Early Merry Christmas and Early Happy New Year! 2020 has obviously been a shit year but let's hope 2021 isn't too bad.
This chapter focuses on the aftermath of the Phantom Lord Arc and the Loke Arc.
A day after the conclusion of the war between the two light guilds, the Rune Knights of the Magic Council arrived in Magnolia after they caught wind of the conflict so they gathered up everyone for investigation.
Karissa awoke the next day after she fell unconscious and was asked to be brought to the Rune Knights' camp, that was located nearby, once she felt stable enough. She was surprised to see so many of her guild members walking in and out of tents to get their turn for questioning. It seemed like they were going to interrogate every single person in Fairy Tail, no exceptions.
After a long period of questioning, Karissa left the tent while feeling like all the air had just left her brain. They had really tried to squeeze information out of her in order to get the type of answers they wanted right after she woke up. She was grateful for the glass of water they gave her that she used as an excuse to take a breather.
"Karissa."
Stopping her walk, she looked around curiously when she heard Loke's voice calling out to her. He was leaving his own tent with a hand up to greet her.
"How was your interrogation?"
"Tiring." Karissa yawned into her hand tiredly since she was a bit groggy from both waking up and her interrogation, "What about you?"
"Meh, it was alright. By the way, how are you feeling?" he asked her when they walked together.
"I feel fine." She answered while stretching her arms, "I don't know what caused my comatose state but it doesn't feel like it has anymore effect. Sorry I couldn't help out with the battle." she rubbed her eyes to accelerate the process of waking up.
She really felt fine.
Her siblings told her what happened during the last hour of the fight. Natsu, Gray, Elfman, Lucy, Erza and Makarov were fighting inside while the rest were fighting off ghouls that Jose had sent out to keep them busy when they had to recharge the Jupiter cannon. Van couldn't fight after he depleted his magic power for Master Makarov and the protection of the guild when the cannon fired off the first time so he stayed by his little sister's side at home. Pandora stayed with the members in front of their guildhall since her light magic was more effective on the ghouls that were basically creatures of darkness.
Loke scrubbed the back of his head with a hum, "We guessed that you were hit with some nasty spell from a Phantom member since that was the only thing that actually hit you back then." He looked at her with concern written on his face, "You really okay? You don't feel any pain or side effects?" he patted his chest and stomach for emphasis, "Nothing bothering you?"
Karissa snickered and she shook her head while waving her hand dismissively, "I'm fine, Loke. Stop worrying so much."
The orange haired wizard raised a brow and dropped his hands to his sides, "Well, I had a front row seat of you falling down down on cobblestone. I think I have the right to worry a bit more."
"Sorry for traumatizing you." Karissa chuckled with a sarcastic grin, "But the only thing bothering me right now is the lack of food inside me. I'm hungry."
Of course, she was hungry. He was about to offer eating food together somewhere nearby, but Loke felt lightheaded and staggered forward. He dropped his head and placed a hand on his face which made Karissa stop and look back at him when he stopped walking next to her and she looked at him worriedly.
His eyes narrowed when he saw the ground blur a little.
Soon.
"Loke?" she walked over to him and peered at his face, "Are… you alright?"
The orange haired wizard's head shot up and faced the look of concern on his friend's face. He quickly gathered himself and smiled as he quickly reassured her, "I'm fine. I just felt lightheaded for second."
Karissa stared at him quietly and only gave him a weird look, "Maybe you should get that checked out or something. You sure you okay?"
Straightening up, Loke gave her a reassuring smile and said, "Just worry about yourself for now and take it easy, alright?" he patted her head. But when she opened her mouth to say something, he just swiveled around her and started rubbing her shoulders which rendered her quiet thanks to the pleasing sensation, causing Loke to laugh at her quick submission.
Gray quietly approached the two while they weren't aware. He was watching the two interact while making his way to them. It was no secret that Loke had refused to flirt with any female Sinclost because of Pandora herself so that made his interactions with them more amicable.
"Gray." Karissa waved at him lightly when she spotted him. Loke noted how her shoulders perked up at the sight of Gray who offered a quick smile and raised his hand to greet her back.
"You feeling okay?" he asked her when he stood in front of her.
Karissa did an affirmative sign with her hand while Loke moved away from her.
"Done with yours too?" Loke shoved his hands in his jacket's pocket.
"Yeah. Pretty annoying though, they kept repeating some questions I already answered." Gray rolled his eyes, "Trying to catch me in a lie."
"They were nice to me though." Karissa cocked her head to the side which only made Gray scowl.
"Then I must have had jerks for interrogators then."
Loke laughed at that and then sighed tiredly, "Well, you guys go on ahead. I have some stuff to take care of."
Not surprised, Karissa gave him an unimpressed look, "Lemme guess, a chick?"
"You got it, see ya." he literally dashed off after winking at her, leaving the childhood friends together.
