Where was Black Star? He was the last one that Spirit absolutely needed to talk to. Given how early it was, he was probably still sleeping inside his tent. As Spirit rounded the corner on his way to the tent, he heard a bouncy giggle, unmistakably from Patti, - and he took the detour to see what she was doing out at this hour.
Making his way over to where she was - this one spot in the middle of a thick circle of trees, - and another voice joined in the conversation. Wait, was that…?
He parted some of the trees to see that, sure enough, it was Patti talking with Black Star.
"What are you two talking about out here so early?" he asked as he passed into the center with them.
"Cherry Top, do you remember those guys who stayed at our camp for dinner that one time?" Patti asked as soon as she fully registered he was standing there.
"Yeah, of course I do. Why?"
"Do you remember all they said to us?"
"Well, of course I don't know every word they said but…"
"No silly," She smacked her hand to her forehead. "I mean, do you remember everything they said about the angel thief and about the whole 'What it means to be a good person'?" Do ya remember that?"
"Yeah, I do, why?" Spirit had a sneaking suspicion of where this conversation was headed, but with Patti there was never any telling for sure.
"Well, I think it's important, and we should really think about all that they said."
Spirit furrowed his brow, making sure he understood what she meant. He gave her a questioning look, which she returned with an emphatic gesture with her arms.
"I think it's important."
"Alright, tell me what you're thinking."
The sounds of someone entering the tent and sensing another presence in the area was enough to wake Soul up. He looked down at Maka, who was still sound asleep in his lap, before turning his gaze toward the entrance, meeting face to face with a tall blonde with striking blue eyes. She held a finger to her lips to keep him quiet, and she walked around to the other side of the pole at the center of the tent.
The cold of her hand was a shock when it came into contact with his arm. But the feeling of free wrists was good enough to forget about it.
Immediately he rubbed his wrists, trying to rub the pain and feeling of restriction away. After his wrists stopped burning as badly, he wrapped Maka in a warm embrace, finally being able to feel her in his arms.
"Soul, is it?" The blonde who cut the ropes asked. He nodded his response, wanting to stay as quiet as he could so he wouldn't wake Maka. "My name is Liz, and I don't think Black Star is going to change his mind on your punishment."
"Thanks for telling me that. Now I have something to look forward to."
"Maybe if you listened to the rest of what I had to say, then you actually would have something." She turned around and started to stand up, but he grabbed her wrist to stop her.
"I'm sorry. You can probably tell I'm not in the best of moods, but I'm sorry for not listening."
"Okay so here's the thing," she started, when Maka started stirring in Soul's arms.
They both paused and looked down at Maka. A brief moment of stirring before green peeked out underneath sleepy eyelids. She opened her eyes all the way, jerking her head up and covering Soul's body with her own when she saw Liz in front of her.
"Liz, what are you doing here?" she demanded.
"Calm down, I'm on your side. I was just about to explain that to him when you woke up. So, basically, I doubt Black Star will ever change his mind about punishment, so I'm here to sneak you out of here, mister."
"Out of the camp? But how far will I get before Black Star comes to find me again?" he asked.
"That doesn't matter. You'll get out of here and Maka will stick around and we'll try to convince Black Star to stop being a complete idiot. Sound good?"
"Easier said than done," Maka remarked but clearly bothered. Just before she could inquire about her role at the camp rather than at Soul's side however, Liz continued onwards.
"Yeah, don't I know it. But anyway, should we get you out of here now?"
Soul shrugged, but watched Maka from the corner of his eyes, wondering if this was truly good bye.
They were all about to stand up when they heard "Everybody wake up and meet me out here!"
"Spirit," Liz growled. "Let me go see what's up." Liz tossed them a wink and then got up and walked out.
Maka grabbed Soul's hand as they tried to listen to what they were saying outside. It was all hushed whispers and quiet talking; they couldn't make out any words spoken.
It eased into silence, and they paused a moment, waiting for something to happen. Liz showed up back at the entrance of the tent, gesturing for them to come with her.
They each exchanged looks before following after her, abandoning their previous plans. Liz led them to the rest of the group sitting down around the campfire. Maka squeezed Soul's hand tighter, and he rubbed his thumb along hers to let her know that he's right there with her.
"Ah good, we're all here." Spirit said as they sat down on a log. His voice was serious and formal, though he glared at their clasped hands.
Soul's chances did not look good.
"Soul, you stole an angel, one of the most severe crimes, which is punishable by death. It is our job to carry out such punishments as assassins of the law. However, if there's something you want to say in your defense, by all means, go ahead. But your status is very clear to us."
Alright, this was an opportunity to bail himself out. Maybe he could think of something.
"Hey, I didn't steal her, when I- um, found Maka, she had an injured wing and I brought her back to my cave out of danger. There are lots of wild animals out in the forest that could have easily caught her and killed her or eaten her." Every word he was spewing was such terrible bullshit, but he was sure he could come up with more. "Then she stayed with me of her own free will after I released her. She offered to help me take better care of myself, since I often forget how important that is. So, it was her choice to stay, it's not like I forced her."
"Is this true, Maka?" Spirit looked at his daughter, receiving a nod in response. "Well Soul, your crimes are still very evident, and the fact that it was my daughter whom you stole doesn't help your case. Not even to mention the rest of those animals we saw in your cave."
"I already told you, I did not 'steal' an angel. I helped her. Gave her shelter when she was hurt and needed it."
"And the animals?"
"Is that punishable by death? I made sure to get each one when they were in season, so it should be legal. Besides, they were kept happy and thrived." Yeah right, Soul. Like that was even true.
