A/N: Welcome back to EVERYTHING IS LATE AND LORD CHRONOS IS OUTSIDE OF MY HOUSE WITH A VERY THREATENING WASHING BOARD. Writers block came sudden this weekend and stayed long, Fuckin Suffering my dudes.
Today's chapter is about Akko finally meeting the only source of love and care Sucy had ever known before coming to Luna Nova. It's a little bit longer than usual and I might end up just adding more to it next chapter. That being said keep sending in those suggestions, if you've sent them before but they haven't been made into a chapter yet send those again too. I'm gonna actually properly write these things down like a responsible person.
DarkyLonewolf: I'm glad you liked it friend! It was lovely to write for you! I'm gonna fuckin read that garbage and I'm going to absolutely cherish every word of it. Get ready fucko.
GeminiAlchemist: Indeed my friend! Making it through chapter by chapter, always excited to see what the next will bring! You do not disappoint. Also it's utterly fascinating to see the differences in our writing styles for the same characters.
Listen... theres some spooky business in my house; I would bet my fuckin fourth toe on my left foot that the wall attacked me.
Go for it you absolute madman. I wil it alongside the rest of this world's fluff.
TheHybridGryph: That's right my dude, we marriedbois now. I'm glad you enjoyed!
Latebois.
If Akko had learned one thing over two years of friendship with her vicious viper of a roommate, it was that she was not someone who got visibly upset. So when the alchemist came into class that morning anxiously fidgeting and running her hands through her messy purple locks, Akko was immediately tipped off.
"Are you doing all right Sush?" The brunette tentatively inquired, trying her best to keep her voice at a steady volume and her distance respectful. Sucy was a difficult beast to comfort; it only took a single misstep for her to completely close herself up. "You look kind of stressed."
Sucy jerked, as if ripped forcefully from the abyssal depths of her own brain. Recognizing the head of brown hair after a half second pause, the alchemist stared into Akko with conflicted eyes, seemingly at war with herself- weighing her options; how much she wanted to reveal about her internal crisis.
"I've..." She tried before sealing her lips shut once more.
Eventually the louder, less isolationist half of the alchemist won out, and she let out a heavy sigh, bringing the back of a hand up to rub at her forehead. "I've been in contact with my uh... siblings I guess you'd call them."
"The old lady hasn't been feeling so good."
The brunette nodded, folding her arms behind her back; Sucy usually kept to herself, but on rare occasions would offhandedly mention her adoptive family. There was a mother figure that she called 'Granny' or 'old lady', as well as at least five other children- maybe more.
"And you're worried about her?" Akko prodded gently, taking another step forward.
Running her left hand through her hair for the sixth time since entering the classroom, the alchemist took a deep breath.
"Yeah. I'm thinking of leaving at lunch to go check up on her."
Taking the final step so that she was right in front of the alchemist, Akko tilted her head, stretching her lips in a sunny smile. "Would you like me to come with you? Moral support?"
Dropping her gaze to stare at the brunette's shoes, Sucy mulled over it, seeing if there were any other challengers within her mind that could dethrone the dragon.
There weren't
"I think I would like that..." The alchemist murmured hesitantly, fiddling with the hem of her vest. "We would uh- We would need to let the headmistress know first."
It was typically much harder for Akko to get permission to do something than her other friends, but this time proved different. Headmistress Holbrooke seemed rather surprised at the alchemist's request, and was so for the planned outing that the request for Akko's accompaniment was naught but a sidenote.
As soon as class was let out for lunchtime, the girls took to the air, speeding through the ley-line portal and through the branches of Yggdrasil.
Coming out the other side, the girls were immediately drenched with rain. Their destination could have been easily mistaken for the wetlands of Somerset had it not been for the vastly higher temperatures hitting them smack in the face.
"Akko!" Sucy yelled over the falling water. "Shield us! Now!"
Fumbling to pull her wand off of her belt, Akko began violently waving it around; hoping visualization of the intended result would be good enough.
It wasn't perfect, but the splotchy shield at least kept their clothes from getting more soaked than they already were. Flying just high enough to not block their path with trees, but low enough to not stand out against the sky, the girls came to a clearing just outside the town; a moderately size house with pieces of smaller houses surgically attached in odd places.
"This is your house?" The brunette quizzed in awe as they touched down onto the grass. "Why is it all..." She reached for the right word, grasping blindly.