Gray and Karissa stood side by side as Loke ran off to who knows where.
"That's weird." Gray scratched his head.
"No kidding."
They started walking again and made light conversation about how she was feeling physically and how others were doing until something cut them off.
Groowwl~
The dark haired guy stopped and turned his head to look at her with a grin, "That yours?"
Karissa rolled his eyes and crossed her arms, "No. Clearly, that was a cat in heat somewhere." She deadpanned, "Yes, that was mine. I'm frigging hungry."
Gray chuckled and started walking again, "Yeah, I can tell."
Karissa fell into step with him and shoved her hands in her sweater's pockets. She peered at him from the side and grinned sheepishly, "Wanna go eat somewhere? It's lunch time."
"Sure, I got nothing to do anyway."
"Can we drop by my house first? I just need to grab my wallet."
"How about you pay me back instead later?" he suggested so that they could go straight to whatever place they wanted to eat at. He laughed when he saw her look at him like he was some sort of saint.
"Okay." She looked ahead, "Thanks, Gray."
"Where do you wanna go?"
"Noodles!" she answered rapidly with enthusiasm as she was now awake by the prospect of free (sort of) food.
"Again?!" Gray raised his voice in surprise, "We went there last time."
"But it's good! Plus, you asked me so I answered."
"C'mon, don't you want to eat something different?"
"Fine, where do you want to go." Karissa pouted, giving the reins to Gray who just smiled happily at her resignation, "Follow me."
Karissa scoffed and patted his shoulder, "If it's trash, I'm not paying you anything."
Gray huffed and nudged her on the side, causing her grin, and said, "Don't be like that."
"Hey," Karissa scoffed with a shrug, "I haven't eaten in a long while, the least you could do is help me get some tasty food."
"Yeah, alright, you dummy."
She spent the next two hours hanging out with Gray before heading home where her sister and brother were expecting her with worry for not telling them where she was going after recently waking up from her comatose state.
Karissa participated in meetings that were held to decide how to rebuild the guild. Master Makarov decided they should completely rebuild it with a new design instead of keeping the old one. It would seem appropriate considering how the building was made during the First Master's era. Max was more than willing to participate since he and Karissa could finally implement the Souvenir Shop that they were working on.
Soon, the blueprints of the new guildhall were finalized and the construction work began a week later.
Pandora was kind enough to make some food for the guild since they would all be hard at work. Van and Karissa were surprised at the buffet that randomly appeared for everyone which made them question how the hell was Pandora able to make all the food in such a short amount of time. That was a secret they were never going to understand.
At some point during the first week of construction, Lucy returned home for personal reasons which made Erza, Natsu, Happy, Gray and Karissa chase after her out of concern. But they were relieved to find out that Lucy was only visiting home.
Sure, Lucy's sudden disappearance surprised her and it worried her since she was slowly becoming friends with the blonde mage. However, her attention was focused on Loke who was looking even worse as the days passed. He looked pale, sluggish and just weak. But he was quick to reassure everyone that he was fine and that he would get better. True to his words, he did look normal a few days later. Still, it never completely erased Karissa's concern for him since he kept acting a little strange.
After another week, the job request board was finally up and running again much to everyone's relief and excitement. The lack of jobs and money and just doing construction work made so many members impatient to finally start working again.
…
…
…
"Try saying that again!"
Karissa was sitting somewhere with Cana and Van when Natsu got hit by a table that Erza had flung.
The black haired girl bit the corner of her lip when she saw how furious Erza and Pandora were. She stopped listening to her music and just held her headphones when she was hearing how mean and disrespectful Laxus was being about his guild members.
"Then I'll say it more clearly," Laxus snorted and leaned on his elbows on his knees as he leaned forward, "this guild doesn't need weaklings!" he turned to look at Shadow Gear who were standing not too far away behind him, "I'm talking about you, you! I don't even know your names, but I heard you that you guys were beaten up by Kurogane Gajeel? Disgraceful."
Cana gripped her mug angrily at that, "That bastard…"
"Annoying." Van clicked his tongue with a sourly look.
Laxus stood up and looked at Lucy, "And you there, the main culprit, the debutant Celestial Wizard, isn't this all your fault?"
Pandora clicked her tongue and shoved him back with her hand. Laxus snickered in amusement as he stepped back a few steps and stared down at the girl who didn't feel intimidated by him in the slightest
"The fuck is your problem? Why does shit always keep flying out of your mouth every time you open it? Is that the only thing your garbage mouth is good for?" Pandora glared darkly at him. "You weren't even there to help so you don't get to talk shit and blame others."
Laxus grinned and leaned closer to her face, "Well, duh! Of course, it doesn't concern me! But if I were there, I wouldn't get beaten up like the weaklings here."
