cold was actually getting into the house so they had to put on a fire in the fireplace. It was also one of those days where Karissa chose to spend her time drawing since she had nothing better to do. And for a change, Lyon and Gray were drawing too since they had nothing better to do. As molding magic mages, it was natural that they had a good sense of imagination. Lyon ended up drawing one of his snow tigers, Gray was drawing a sword and Karissa was drawing another one of her ice pinwheels. In a way, it was also giving them ideas about what other things they could make. They each had a cup of hot chocolate with them in the middle of the table. Meanwhile, Ur was reading her book in the kitchen next to the window. She often glanced into the living room just to watch her three pupils draw together, it made her smile.
This peaceful moment was disturbed when they heard a knock at the door. The flow of concentration was broken and the three of them looked at the door curiously.
"Who's that?" Lyon wondered curiously.
"Who would come up here in a blizzard… They have to be nuts." Gray tried tilting his head to try and look out the window. A futile attempt since snow was pelted on the glass.
Karissa just sat there. She wordlessly watched as Ur came out of the kitchen and walked to the front door to check who was there. However, she didn't really care enough since she went back to drawing.
When the teacher opened her front door, she found two kids shivering too much from the cold that they were not accustomed to. That was the first thing that made Ur realize that they were not from town. They both had black hair and dark brown eyes. The boy had spiky hair. The girl had medium length hair that was tied in ponytails that were brought in the front. The girl lowered her hood to show her face and she tried her best to smile politely as she trembled. Her bangs were split in the middle, allowing Ur to clearly see her face.
"A-Are you Ur?"
"Yeah, that's me. Can I help you?"
"W-We heard from the town below th-the mountain th-that you have three children with you…" the girl rubbed her hands together to try and heat them up. The boy next to her was fidgeting in his spot. "Are one of them called Karissa Sinclost?"
The matching black hair and dark brown eyes. A boy and a girl that were just a bit older than her students. It reminded Ur of what Karissa mentioned when she first found her with Gray after Deliora's attack.
"Are you Pandora and Van?"
Gray turned his head when he heard those familiar names. Karissa couldn't hear it from the blizzard outside. Lyon was just watching Ur speak with the two strangers outside their home.
Hearing their identities, Pandora and Van lightened up with hope. It was true then! They could believe that their sister was with the mage who lived up the mountain. It was just like they heard when they went around town asking for information about their younger sibling's whereabouts.
"Yes! That's us!" Van smiled hopefully.
They were here to reunite and take back their family.
As much as Ur would love to keep her student with her, she knew that she had no right to do so if her real family insisted on having her back. Her students were like her own children, so she hesitated for a moment before smiling at them softly.
Ur moved away from the entry and motioned them to enter, allowing them shelter them from the cold that they were not used to.
"Karissa." Ur called her name.
"Hmm?" she didn't look up.
Pandora and Van were hesitant to enter but they were reassured by Ur to come in. Inside, they found their little sister innocently sitting on the floor and drawing on the short table near a fireplace.
She was well and alive.
"Karissa!" Pandora exclaimed happily while dropping her backpack.
It took her a moment to realize just who had called her name. But when it clicked, she froze and then slowly lowered her pencil and looked up. There, standing not too far away from the table, was her older sister, she looked so relieved to see her. Her nose and cheeks were red from the cold nipping at her skin. Van lowered down his hood and smiled in relief when he saw her there.
The next moment, Karissa had bolted up from her spot and moved around the table to throw herself into Pandora's arms. The youngest sibling of the Sinclost family started bawling right there in her older sister's arms. Van sniffled and got on his knees when Pandora lowered herself to the ground to hold her sister tightly.
The three of them hugged together, their hearts mended from the pain of loss.
…
…
…
Everyone was in the living room. Ur had given Pandora and Van some hot chocolate to warm themselves up after being in the cold for so long. Gray and Lyon were sitting on the opposite couch where the Sinclost siblings sat.
