28th: Shades of green

Summary: The green-haired gunner was the last one she had to apologise to but somehow, Evergreen feared that this might be the hardest. And hell, she was right.

Evergreen walked through Magnolia as she stared as the ground. After she had apologised to Elfman for her behaviour during the Battle of Fairy Tail, she had decided that Bisca Moulin, the gunner, would be the next she would apologise to. This might be even harder because Bisca had always been kind and friendly to her when she had just returned from another exhausting job. They hadn't really been friends because Evergreen didn't do friendship (Elfman was the only exception) but the green-haired woman had been the closest the socially awkward Evergreen had ever had to a friend.

'Oh, hey there, Ever! You made it back just in time for the beauty contest – you are entering, aren't you?' Bisca had smiled brightly as she had turned around before she had looked worried. 'Hey – are you okay? You look a little bit sha-'

She hadn't been able to finish her sentence because Evergreen had petrified her. The brunette mage sighed deeply as she grabbed another scarf from a basket before she dropped it again. She was in no mood to go shopping – for the first time in a long, long time.

"I am foolish," she muttered as she grabbed a box of tea from a shelf and bought it. "I am cowardly running away instead of facing the truth … I am so freaking dumb…"

She raised her head once more and took the tea before she headed back to Fairy Hills where she slowly made her way to Bisca's room. She knocked after one last moment of hesitation and wanted to leave since she didn't hear anything. But suddenly, she heard a loud noise and footsteps before the door was opened and the green-haired woman appeared. Bisca didn't look healthy, Evergreen decided as she stared at the pale woman.

"Hello, Evergreen," the younger mage said slowly.

"I came to apologise," the brunette replied. "Look, I am really, really sorry, Bisca, and-"

"Come in. We don't have to discuss this on the hallway," Bisca interrupted her as she stepped aside. "Sorry for the mess but I just woke up, you know?"

"I am sorry for waking you up while you are recovering," Evergreen muttered as she entered the room. "I, um, brought tea for you because you are probably still recovering from the effect of the life link magic…"

"Thanks," the green-haired mage smiled. "I could make a cup or two while you talk … Ever. It has been too long since we drunk tea together."

The self-proclaimed queen of fairies felt a wave of relief washing over her as she heard the nickname. "I was under orders. That's no excuse, merely an explanation," she said. "It was nothing personal – at least not on my behalf. My order was to petrify Erza and Mira – along with any other contestant. I am truly sorry that I hurt you, Bisca. I kept hurting people I don't want to hurt during the Battle of Fairy Tail … first you and later on Elfman. I am really, really sorry about this, Bisca."

"Calm down, Ever," the gunner sighed. "If you hadn't petrified me, I'd been forced to hurt my nakama … don't call me selfish now but … I am not sure how I would have dealt with this. I might have ended up hurting Alzack." A faint blush covered her cheeks. "The Battle is over. Laxus lost and Fairy Tail won. Everything is fine again. I am recovering quite well – unlike Cana." She mentioned towards the floor where the weeping sounds came from. "I've the room above Juvia's, so yeah, I hear her crying. I could hardly sleep this night."

"Laxus will return once he figured out what he really wants in this life."

"What about you?" Bisca asked as she put down two steaming cups of tea. "Will the Thundergod Tribe run for it as well? Or will you stay and deal with everything here in Magnolia? You have to make a decision, this time, Evergreen…"

"First of all, Fried has scored a row of dates with Mira, so we won't leave anytime soon," the brunette said as she rolled her eyes. "I seriously love my team but sometimes, they annoy me a little bit, you see? I don't know what I want to do. I could go on jobs alone-"

"You have been avoiding contact with other people for far too long, Ever," Bisca said. "I know that you claim to be socially awkward but … give them a chance, alright? Not everyone is like your parents and especially Fairy Tail is far more tolerant than most people."

They seemed to be so different and most people couldn't understand why they got along. Bisca was so full of life and of hope while Evergreen seemed to be slightly depressed and meaner members of the guild claimed that she had suicidal thoughts for various reasons. They seemed to be like day and night but the people who saw it this way were wrong. They were both dawn. Bisca was pale green, the colour of spring. Evergreen was a deep emerald green, the colour the trees had in late summer, shortly before the leaves got yellow in autumn. Both of them were shades of green – this made them similar.