Pandora's eye twitched. She never liked his new attitude. Every time he was around, he just seemed to be more proficient at his talent of pissing her off with his arrogant talk. Just as she was about to open her mouth, Natsu came flying at Laxus with a punch but Laxus teleported behind him in a flash of lightning.
"Laxus! Fight me!" Natsu yelled, "You heartless bastard!"
The blond lightning user let out a mocking laugh, "What kind of fight would it be when you can't even catch me? When I inherit the guild, I'll get rid of all the weaklings. As well as anyone who stands against me! I'll make the ultimate guild! The strongest guild in history that no one can look down upon!"
Pandora scoffed and crossed her arms, "When you inherit the guild, you'll be the one to drag Fairy Tail in the dirt with your tyrannical rule. Think anyone here will be willing to listen to your nonsense?"
She was speaking for everyone.
"Watch it." Laxus tutted and give her a smirk, "Keep up that attitude and you'll be the first one to go."
"Fuck you." she spat.
Laxus snorted and gave her a look, "Yeah, no thanks." He waved his hand dismissively before walking off and disappearing in a flash of lightning. His departure immediately cooled the tension in the air and the others resumed their conversations.
Karissa saw some of her guild members try to cheer up Shadow Gear who were looking down after Laxus' words.
Crack!
Dark brown eyes blinked in surprise. She looked down and found her maroon headphones with a crack on the side. Worried, Karissa inspected her headphones and analyzed the damage and possible damage it might cause from any strained movement.
It's really worn out…
She knew that they were worn out and were ready to get replaced, but her maroon headphones held a special place in her heart. Laxus used to be nice even though he liked to act all cool and pretend like he didn't care. He had bought her the headphones for her birthday even though he insisted that it was because she wouldn't stop stealing his to listen to music. He could pretend that he didn't care all he wanted, but she would never forget the relieved look on his face when she excitedly thanked him with a beaming smile. She hugged him since she was so happy to have her own but he ended up lightly pushing her away before walking off in a hurry.
To her, the headphones weren't only just a gift but also a symbol of their friendship.
Even though her headphones were presently worn out and now cracked, she would never throw it out due to its sentimental value.
Karissa exhaled softly and rubbed her thumbs against it.
"That took less time than I thought." Erza put away her sword.
"Damn right! I needed a longer chance to go wild!" Natsu complained.
"I think you went plenty wild enough…" Gray rolled his eyes.
"Ehh... I thought it seemed like a good job that was challenging… guess not." Karissa scratched her cheek with her finger.
Gray patted Karissa's head with his hand with a sigh, "The job you picked was fine. It's just that this idiot isn't normal."
The pink haired mage twitched, "Shut up, you icy freak!"
Before Gray could retort, Erza suggested that they head to nearby town to check in for the night and then return home to Magnolia in the morning which Natsu was unhappy about since the job was unsatisfying.
Karissa looked to the side when caught something in her peripheral vision. The familiar dark green jacket and orange hair. It was Loke. Without saying anything, Karissa jogged away from her group and went to approach Loke who turned in her direction when he heard her footsteps. He smiled gently at her when she came closer.
"Oh, Karissa… and you guys too?"
Gray tilted his head when he walked after her with his hands in his pockets, "Huh, what a coincidence."
"You had a job around here?" Natsu grinned when he followed suit.
"Yeah. You, too?"
"How are you feeling?" Karissa peered at his face to try and see if he looked healthy, making him lean back from how close she was. The orange haired wizard just smiled softly at her concern and patted her shoulders, "I'm telling you, I'm fine. Stop worrying."
Karissa lowered her head, "Sorry." She mumbled slightly embarrassed, thinking she was pestering him. She didn't want to seem annoying even though she was worried. Maybe she should really drop it after all.
When Loke saw the brief downcast look on her face, it made him gently push her head up with a finger, "But I appreciate your concern."
"Okay." She averted her eyes, "Sorry for asking too much…"
Loke laughed and just rubbed her head which made Gray blink and then arch a brow at the gesture.
All of a sudden, Loke's hand flew off Karissa's head as if it burned and he backed away in fright when he spotted someone walking closer to him, "Lucy?!" he gasped and recoiled away when she came even closer.
"This is perfect!" Lucy smiled at him, "I wanted to thank you for—"
"Sorry, I'm in the middle of a job!" he quickly said before running away at full speed, leaving a cloud of smoke behind him. A single leaf blew in the wind as the others watched him became a dot of green in the distance.
…
…
"What is with him?!"
"He was fine just now..." Karissa trailed off and gave Lucy a side look, insinuating something.
Gray looked at her oddly, "Yeah, so, what did you do to him?"
"I haven't done anything!"
…
…
…
Karissa wasn't exactly fond of being naked in front of other people even if they were of the same gender. When she was younger, she and Cana agreed that it would be weird to bathe with others. However, the latter seemed to have no problem with it once she grew older, leaving Karissa in the same position on her own.
It just felt so weird and Karissa wasn't even sure if could relax even if she wanted to.
