"Well the city seems pretty dead today." Kris mumbled, walking with her hands behind her head. She sighed, pushing her red fedora over her eyes with her thumbs. "This is so boring." She sighed again.
"Oh, stop complaining." Elise walked nexf to her, the other two members of the team a little ways behind. "You'll jynx us and something crazy will happen. I don't feel like dealing with that."
"I think some crazy right about now would be fun..." The red head mumbled, letting her arms fall as she crossed them. "Anything would be fun."
"You know, guys!" Kagami called out to those in front of her. "I think we hit a bust over here. I think it's time to head back to the main part of the city."
Kris groaned, her shoulders dropping as she turned around on her heels and started back. "This was so boring today! I wanted to at least meet something!"
"A day of rest and just walking around isn't that bad." Cheyenne smiled, hands in her pockets. "I kinda like it. It's like back when we were at Beacon... and we just walked the streets for fun or to pass the time."
"I honestly like not having to deal with monsters or criminals or school or anything." Elise smiled. "It's kinda like back on my farm. Minus chores and hunting for dinner. No offense." She glanced at Kris.
The red head gave a small shrug as the team started to head back to the main part of the city. "Nome taken. At least not anymore." She flashed a smile, looking up at the brunet.
Back in the middle of the Vale, everything was slowly returning to normal. Cafés were reopening, same with other stores and restaurants. While the aftermath of the Fall of Beacon and the Attack on Vale was still fresh in everyone's minds, the rehabilitation of the city and citizens were slowly moving along.
Sitting at a table, team MACE broke into a faint laughter. Kris herself had a large cup of soda while Cheyenne had a steaming hot cup of expresso. Elise and Kagami both had a cup of tea. Elise with salted caramel black tea and Kagami with straight green tea.
"If I didn't know any better," Cheyenne smiled as she took a sip of her drink. "I am still pretty sure Professor Port would have a better chance of dating Ms. Goodwitch than General Ironwood."
"Oh come on!" Elise groaned, leaning forward. "Ironwood doesn't even look that bad! He's actually really fine looking. I saw him during the tournament."
Kris rolled her eyes, putting her hand on the table. "Please, mh aunt complains all the time about James. She honestly can't stand him."
"Well you can't tell me Ironwood isn't fine!" Elise looked at Kagami. "What do you think? He's fine, right?"
"I think..." The green haired girl sighed, setting her cup of tea down. "I think you are all craxy for... shipping... these people with someone else." She shook her head. "What does shipping even mean?"
The three other girls sighed a bit before going back to talking. As they went on, Kagami suddenly noticed a figure in a white hood looking over at them. She blinked once, standing up. "I'll be right back, guys."
"Huh?" Cheyenne raised an eyebrow, watching her leader walk off and head down an alley.
Sighing, Elise stood. "I'll go get her. My tea is a little to hot to drink anyway." She followed. "Don't know what her problem is." She grumbled
Walking dowm the alley, the brunet blinked as she saw nothing but a dumpster. "What?" Her eyebrows raised as she walked farther down. "Where did... what?" She looked around rapidly, small pebbles falling down onto the ground.
Up on the rooftop above, on the building next to the alley, Kagami softly panted as golden eyes faded from gold to light blue. She then blinked, her eyes changing back to their pale green. "What are you doing here?" She gritted her teeth.
Standing in front of her, Nihilus took a deep breath, sticking his hands into his pockets. "I came to get more food." He said calmly.
"You mean steal food?" Her eyes narrowed.
"Buy." He corrected, flashing some lien.
She tensed a bit, eyes narrowing. "And where did you get that? Did you steal it? Once a criminal always a criminal."
He rolled his eyes, glancing up at the sun before at her. "I'm not fighting just to be fighting. I'm fighting for myself. You don't have to worry about it." He half smirked just barely. "Besides, it's not like I'm stalking you. I just happemed to see you. So I decided to warn you."
"Warn me about what?" She took a small step back.
"About this." His eyes flashed gold before she could respond. Siddenly, he was gripping her shirt tight with his eyes narrowed into hers. "Do not use this. Ever. You won't have to worry about me doing something illegal or killing someone. I won't. But if you go and keep trying to use this curse..." His eyes narrowed much more as he tightened his grip on her shirt. "It will kill you." He suddenly appeared away from her, brushing off his sleeves. "Now if you don't mind, I need to find something to cheer Val up."
Kagami blinked a few times, still in slight shock about whag had just happened. She shlok her head, taking a small step towards him. "How... is she...?"
He paused, glancing back. "What do you care?"
"I... promised I'd help split her and that demon..." She muttered quietly.
Nihilus stopped, looking back at her. "Split... Val and Valentine...? You know how to do that?" The real question was how that was even possible.
"Well, not yet." She rubbed the back of her head. "But I promised I would... so I will."
He blinked a few times, flashing an actual smile as he looked away. "If you ever figure out anything... come back to this rooftop." The next second, he was gone completely.
Kagami blinked, quickly looking around before sighing. He was no where to be seen and she knew she knew she wasn't going to find him no matter how hard she looked.