"That would be up to those in the capital, so if you'd rather be left in their hands…"
"Yeah, fuck no." he grumbled under his breath.
Spirit knew more than Soul gave him credit for. He was just good at this game as Soul, if not better. And, to top it off, Spirit had the advantage.
"Papa," Maka let go of Soul's hand, as she stood up to make her point. "I don't believe he's done something deserving of death. No, he didn't steal me. Like he said, I stayed with him by choice. Killing him is too far and we've already negated the only reason you had to kill him, you shouldn't have any reason left to follow through with this."
The look on Spirit's face had an air of putting himself above what Maka had to say. He looked as if he didn't even listen to her.
"Maka, that all sounds good but, I have made up my mind, and you can't change my decision."
Soul saw the look on Maka's face. It went from anger and sadness to realisation. At that moment, he felt like everyone else knew something that he didn't, and he was completely lost.
"What is your decision?" Maka asked, a knowing smile on her face.
"What do you mean? Have I not already expressed it?"
"No, you haven't. You've stated the punishment of the crime, and you've stated that it is your job. You never said you were going to carry out the punishment." Maka was practically bouncing, a feeling of smugness clear on her face.
His frown slowly morphed into a proud smile. "You've caught me, Maka." He said, clapping a hand on her back, prompting another wide grin from Maka. "Soul, if you could stand up." He gestured for him to stand. "I have decided, that, your crimes are, indeed, questionably deserving of the death sentence, we figured that there were some things that could be overlooked. The capital hasn't been informed yet. I think we can slide this under the rug. They probably wouldn't know it was you who stole the angel anyway."
"Maybe someday I'll go back, but I've got stuff to straighten out before then, you know." Soul said, unable to hold back his smile.
"Also," Kid spoke up with his simple and cool voice. "If you ever need something from the capital specifically, then we could always send Black Star."
"Hey, why me and not you?"
"Because you're the easiest one to send out on an errand run." he said, easily catching the punch thrown at him from Black Star.
Maka launched at Soul, pulling him into a tight embrace. He loved the feel of her, the warmth that emanated from her that spread to his core, he wanted to stay in her arms forever and never let go.
"Well, Soul," Spirit said, coming over and breaking apart the hug. So much for never letting go of her. "I was thinking that you could join our team of assassins, if you wanted to."
Soul looked between Spirit and Maka, they both had the same expression, patiently waiting for a response. They were definitely father and daughter, that much was clear as day. They had similar face shapes, but none of the same colouring. They looked so different and so similar.
He hesitated. The offer was there, clear as day, but he wasn't a person who travelled in groups, let alone becoming an assassin. Soul didn't think to choose his next words carefully. "Well, I still have a quest to go on with your daughter-" but he stopped at the sight of her broken expression, regretted his quick decision instantly. After all she'd done for him, was this what he wanted to give her in return?
Memories of his cave returned to him, full of rarity but nothing to fill his heart like Maka had. He was alone there, trapped with just the darkness of his rooms and the voice in his head to keep him company.
But here, he could have a new place in the world, a chance to make things right. It was the least he could do, to mend himself for her. With Maka. He would follow her and her light. She would guide his way.
He looked back at Spirit with a new fire in his eyes, ablaze with resolve, tightening his grip on Maka's hand. "But, after we come back, if the offer still stands, I'd… love to take you up on it." She pulled herself closer to him, and he wrapped his arm around her in a tight embrace.
"Oh? And what is this… quest you want to go on with my daughter?"
"Well, I am in need of her tracking skills to find something I lost a long time ago. We recently found something from it that would lead us to it, and, so we don't lose the trail, I'd like to start sometime soon."
There was an unmistakeable look of sadness in his eyes, and Soul realised why. Maka had been gone for a year and he wanted to just take her away right after she comes back into their lives.
"But I… I feel like you two should have a minute alone" Soul said, letting go of Maka and gently pushing her toward her father. "It's been awhile since you've seen each other, and you should catch up, talk to each other."
Soul left to give them some space to talk and walked off to sit down over on one of the logs around the campfire. Shortly after sitting down, Patti came over to him, asking him questions about all the animals in his cave, if she could keep one of the eagles, if she could keep a griffin, if she could ride a griffin, what his favourite kind of eagle was. It was a bit overwhelming to say the least, she had a very large, exuberant presence that was hard to get used to. He did his best answering her questions, and told her he'd think about letting her keep an eagle.
She continued to talk his ear off for the rest of the afternoon, asking all kinds of question, telling all kinds of stories - the story involving a chicken, a horse, and a big bowl of peanut butter, he would never forget, or believe for that matter. Occasionally one of the others would come over to them and join in the conversation, or distract Patti enough to give Soul some space.
Around the time of sunset, Maka finally found her way back to Soul. She explained to him that she talked with Spirit and talked a little bit with Black Star, and they were fine with him and her leaving to find his lost hippogriff.
"So we'll head out bright and early tomorrow morning." she said, happily.
"Alright, sounds good."
They both smiled at each other, no words were said for a long moment. Soul saw his opportunity, he leaned in to kiss her, and this time, he was going to get it right on his first try. No uncomfortable squashing of noses, no awkward lip placement, he was going to get it right. Their lips met, and it was a success. He accomplished his goal and it was actually a good kiss.
"Woowwweeeeee!" Patti shouted right in their ears, startling them, causing them to break away from the kiss.
Patti burst into a fit of laughs and Soul sighed.
So much for the perfect kiss.