She was planning on using the hot spring once the other girls were done so she could be alone but Erza thought it would be much better if they went together so she helped Karissa join Lucy and her.
Help as in force.
Presently, Karissa was situated far away from the other girls and kept her knees up to her chest while hiding most of her face behind her arms.
"… Um, Karissa." Lucy spoke from afar, "You don't have to be so far away."
Karissa frowned behind her arms and tucked her legs even tighter towards her, "I'm fine over here." she replied loud enough for her to hear.
"A…Are you sure?"
"Uh-huh."
The scarlet haired mage sighed at her withdrawn behaviour, "What's there to be shy about? We're all naked in here."
Karissa scratched the back of her head awkwardly and simply answered that she was never really fond of bathing with other people. It also must have been because of how really shy she used to be during her mid-teenage years. She felt more comfortable concealing her skin away from eyes much like how she used to stay in her own corner when she felt too introverted and shy to join others. Sure, she became a bit less introverted and she was doing a better job at being less timid as she aged, but old habits die hard.
"Think of it as bonding time as a team!" Lucy offered to try and ease her nerves since she figured that Karissa wasn't quite comfortable around her specifically since she was a new member, "Let's talk about stuff."
Sensing the intention behind Lucy's words, Erza nodded and smiled at Karissa, "She's right. Come over and talk."
Karissa stared at them quietly, then her gaze skittered away, "… Okay." she resigned, not wanting to be mean and refuse.
Lucy did a fist pump underneath the water. Then she sweat dropped at how Karissa was crawling while trying her best to keep most of her body underneath the water. It was an amusing sight. It made Lucy laugh inwardly. Karissa, Lucy and Erza huddled together and sat in a small triangle to talk. Lucy, who was determined to get her teammate to open up to her, suggested they talked about themselves. A good topic that everyone could participate in.
"Things I like? I suppose collecting weapons and new armour for my inventory would be one of my likes." Erza said with a hand under her chin before smiling, "Strawberry cake as well."
"Strawberry cake?" Lucy repeated in surprise, "I figured you'd be a vanilla type of person."
"I like vanilla cake." Karissa quietly added.
"That's pretty basic of you." Lucy grinned to try and evoke a reaction out of her which successfully worked since Karissa puffed out air and lightly pouted, "Cana says the same thing. Vanilla cake is the best, you can't change my mind."
Lucy giggled at that and then looked up at the moon, "Things I like… well, I like books and my celestial spirits."
"That explains how you get a long well with Levy." Erza realized, "Having things in common helps build friendships."
Lucy nodded, "Yeah. That's how we got started talking."
"Is that why you're writing about the adventures of Iris?" Karissa grinned.
Upon hearing the name of her fictional main character, Lucy flushed and looked away in embarrassment, "P…Pretty much, haha…"
"So, did you want to be writer then?" Karissa tipped her head curiously.
"Well, I mean, it was just a hobby, but Levy-chan was the one who suggested I try publishing it… so maybe? Not sure though."
"If you do end up publishing it, I'd like to read it someday." Erza said earnestly since she also read books in her spare time, just not as much as Levy.
"We'll see," Lucy smiled at that, feeling a little bashful by Erza's intention to read while also feeling slightly pressured since someone like Erza was going to be reading it. The blonde haired girl turned her head to look at the black haired girl who seemed more comfortable compared to a few minutes ago, "So, Karissa, what do you like?"
Karissa pursed her lips and her eyes looked upward for a moment before replying, "I like drawing stuff."
Interested in this new fact, Lucy leaned closer to her curiously, "That's right. You were drawing at my place one time." She remembered, "I never really looked at it though since we were discussing about Phantom Lord. How long have you been drawing?"
Karissa's eyes shifted upwards while she raked through her memories, digging to find the approximate time of when she loved drawing, "Well... kids draw for fun when they're little, but I remember drawing a lot back when I was seven or eight I guess."
"So, you have years of practice."
Karissa shrugged, "Yeah."
Erza placed a hand on Karissa's head who looked at her in wonder. The scarlet haired woman looked proud as if she was hearing compliments about her child's achievements, "Karissa is a talented artist. It's a known fact in the guild. And, most of the time, the guild asks her for her help when design is involved."
"I'm not really that talented…"
Erza slipped her hand back in the bathwater, "You're too humble."
"Really? Well, you have to show me some of your drawings next time!" Lucy smiled at her, "I'd definitely want to take a look."
Karissa tilted her head with a smirk, "Sure, but can I read your manuscript?"
"What? Oh come on, you already know I promised Levy-chan that she would be the first one to read it."
"Oof, then no drawings for you then."
It was in the tone of Karissa's voice. It was a playful tone. But Lucy played along and pouted childishly at the sight of Karissa's innocent grin gracing her face until Erza lightly knocked her on the back of her head and called her out for being silly. The black haired girl only chuckled softly.