"We passed by the area a day after the destruction and tried to look for her but we found nothing. Then we went to the shelter and waited for a day but still had no luck. So, the next thing we did is go back to our hometown and tried to find whatever we could salvage from our broken house before moving to Seven. We went to Seven with a bunch of refugees who needed a new place to stay. We ended up working in an inn for an entire month to earn some money. There was nothing left for us in Iceberg. We figured we would move to Fiore where it was a bit safer."
"It seems like you just missed us then." Ur concluded. "How did you find out Karissa was still alive?"
"There was a lady named Lilith who was also moving to Fiore who told us. She was the one who told us that she was with you. From there, we just started asking around until we found you."
"It wasn't that hard though." Van piped up next to her.
Pandora nodded in agreement. "Yeah, the people in Isvan spoke highly about you since you were the best mage around."
"That's an exaggeration." Ur waved her hand with a smile. "I'm sure there are more powerful mages around."
"That's not true! You're the best mage alive!" Lyon interjected proudly, earning him a ruffle on the head.
"I suppose that you are here to take Karissa with you to Fiore?"
Gray and Lyon looked at Ur silently when she said that. They didn't like where this was going. It was way too sudden.
Pandora nodded after taking a sip of her cup. "I faintly remember my parents telling me that they used to belong to a magic guild in Fiore before settling down in Iceberg. It was called Fairy Tail. Apparently, you don't need much to earn the right to join. It's a welcoming guild. I'm thinking that we could start off there and slowly start a new life."
Ur was familiar with guilds. She understood that its main purpose was to create a base where mages could gather and obtain job requests. It was a place where the members were supported by their fellow mages. She had also heard about that particular guild's master. He was one of the Ten Wizards Saints and he had a good heart. She had heard many good things about him. Someone like him would no doubt offer his aid to three children who wanted to join his guild.
Pandora must have thought this through a lot. She was quite mature for her age.
Ur gazed at Karissa and smiled at her. "Then I have no cause for worry."
She didn't have to worry about her student with such a responsible older sibling who knew exactly what she was doing.
Karissa wasn't sure how to feel about the whole situation. Of course, she was overjoyed by the fact that Pandora and Van were alive and well. She wanted nothing more than to start living with them again like before. But she also couldn't help but worry about the current life she would be leaving behind. Ur, Lyon and Gray were not going to be in her life anymore. She loved both lives.
"Karissa," Ur addressed. "You should start packing your things. I'll keep talking a bit with Pandora. Gray, Lyon, why don't you go help her out?" she nudged the two boys next to her lightly.
For once, they were quiet and just did as they were told. Pandora, sensing that Ur wanted to say something to her in private, also asked her younger brother to help by bringing up the extra backpack that was tucked away in his own backpack. There rest of their things were at an inn they stayed at. It was no longer in the room they rented; it was with the nice man who owned the place. He didn't mind looking after their things after they told him what they were doing. Van just shrugged and did what his sister told him to do and followed the three students upstairs.
Ur explained to Pandora what had happened to Karissa during one of her training sessions. To her surprise, Pandora didn't look quite as surprised as she thought she might have been. Instead, she was more surprised when she told her that they trained in their underwear out in the cold.
"Yeah, I'm aware of those seals." Pandora closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, a bit at a loss. "I'm the only one in the family who doesn't have one though. My father explained it to me once when Van got sick when he was just four years old. He was born with too much magic power for his body to handle, so they put a seal on him to control it. They did the same with Karissa and… er…" her words slowly died and then she paused. She quickly shook her head, giving up on finishing that sentence. "They both have seals since they have such an abnormal amount of magic power. I guess the reason why Van's didn't break is because he never used his magic power before."
Ur simply gazed at the table between them.
Their parents must have had possessed an incredible amount if they had to suppress that much magic power on their children…
"You sure you don't want to come with us, Gray?" Van asked while folding Karissa's shirts into a smaller form so that it would fit in her bag.
"I'm staying here." Gray said without hesitation. "I'm not done here. I still have to learn more powerful magic."