Down on the ground below, Elise was bent over, playing with a few stones and moving them around. "Well this is awkward... I can't just go back with no one..." She sighed, her back facing the opening of the alley to the streets.
Walking down the sidewalk, a womam who Elise never thought she would see in the city stopped at the opening. Stepping up next to her, a large man holding three baby boys raised his eyebrows. "Something wrong, Eleanor?"
"That's..." Eleanor blinked several times, staring at the person hunched over in the alley. The only thing she took note of was the hoodie though. More importantly, the symbol on the back of the hoodie. "Klein... that's..." She started to walk forward, her eyes wide and face nearly pale.
"Honey?" Klein's eyebrows raised.
Not even listening, Eleanor continued forward. She reached out, grabbing the shoulder of the person. "M-Midori...?" She muttered quietly.
"Huh?" Elise looked up with an innocent look on her face. A smile then formed, her eyes lighting up with joy. "Mama!" She suddenly tackled her mother to the ground with a hug. "I've missed you so much!"
"Hey, hey there!" Klein chuckled, walking down. "There's my girl! You've grown so much!"
"Papa!" The brunet jumped to her feet, bolting towards her father. She stopped though, blinking a few times. "Wait... who's... are those?" She pointed at the three infants in his arms.
"Oh." He looked down at them. He gently motioned them towards her in his arms. "Meet your brothers." He smiled brightly.
"...what..." She let out, her face going red as she quickly look between her mother and father. "Wait! Ew ew ew ew ew! No! I didn't need that picture in my head! No! No! No!"
He rolled his eyes, smiling. "They are Hunter, Hugo, and Harold. They are rather nice when sleep but when awake..." He awkwardly chuckled. He then blinked, looking at his wife behind his daughter. "Eleanor?" His brows raised.
Elise looked back, blinking. "Mama?"
"That hoodie..." Eleanor muttered quietly, her face still pale. "Where did you..." She trailed off. She then yelped, a blur of green landing next.
Kagami blinked a few times, looking at Elise before at the woman and man then back at Elise. "Hold on, what did I miss?" She blinked rapidly.
Staring at the jade haired girl with wide eyes, Eleanor didn't know what do say or do. "You're not her... but... you look like her..." She muttered quietly.
"Huh?" Kagami raised her eyebrows.
"Oh! Kagami!" Elise smiled, pointkng at Klein. "This is my papa! And apparently three little brothers..." She groaned before skipping over to Eleanor. "And this is my mama!" She smiled. "Oh! You guys have to meet Cheyenne and Kris!" She jumped up amd down with glee, grabbing Kagami by the wrist and dragging her back to the restaurant.
"Are you alright?" Klein quietly asked his wife.
Eleanor blinked a few times before gulping. She shook her head. "You remember about... that team of mime I told you about?" She glanced up. When he nodded back she sighed, rubbing her arms. "I think... that's her daughter..."
"Oh." He blinked a bit, slowly nodding. "Well, come on." He nudged her. "Your daughter would like you to meet her friends."
Back at the table, Elise went on and on, explaining every detail about the past year. Well, aside from a few details she knew her mother wouldn't approve of. Like being beaten to near death and sneeking around at night.
She then stopped, blinking a few times. "Hold on..." Her head tilted. "Why are you guys here?"
"Uh well..." Klein rubbed the back of his head. Just then, one of the newborns gave off a cry. He quickly dodged the question, going go tend to him.
"So you four met Aero..." Eleanor gave a heavy sigh, looking down with a faint gulp. Slowly, she looked up. "She still isn't here... in town... is she?"
"I think she said she was going to help rebuild Vale." Cheyenne said. "She's probably around here somewhere."
"Uh huh..." The older woman nodded.
"That reminds me!" Elise shot to her feet, pointing at her mother. "Aero said you had a tattoo!"
Eleanor's face went red as she went quiet. "That's... none of her... business..." She muttered quietly.
"Well I want to see it!" The young farm girl demanded. "Right now!"
"Elise-" She was cut off.
"Right now!" She demanded again
"Oh for the love of..." Eleanor reached up, pinching the bridge of her nose. Slowly, she stood up amd turned around. Pulling up her shirt just a bit, a black drawn tattoo showed itself on her lower back. It was of two snowy mountains next to each other, above them the moom. After a few seconds, she quickly pulled her shirt back down and sat. "There."
"Cool..." Elise smiled, sitting back dowm herself. "Can I get a tattoo too?" She suddenly blurted out.
"For Oum's sake, no!" Her mother shot back. "Are you crazy!?"
"Why nor?" Elise whined. "I want one too! Of a heart! Over my heart!"
"I said no!" She shot back.
As the two bickered on, Kagami leaned over towards Klein. "You know... it's really hard to believe they are mother and daughter. They are so... opposite..."
"You should have seen them when she was younger." He chuckled.
"Klein!" Eleanor snapped.
"S-Sorry, honey!" He nearly fell put of his chair.
"I'll just get one without your permission..." Elise muttered.
"That's probably not a good idea..." Cheyenne sighed, shaking her head. "She's not listening to me."