The blonde haired mage sighed inwardly in relief when she saw Karissa become more lax around her.
She just needed a little nudge.
After tying the yukata tight enough around her waist, Karissa tiredly walked to the room where her teammates were staying at in the inn. She left the hot spring earlier since she was getting drowsy plus she wasn't in the mood to drown in hot water by staying in there longer. Being an ice mage also might have been a reason why she didn't want to stay in there longer.
Quietly, she slid the door open and found Gray setting up his futon.
"Going to bed already?" Karissa closed the door behind her.
"Yeah. I'm super sleepy right now." Gray yawned and went to grab himself a pillow. When he turned around, he found his friend just laying on top of his futon like she just dropped on it which made him groan when he walked back.
"Make your own bed." He complained while prodding her side with his foot, "Come on, get off. I'm tired."
She squirmed and smacked his foot away and just rolled onto her back while still occupying his futon and gave him a pleading smile while pointing at the corner where the futons were, "Can you get me one?"
Gray deadpanned which made her laugh in amusement like a little kid. She held up her hands and put them in a praying motion, "Pleaaase?" she squeezed her eyes shut. The dark haired guy didn't reply and just picked up the edge of his cover and proceeded to roll her off his futon, making her yelp, and then was about to slip inside until Karissa started fighting him over the futon.
"The hell, look at all this energy you got! Go get your own!" Gray was pushing her away when she tried to slip under the blanket.
"Nah, don't feel like it." Karissa cackled and started pushing him back, "And I thought you were sleepy! If you have energy to get all pushy then you can be nice enough to set up a futon for me!"
"You lazy idiot!" Gray poked her sides to try and get her to jerk away from him and off his futon. She wasn't the type to start exploding in laughter but it certainly did coax out reactions that got her to move away whenever she got poked there. He mercilessly jammed his index fingers onto her sides which got her to constantly recoil and try to keep his hands at bay. Even so, she refused to give up.
At this point they were wrestling for the bed.
Gray Fullbuster proved to be the victor of their little wrestle after her successfully dragged her away from his futon and pinned her to the floor. He smirked at the look of annoyance on her face when he stared down at her. He had her hands pinned next to her head while he straddled her, leaving no chance for her to wiggle her way out.
"I'm super sleepy right now." Karissa mocked him childishly, "My ass." She deadpanned.
"Hey, you started it." Gray reminded flatly, "I'm just finishing it so I can go to bed." He leaned his face closer enough for the tip of his hair to tickle the tip of her nose, smirking triumphantly, "So, get your own."
A little peeved by his smirk, Karissa stuck her tongue out like a child, "Alright, fine. Get off you, big ape." Karissa tried to throw him on the floor while he took his time getting off her but failed which made him laugh at her attempt.
Karissa went to grab herself a futon while he made himself comfortable in his. She dropped it next to his and then quietly crawled into her futon once she set her pillow down for her head. Gray was on his side facing the other door that wasn't the entrance one. She also faced that way and ended up facing his back since she didn't want to be facing the entrance. Showing vulnerability openly wasn't something she liked doing except if it was in front of Gray and her siblings.
...
...
When Gray was letting his mind think about random details of his daily life to help him fall asleep, he remembered the events of the current day and then paused when he recalled the moment they ran into Loke after they raided the castle where the thieves were hiding in.
And then the nearly frantic look on Loke's face when she passed out right in front of him during the guild war flashed in his mind followed by the gestures that Loke did today.
Gray's eyes opened slowly and he stared at the back door in front of him.
I wonder…
Loke definitely cared about Karissa.
Did he care about her like a sister? A close friend? How did he see her? He wasn't sure.
But there was one thing he was sure of though. If Loke was somehow trying to court his childhood friend (despite Pandora's threats), then the ring user had another thing coming. Sure, Gray was good friends with Loke, but if his friend thinks he could string along Karissa's heart like the other girls he had dancing around in the palm of his hand then he had another thing coming.
Gray sighed softly to himself and just closed his eyes again. If Loke wasn't showing any signs of interest in her then he shouldn't be wasting his time worrying about it anyway. He should just sleep-
"Hey, Gray. Don't you think Loke's been acting a little strange lately?" she suddenly asked him after a moment of silence.
Gray opened his eyes again and frowned a little, "Yeah." He replied after thinking back, "He's been showing up at the guild less and less and sometimes he looks a little pale."
That pretty much summed up his current behaviour after the Phantom Lord incident.
"Do you think he's sick or something?" Karissa wondered curiously while staring blankly at Gray's back. After a moment of silence, Gray shifted around until he was on his back, making her blink and look up at his face when he looked at her with a quizzical look.
"You care about him that much?"
"Of course, I care." Karissa scowled at him, feeling slightly offended by his question, "He's our friend. Plus," she rubbed her eye, "when I go on jobs with Loke, he always makes sure I'm alright. Can't I worry about him the same way he does for me?"