Van gazed at Gray silently with concern. He didn't want to ask but he had a feeling that Deliora must have done a on number on him if he looked like that. Gray no longer had to carefree look on his face that he remembered. His a little hard-faced despite the rather depressing air around him. He glanced at the other boy who was carrying all her pants and shorts with him from the drawer. They both looked deflated.
Lyon took a seat next to Karissa on the floor folded her pants neatly like how Ur taught him. He disliked how things had to be pragmatic. Reality could be so harsh.
Meanwhile, Karissa was just silently putting away the folded clothes in the bag after Van had shown her how.
The older boy in the room felt awkward. He couldn't stand such gloomy air around him. "It's not like you guys won't see each other again. Stop acting like it's the end of the world. I mean, like, you guys already know where we're going. You could always drop by one day in the future, I dunno. The world is pretty knall."
The three stared at him.
"What?"
"What's a 'knall'?" Lyon squinted his eyes.
Gray snorted. "It's 'small' not 'knall'."
"Whatever." Van groaned.
"I mean, I guess that's true..." Karissa stared up at the ceiling as she thought about what her brother said. She pointed at Lyon without looking at him. "When you surpass Ur, I could probably hear your name somewhere since you said she's like the best mage in the world. We'd probably have no problem seeing other again if we try."
Hearing that logic, Lyon perked up. "That's true."
She looked away from the ceiling and then looked at Gray. She smiled at him. "And one day you could probably join Fairy Tail too! Wherever that is…" she trailed off with a giggle, already liking what potential future they might have.
"Yeah, who knows. Maybe. We won't know until I beat Deliora."
"You gotta think about it though!" Karissa insisted, desperately wanting to hear some type of reassurance of their potential future reunion one day. "You just have to! I wanna see my friend again!" she complained.
"Err…"
"C'mon Gray, at least promise me that you jerkbag!"
"Who you calling jerkbag, weirdo!"
She pouted childishly.
"Yeah. I promise."
Karissa shot her arms in the air. "Yes!"
Van snickered at how easy it was for them to cheer up a little.
The future was always uncertain, no one could possibly know how the future would lay out their potential reunion. The only thing they could do was simply grasp onto that hope and just believe in the next time they would meet. It was all they could do.
It didn't take long for the light blizzard to clear. When it did, Ur had offered to walk them down the mountain just in case they got lost since they couldn't retrace their steps or if the paths might be covered in snow. Karissa was wearing the gray beanie and the black and white checkered scarf that Ur gave her long ago when she wasn't used to the cold. Even thought she insisted that she wouldn't feel cold, Pandora didn't listen to her and just plopped her hat on her head and wrapped the scarf around her. Karissa couldn't help but feel pampered.
When they got into town, Pandora and Van went into the inn and brought out the luggage that they left, there was only two of them. Then, they finally made it to the entrance of the town, indicating the time to finally part ways.
"Take care of yourself, Karissa." Ur smiled at her. "Don't cause too much trouble for your siblings." she chuckled.
"Hey." Karissa pouted.
Van nudged her side with his elbow. "We're used to this kid, it's fine."
Karissa lightly pushed him away for that.
"See?" Van laughed while fighting her hands.
Pandora bowed in respect for Ur. "Thank you so much for taking care of my little sister."
The dark purple haired woman remembered something. She reached for her back pocket and pulled out a brown envelope. She held it out to Pandora who just looked confused about its contents.
"It's money."
"O-Oh, no! I can't just take it…"
Ur sighed and grabbed her hand to firmly plant the envelope in her palm. "You'll be spending more money than what you planned for the trip to Fiore because Karissa is tagging along now. You told me that you worked these past two months to earn money for the trip and for living expenses, I'm just helping you maintain enough funds."
As much as Pandora hated to rely on people's kindness out of fear of looking pitiful or taking advantage of their kindness, she knew that Ur was right. Now that Karissa was coming along, the money she planned on saving for when they were in Fiore was not going to be enough.
Pandora bit her lip and closed her fingers on the envelope. "Thank you…" she said, grateful for the woman's kindness. Perhaps it wasn't always wrong to accept what others gave her. She put the envelope inside her bag.
Karissa waved her hand at both Gray and Lyon who could only offer small smiles and a wave of their own.