"Mismatched?" Sucy offered, smirking lopsidedly. "Granny didn't always plan on having so many kids living with her; a house can only hold so many without alteration."
Walking quickly up to the front door, the alchemist opened the screen; turning her head to signal Akko to follow her inside.
"Gran! James!" She called into the entryway, casually kicking off her shoes. "I'm home!"
Following her roommate through her home, Akko saw traces of life scattered all around: toys that had yet to be put away, a blanket with dogs on tossed onto the couch, a cereal bowl abandoned in the rush to make it to school.
"Sucy!" A dark skinned boy met them half-way, just outside the second living-room; he must have been 14 or 15, but the more mature way he carried himself was telling.
"I thought you might be coming today-" In his excitement to see his pseudo sister, the Filipino boy completely missed the other girl standing right behind her. "Who's this?"
The alchemist glanced from Akko to her sibling, her brows twitching in confusion. "James? Have I... never talked about Akko before?" She blinked twice, staring off into space; looking genuinely concerned.
"Why would I leave out something so important?"
It warmed the brunette's heart and cheeks to be referred to as 'something important', goading her to happily skip to Sucy's side, grabbing hold of the witch's arm and attention; hugging tight.
"How could you forget about this cute face?" Akko teased, poking a finger into her left cheek and twisting with a cheeky smile. "And here I thought I was your best friend?" There was no sincerity in her pouty whine, but Sucy looked apologetic.
"You are." She verified firmly, turning her head back toward her sibling. "She is."
"Where's Granny?" Topic switching on a dime, Sucy focused back in on to who she came home to help. "I can brew something that will help her get back on her feet, but first I need to know what's wrong."
James stepped aside, allowing Sucy to see into the second living room, where a long, bony, almost corpse-like hand reached up in the air, waving her over.
Laying across the couch, wrapped in so many snug layers she could easily be mistaken for an entombed mummy, was a very old woman.
Her long frizzy hair was snow white, looking like it hadn't been brushed or cut in half a century; her coco brown skin was less wrinkled than one would expect, yet it was clear that little muscle or extra flesh remained beneath it. Black spots and bumps dotted across her nose and under her eyes before disappearing beneath the blankets that covered her; the inevitable march of time taking its toll on the witch even as she continued to cheat the reaper.
The closest thing Sucy had to a mother.
Ramzan Manbavaran.
"Is that Sucy?" The elderly woman breathed, blinking away sleep from her hazel eyes. "It feels like an eternity since I've seen your face."
"Hey Granny..." Sucy knelt down next to the couch, taking out her wand and slowly scanning from head to toe for the cause of this sickness. "I heard you were sick so I came to help."
A wheezing cackle bubbled up from the wtich's chest, utter amusement that reminded Akko of her mischievous roommate after a particularly cruel prank.
"When did you become so caring?" Ramzan jabbed before ending her laughter with a hacking cough.
It was then that her eyes fell on Akko; piercing, ancient eyes that looking straight through her and into her soul. Looking the brunette up and down, Sucy's guardian began to slowly nod, understanding washing over her face.
"I see..." She hummed, moving her piercing gaze back to her adoptive child. "You've found yourself a north star... and followed it back to shore."
Sucy froze, ceasing her scan for a second or two before continuing. "I... I have." She murmured, jaw clenching. "The storm clouds are far behind me now."
The brunette watched the entire interaction in complete confusion.
Stars? A shore? Storms?
The way the two alchemists talked to eachother was vague and cryptic; it left Akko feeling rather lost and left out.
Luckily the sickly old woman noticed her discomfort and brought her into the conversation.
"Tell me about yourself then child. How did you meet my little viper?" Ramzan inquired, shuffling as Sucy propped her up with pillows into more of a sitting position. "This one barely calls home, and even on those rare days: nothing but pleasantries!"
There was a pretty significant amount of story to their friendship: a humorous meeting, a rocky beginning, and a steady middle that they were both still a part of; Sucy would be working on a brew for a while as well.
Internal debate over and done with quickly, Akko nodded, sitting down on the carpet and beginning her story right at the start.
"Well it was a morning in May..."
A/N: This was an interesting chapter to write. In order to describe what Ramzan looked like I had to actually take her appearances in the manga and colour them in until they looked right; I'm a very visual writer. (Which might not make any fuckin sense but uhhhhh)
I'm gonna sleep now and then spend another 8 hours staring at the next A Rose in Winter chapter (I must be up to like 30 solid hours of jack shit.)
Pray for me.