It almost feels like I have to honestly.
That was the first time he was hearing this. Was she implying that the two were closer than what they let on at the guild?
His eyes watched her carefully to try and read anything on her face that gave away something. But he only saw genuine care and worry for their guildmate. He scratched his head and heaved out a breath, "I don't know. Maybe he's going through a rough patch right now that he needs to deal on his own." He dropped his hand down, "He knows that he can rely on us if things get too much, so I wouldn't worry too much, alright?"
"… Hm. So, guy problems, maybe?"
"It's possible."
Karissa scratched the itch on her nose, "Hmm..."
"Just go to sleep for now." He took her cover and throwing it over her head before turning around to face away from her again, "Don't worry yourself to sleep. 'Night."
Karissa scoffed, "Fine. Goodnight."
…
…
…
As the silence enveloped the two ice mages, they were slowly getting closer to the realm of sleep until the door slid open with a loud noise followed by an excited shout.
Annoyed, Gray's eyes opened, again, and he propped himself up on his arm to look over his shoulder. He groaned at the sight. It was Natsu. He saw Karissa frowning with her eyes closed and she pulled the covers above her head as she nuzzled her face into her pillow. The two ice mages wanted to sleep and Natsu was not helping.
"What's with all the racket? We're trying to sleep here!" Gray sat up in his futon.
"Hey, look around you! We're at an inn!"
Karissa groaned and tossed the covers away from her face to shoot Natsu an annoyed stare while he excitedly called for a pillow fight. He was so loud.
"Don't you want to sleep?" Karissa whined tiredly, "Go get a futon and sleep, it's comfy in here." she sat up and patted the futon.
The pink haired mage only pouted, "No way, we gotta have a pillow fight! That's just how it goes!" he grinned evilly, "And I say we start by taking down Erza!"
The scarlet haired woman smirked with a confident stance with several pillows under her arms, Karissa and Gray had no idea when she entered the room, and Lucy stood behind her with an uneasy smile.
"Well, I have already secured all of the best pillows. You stand no chance!"
Karissa recoiled her head with a bewildered look when she saw Erza armed with most of the pillows in the room but then gasped when she found a speeding pillow flying in her direction, causing her to quickly lay back down to dodge which made it slam into Gray's face behind her. Karissa whipped her head in Gray's direction when she heard the sound of impact, it sounded like a brick just hit him in the face.
Karissa sat up and snickered at him, "Whoaaa…"
"Natsu!" Gray hollered angrily, "Why you…!" he quickly shot up and picked up his pillow, making his yukata fall off his right shoulder until his right arm was out, and launched back the pillow at the fire mage's face with the same intensity.
Natsu fell on his back with a yell. This made Gray grin, fully energized by seeing his enemy fall like an idiot, and he snatched Karissa's pillow who yelled at him.
"Erza, you're next!"
"THE HELL GRAY! THAT'S MINE!"
Her pillow flew towards the scarlet haired mage who easily caught his throw, "Not bad!"
"Imma just go in the corner and grab another pillow." Karissa sighed and slowly started to get up until a pillow hit her like brick and forced her to knock Gray on his back when she stumbled into him.
"HAHAHA! TWO BIRDS WITH ONE STONE!"
"Aye sir!"
It was Natsu.
Sleepiness was sent to oblivion; the female ice mage was now fired up.
"Damn you, fire-breather!"
"You wanna go?!" Karissa snatched the pillow off the floor with an annoyed glare and then pitched it back at Natsu with full force, knocking him out of the room. With almost an animalistic instinct, she turned around and caught two pillows that were thrown at her by Erza who looked impressed as if she just blocked one of her magic swords.
"Take this!" Karissa shouted and hauled it back at Erza who nimbly leaped away, causing Gray to end up on the receiving end since he was trying to sneak up on Erza from behind. The baffled look on his face when the pillow slid off his face made Karissa muffle her laughter in her sleeve.
"I'll get you back for that, Karissa!" Natsu warned as he reeled his arm back, making her cease her laughter.
"Oh yeah?" Karissa dodged his pillow and rolled to the side where another pillow was and then kicked it up to smack him square in the face.
"GAH!"
"Nice kick!" Gray laughed as he launched a pillow at Natsu with Erza.
Seeing her teammates having fun together, Lucy pulled up her sleeve with a fun grin and said, "Maybe I'll mix it up myself!"
The four other mages who were locked in a pillow battle immediately directed their gaze towards Lucy like as if they detected an easy prey. Four pillows were homing in her direction which literally sent her flying out of the room of the inn after she got hit.
Karissa was in her room organizing her drawings in a corner. She was throwing away some drafts while setting aside the final designs for the Souvenir Shop that she and Max were working on. He told her to start choosing the ones she deemed good enough so that they could decide together which ones were going to be for sale. She was a little nervous but excited at the same time since most of her ideas were going to be displayed for everyone to see.