Ur stood with her two pupils as the three siblings departed from the town and headed to Seven. Karissa was holding onto her brother's hand as they walked and she just listened to her sister give the details of their traveling route with the map she carried.
Karissa's heart was racing.
She glanced back and saw that the three of them were turning back to walk back home.
Van looked at his younger sister when he noticed that she was dragging her feet. "Karissa? What's wrong?"
Karissa kept watching them.
"Um…"
"Hmm?"
The black haired girl bit her lip. The next second, her small hand released her brother's, she started running back towards the town with all her might. She ran like crazy. Van let out a surprise yelp when she just ran away from him. She could hear her brother and sister calling her name but she didn't stop. She kept running and running to catch up to them.
Gray, who heard Karissa's name being called and the sound of footsteps coming at them from behind, glanced over his shoulder and gasped a little when he saw her bolting after them. Ur and Lyon had already turned around and they saw her. The master of the three students lowered herself down to Karissa's level when she saw her running up to her with her arms stretched out. She let out a small 'oof' when Karissa ran into her.
"I'm going to miss you, Ur…" Karissa admitted with tears. "I want to stay here and keep learning magic with you."
Ur just sighed and chuckled lightly when she felt her student hug her tightly. The woman rubbed the child's back. "I know. As much as I want to let you stay, you know that I can't, right?"
Karissa nodded.
"You belong with your family."
"I know..."
"And as for magic, I don't really need to teach you. It's like I told you, molding mages are powerful because they create their own style. As long as you keep refining your style, you can become as powerful as you want." Ur pulled away from Karissa and held her arms. She wiped away the stray tears that fell. "You're going to be a wonderful mage. Make me proud even if I don't watch over you."
"Yeah, okay." Karissa sniffled, trying to calm her emotions.
Van and Pandora stood at the town's entrance, waiting for her.
She went over to Lyon and hugged him tightly after Ur released her. The bluish silver haired boy hugged her back just as tight.
"I'll miss checking out stuff with you and sparring against you during training."
"Even though I always kick your butt?" Lyon laughed.
"Oh shush, we have a tie." She pulled away and gave him a playful frown.
"Then we'll fight again when I see you again." The older boy grinned. "And I'll beat you."
"You bet! But I'm going to win."
Gray let out a surprise shout when he felt Karissa practically glomp him into a hug. It nearly gave him a heart attack. She was hugging him so tightly that he had to pat her back harshly so she could let him breathe. She pulled away her head so she can look at him in the eye.
"I'll miss you Gray. Like really."
She was seriously going to miss him. Gray was her best friend, so parting ways with him made her a little sadder since he's been with her the longest. She's known him for two years and he was literally the closest friend she had back in her hometown. Other girls her age found her weird since she was the outgoing type of girl who enjoyed playing with boys, that was something that somewhat hurt her but it never stopped her from acting like herself. It didn't really matter to her anyway since the girls in her hometown would rather sit around and talk, pretty boring activity for her. There were guys she was friends with but none were able to become close friends with her like she did with Gray.
He never minded her personality since she was more fun to hang around. Her gender didn't matter to him at all.
From the closeness, Gray's cheeks turned a light shade of pink. He averted his eyes away in embarrassment.
"Will you miss me too?" Karissa asked hopefully, with hidden uneasiness. She knew that Gray didn't like to say mushy type of things since it was embarrassing, but she was hoping he would just this once. She wanted to hear how he truly felt.
"Of course, I will." Gray replied without missing a beat, he just mumbled it though. "You're my best friend."
Hearing that just put the biggest smile on Karissa's face. She held him close to her again giddily, and this time, she felt him return her hug.
One day we'll see each other again. For now, goodbye.
The bit with Karissa and Lyon at the beginning wasn't planned but I thought it would be interesting if they were childhood sweethearts. It surprisingly gave me some good ideas for the future. I'm going to make sure that comes back to embarrass her later lmao.
Only a few more chapters to go until we reach the series' timeline! I'm honestly getting impatient but I'm trying NOT to rushhHHH...