"Don't worry, Chey." Kris patted her back. "I am. And watching this really entertaining conversation of this family." She chuckled.
"Wait..." Elise calmed herself, raising her eyebrows at her parents. "So why... are you guys here?"
"Well..." Klein looked over at Eleanor with a gulp. "Elise... look..." He trailed off, looking down.
"What?" The small brunet raised her eyebrows.
"Elise... listen..." Eleanor looked down herself, sighing. "I'm not... exactly sure how to explain this..."
"But..." Klein spoke up. "Grimm came out of nowhere... and it seems Vale has seen better days too... but those monsters came out of nowhere..."
"We had to leave..." His wife took a deep breath, looking up. "We barely got out with out lives... we had to leave everything..."
"You mean... it's all... gone..." The everlasting smile on Elise's face slowly disappeared. Her brown eyes watering up. "All... my room... m-my home..."
"Yes." Her father slowly nodded. "Yes..."
Cheyenne herself tensed up, her hands fidgeting together as she looked around. Kris gulped some, slowly reaching out and putting a hand on Elise's thigh.
Before the red head could say anything, Elise shot to her feet and jerked away. "Wait!" Tears were now clearly visible in her eyes. "What about Jelly Bean!?" Her voice cracked.
Klein looked up before looking back down. When Eleanor didn't even more, Elise knew the truth. The silence spoke for itself. She shoved her chair away, quickly turning around and running away.
Kagami quickly stood, her eyes full of concern. She glanced at the parents of her teammate. "Jelly Bean?" Her brows raised.
Klein bit his lip, looking up. "It was a horse we got for her. She was rather crazy but Elise was able to tame her. She was a beautiful beast too... she was as heavy as could be. I could barley even pick her up. And boy could she run..." He looked down. "Her muscles were like madness..." He sighed.
"She ran into an Ursa so we would have time to run off..." Eleanor mumbled. "She saved us... but... an animal doesn't ever have a chance against a Grimm..." She sighed.
Kagami sighed, sticking her hands in her pockets. "I'll go get her." She muttered before turning around and running after her friends.
"Um... sooo..." Kris blinked rapidly, looking up at Cheyenne. When the Faunjs shrugged, the red head looked over at the two parents and three newborns. She sighed, lookimg down. She knew Cheyenne was thinking the same thing.
Triplets.
After the sun had set, Kagami was walking through the trees of the Emerald Forest, doing her best to follow the trail of muddy footprints and not miss them. When she started to hear quiet sobbing, she looked up from the tracks and followed the sound. Coming to a clearing, she softly sighed at the sight of Elise with her knees buried in her chest and arms wrapped aroumd them. In front of her, there was a drop, revealing a peaceful view.
"Hey there." Kagami spoke quietly.
Elise flinched, glancing up before shoving her face back into her knees.
Kagami sighed again, sitting down slowly beside her. She placed her book filled with poems down before reaching over and rubbing the brunet's back. "Elise...?" She spoke softly.
Her whimpering slowly died down before she looked up. She sniffed, her eyes burning red as tears fell from her face."What...?"
She smiled back, nudging her a bit. "What what? You're my friend and you're crying. Of course I'm going to show up."
She sniffed again, rubbing her eyes. "It's... it's not fair..." She lowered her head back down, gritting her teeth as more tears started to fall. "Before I left to come here... I told her I would be back soon... I'd be back and ride her till the end of time..." She shook her head. "She... she was mine... I helped raise her and fed her and spent everyday from when I got her to before I left with her... sh-she..." She tensed, giving off a scream.
Kagami sighed softly, patting her back a little more before bringing her hand back. "Elise-" She was cut off.
"She was my best friend!" She jerked a little. "It's always 'she's just an animal' or 'she doesn't really matter she's not a human'! But she was my best friend! She was always there! On every adventure and every time I came home! She was always there for me! But..." She went quiet. "The... the time she needed me most... I wasn't there for her..." She slowly looked up at Kagami.
The jade haired girl smiled some, tilting her head. "Well... I don't know how to help that much... but I did what I always do..." She reached over, grabbing her book. With another smile, she held it up. "Wanna hear a poem I just wrote?"
Elise sniffed, slowly nodding as she rubbed her eyes. "Always..."
"Good." Kagami smiled back, opening up her book and flipping through the pages. She stopped on the last poem, and read it with the softest voice she could.
Hey there baby girl
I know it's a cold cold world
Out there, so unforgiving
Full of endless grieving
But this is not the ending
I know I have ascended
To the stars above, enchanted
But while my story has ended
You can't be so dependant
You have to keep pushing
And keep on enduring
If not for yourself, then for me
And gain stenght from this tragedy
I know I was taken, so unfairly
But I now prance in the Meadow of Harley
Free from any suffering and pain
So pretty please don't go insane
Just remember you and I are not alone
And the first day we said hello
Elise blinked softly as Kagami shut her book amd set it down. A moment later, Kagami grunted as Elise wrapped her arms around her and began to cry again.
Kagami nodded, wrapping her arms around Elise and patting her back. "It's alright... cry it out... it's going to be alright." She looked up, looking across the horizon at the mountains and trees below. "I promise."