The ice mage dropped the papers on her bed and arched her back in discomfort.
"God…" she rubbed her back.
Last night's pillow fight was really something. They collapsed in exhaustion after a good hour and half. Erza was the victor of their battle, leaving the three other participants to feel the damage the next day. She didn't look as bad as Natsu and Gray since they were literally at each other's throats. Those two somehow branched off into their own little battle near the end. They had freaking bandages.
The last blow that Karissa received felt like she got pelted in the back by some gold bars.
The doorbell rang throughout the house. She stopped rubbing her back and went downstairs at her own pace to check the door after sitting there and contemplating if she should move or not. To her surprise, she found Loke on other side when she looked into the peephole.
Confused about his sudden appearance, she opened the door softly and peeked at him. He jumped a little when he saw her. The door opened wider for her to fully reveal herself.
"Hey, Loke. What's up?"
He looks well today. So, that's fine.
The orange haired mage opened his jacket and reached for his inner pocket to pull out a thin little novel, "Van lent this to me a couple of weeks ago and I forgot to return it." He said sheepishly while holding it out to her, "You mind giving this for me, Karissa?"
"Huh? Oh, um, sure." She took it from him and stared at it for a second to try and remember a time she saw her brother reading this little novel.
Groowwwwl~
Karissa sighed while Loke blinked.
"You didn't eat lunch yet?"
"Nah, I got too absorbed in my drawings so I forgot."
Loke peeked at the clock in her house to make sure he remembered the current approximate time, "It's way past lunch time."
"Then I guess I'll skip." Karissa joked while shrugging with her hands, "Dinner should be soon if I wait a couple of more hours."
She expected him to shake his head and call her silly like the last time he found out she forgot to eat but instead he sighed and placed his hands on her shoulders, catching her off guard, and he looked at her seriously from behind those usual shades he wore on his face.
"You need to take care of yourself."
The girl blinked, "… Huh?"
He held her shoulders tighter and looked down, away from her eyes, and continued, "… You have to take care of yourselves. You, Van and Pandora. Keep surrounding yourself around people like Gray, Natsu and Erza, don't always be alone. And be more confident in yourself."
Where was all of this coming from?
She gripped the novel tighter in her hands, "… What? Wait, Loke, what are you talking about… like… huh?" she said quite stupidly. The ice mage couldn't understand where he was coming from by suddenly spouting all these words. There was no hint or reason as to why he would suddenly tell her all of this.
The ring user then pulled his hands away from her after poking her in the forehead and then sighed with a tired smile, he shrugged with his hands, "You can barely take care of yourself so someone has to tell you or else you won't get it."
The sound of his playful tone made her scowl in response.
"You telling me I can't take care of myself? I'm not some hopeless case!"
"Your words not mine."
"Ahh, get out of here already and go hit on a girl or something!" Karissa lightly raised her leg to kick him away but he easily stepped away with a laugh.
"Fine, fine. Go eat something!" Loke left her property with a cheerful smile. He looked okay and he seemed like in a good mood, it gave away nothing not all.
That's why she was shocked several hours later when Cana came into to her house to announce to the Sinclost family that Loke had left Fairy Tail. Everyone in Fairy Tail was desperately searching around town for any sign of him as the word spread. Apparently, Loke had left a letter at the guild that told of his departure from the guild and there was no reason why he decided to leave. That's what got everyone so concerned for him and was hoping to figure out why he would suddenly leave after acting strange.
Pandora ran into Karissa when they were running down the street.
"Did you find him?" Pandora panted.
"No." Karissa sighed and rubbed her face, feeling the exhaustion of his search, "No one can find him. I ran into Shadow Gear on the way here and they said the same."
Pandora groaned and placed her hands on her knees as she tried to slow her breathing, "That guy… he acts all strange for several days and then he disappears from Fairy Tail. What's going on with him?" the taller girl wondered worriedly.
"Hey." Van's voice shouted nearby followed by running footsteps. The two sisters turned and found Van looking at them with frown on his face. That wasn't a good sign. He came over and told them how no one had seen him.
Loke had really vanished.
Karissa, Van and Pandora returned home together after another fifteen minutes of searching. There was no point in running all over the place at night when they were tired. Tomorrow was another chance to search so they left it at that. Obviously, other members chose to stay out longer to continue the search for Loke but it wouldn't be long until they would decide to retire as well.
Loke, where did you go?
Karissa thought it would take a few days before they could track down Loke based on how there was no sign of him anywhere. However, when she asked Levy, who passed her by on the way to the guild, about any updates, the petite girl smiled and reassured her that everything was alright because Lucy found him and brought him back. Hearing this, Karissa quickly went inside the construction area which was currently the Fairy Tail guildhall and, indeed, found the orange haired guy standing there with Gray, Lucy and Natsu.
She was just in time to see Natsu and Gray looking shocked with stars in their eyes as they held tickets up to their faces.
"What's going on?" Karissa wondered in confusion when she saw Natsu getting all hyped up with Happy.
Gray grinned stupidly and waved his ticket in front of her face, "Loke just gave us some tickets for a crazy luxurious beach hotel." Karissa's eyes followed the waving ticket and was able to read that it was a ticket for Akane Resort.
Karissa felt a hand on her shoulder, which spooked her a little, and she found Loke handing her one from behind, "This one is yours."
"Wait… what's the occasion?" Karissa slowly took it from him and then whirled around to look at him, "Wait, wait, what happened last night?! I thought you disappeared. Tell me please because I'm lost over here."
"Uh, yeah. Long story short, Loke's here is the celestial spirit Leo." Lucy summarized for her while sitting on a chair, "He's contracted to me now."
…
…
…
"Wait, what the fuck."
Loke pinched her nose for that cuss which made her slap his hand away with a bewildered look. "Wait, so yesterday when you dropped by my house... What," she tipped her head and narrowed her eyes at him, "were you saying goodbye to me or something? Because I still didn't get it."
"What's there not to get? I just told you to take care of yourself." the lion spirit smirked.
"He liiiiikes you." Happy snickered on the side, making her shoot him an unamused side glance.
"No, Happy's right." Loke shrugged with a smile.
Lucy sputtered her water that she was drinking. Gray looked up from his ticket. Natsu just blinked. And Karissa stared at Loke weirdly.
"Huh?"
"I like you very much." Loke ruffled her hair, confusing her even more, "Always have."
"What?" Gray lowered his ticket.
"L-Loke?!" Lucy wiped her mouth.
"I was right?!" Happy gaped.
"Huh?" Natsu tilted his head.
Seconds after he said those words, Karissa remembered the times when she would go with Loke on a job. He treated her well with respect. He once shooed away a sleazy drunkard that tried to talk to her when they were looking for an inn. He also made sure she didn't have any injuries after a battle. He always had her back and was always nice to be around, a slightly different attitude compared to the one he had towards other girls.
Along with those memories, she remembered his words from yesterday before he disappeared from Fairy Tail.
Before anyone could say anything, Loke quickly tore down their building conclusions with a quick, "Oh, but not romantically." He laughed lightly before smiling at her happily, "You giving me a white pollen flower as a child was enough to make you precious to me." He admitted with a bit of embarrassment while the others were surprised to hear this, "So, it'd be kinda weird to flirt with someone I knew as a kid."
"Wait, how old are you dude?!" Natsu scratched his head.
"Don't think, it hurts to watch." Gray cringed when he saw Natsu scrunch his face.
"Spirits don't exactly age Natsu." Lucy sighed.
Karissa, who was rendered speechless for a while, quickly snapped out of it, "Wait, you knew me as a kid?! Is that why you always acted like some sort of guardian-brother with me?"
"You got it."
Gray hummed in realization and shoved his hands in his pants' pockets, "I was wondering why you looked so freaked out when she passed out."
"Hey, can you tell me more?" Karissa grabbed his arm excitedly, wanting to hear a piece of history that she didn't remember. As much as Loke enjoyed her eagerness for story time, Loke shook his head in apology, "I have to go back to the Celestial Spirit World and rest. I've been out for far too long."
Karissa instantly released him in a slight panic since she figured that's why he looked sick before, "Oh, okay. Get out of here then." She made a shooing motion with her hands which made Lucy and Loke sweat drop.
"Not exactly the nicest way of telling me to go home but okay. In the future, I promise I'll tell you more about it when I get the chance." Loke said before disappearing to the Celestial Spirit World.
"Okay, grandpa." was all Karissa able to say with a grin before he completely vanished.
Lucy felt Loke's key shine in her hand and then she laughed lightly, she turned to Karissa and waved Loke's key, "Loke said he's taking offense to that."
Feeling satisfied for being able to get the last word in, Karissa just sat down on a chair and took out her ticket so she could look at it closely for herself. Her eyes were focused on the piece of paper but her mind wasn't.
I don't remember him at all. It must have been before I became friends with Gray.
Maybe if he tells me about our history, I'll be able to remember a piece of it.
I just hope it isn't anything embarrassing because I really don't want Loke rubbing that shit in my face.
Oh, who am I kidding? I was a little hyper growing up, I must have done at least something stupid.
Karissa rubbed her hand on her face, "Oh well."
The whole point of this chapter was to reveal Loke and Karissa's history that will serve a purpose in the future. It wasn't something I just shoved into the story to make Karissa fit into the Loke Arc. Also, Pandora and Laxus' interaction was important since I have plans for them. There wasn't much going on in this chapter so I apologize if it was a little boring.
Tower of Heaven Arc is up next.