Bittersweet Reunion (Closed/Riley)

[Jimmydalad]

Some would say that the forest was a death trap. In a way, Kasumi thought of it as an extension of her former home. Whenever she passed through Onibas, she always made sure she visited the forest. The forest was where she had her first ever mission with Griffin Wing three years ago. It was when she first met the guild master, Riley, though she didn't realize that at the time. For her, this was the start of her first real adventure. The adventure of Griffin Wing.

Making sure she stayed on the path, Kasumi paused for a moment to look around. The trees billowing with the wind that picked up the leaves and made them dance. It seemed that the forest would always be full of life, even if some of the life did try to kill them and a bunch of researchers trying to pass through the forest. Even though that was three years ago, the forest still remained relatively the same, as if untouched by the outside world.

Sighing softly to herself, she sat down by one of the trees and took out her necklace. The Griffin Wing symbol glimmered due to the sunlight pouring through the trees. The necklace was all she had left of Griffin Wing. With the attack from Phantom Cloak, there was no way she could keep her mark. It was asking her to be attacked.

She clung hard onto the necklace, trying to push back tears that she could feel falling. She had to stay strong. Not only for herself, but for her new guild, Fairy Tail, and the former Griffin Wing members in Fairy Tail. She knew she wasn't the strongest mage, but the world wasn't going to let her get away with that. She took another deep breath, looking back down at the necklace and finding herself falling into her memories.

[Merc]

Staying in Onibas was hard, but having to stare out over the city to see the void where the Griffin Wing building used to be just about killed Riley every time that she lifted her eyes from the dirt. It was for that reason that she had ventured into the forest, where it was much quieter - and where there was no one to whisper about her, throw rocks at her, yell at her, or try to pick a fight with her.

It had seemed like a good idea to venture out on her own when she had been in the city, but now that she was surrounded by the silence of the forest she only had her thoughts to occupy herself and frankly she was probably better off being pelted by rocks.

Running her fingers through her choppy hair, she came to a slow halt when she got the feeling that she was not alone in the forest. Lifting her eyes to scan the area, she rather easily caught site of a red haired young woman that was sitting with her back to a tree, playing with something shiny. It was close to the girl's face, so Riley allowed herself to stare for a moment before blinking and squinting.

She was sure that the face was a familiar one, but it was a bit hard to tell from a distance. Quietly, she made her way forwards, her bright eyes fixed intently upon the fact until she was close enough to positively identify the person.

"K-Kasumi?" She stammered. While she was sure that it was the person in question, she wasn't entirely sure how she would react to seeing a ghost. A ghost that was thought to have abandoned her guild, no less...

[Jimmydalad]

Was it foolish of her to dwell in the past? Look back on old memories and cling to things that are gone? Griffin Wing was her life for a time. The guild was there to guide her when she had no idea where she was going or what she was doing. While there were still others, the thought that she was one of the last Griffin Wing members caused her to shiver, knowing that many stronger mages died trying to protect the guild while all she could do was watch.

A sound of a familiar voice caused her body to freeze. Kasumi could never mistake that voice. She had to be wrong though. She was dead. Her absence was part of the reason Griffin Wing fell in the first place. Quickly moving her hand towards her staff, she jumped upwards, her head quickly flicking towards the origin of the voice and readying herself into a battle position.

"Riley?" Kasumi said, her voice quivering. Her former guild master was assumed to be dead and yet, she stood before her. Her staff was pointed at Riley aggressively, readying herself to fight. However, her arms and legs were shaking and a few tears started to appear in her eyes. Was it possible that she didn't die? She vigorously shook her head, trying to get her thoughts back into line and the tears off her face.

"You can't be real. You're supposed to be dead." Kasumi muttered, not letting her eyes stray from her former guildmaster. In the back of her mind, she wanted this to be an illusion. She didn't want Riley to be alive. She had gone up until now with the belief that she had passed. The memory of the guild and its members was what gave Kasumi that strength. If Riley was still alive, it brought up the possibility that her memories were wrong. That her reasoning why Griffin Wing fell was wrong. That the things she did were meaningless.

[Merc]

Riley took a step back as Kasumi leaped to her feet with weapon in hand, which was just about what she had come to expect from people. It was disheartening, but she offered a small smile to the girl as sad green eyes watched her intently. If nothing else, it was good to see Kasumi in one piece - that was more than she could say about some.

"I..." Her voice trailed off. Was it wrong to make herself known? Should she have just left Kasumi alone instead of indulging in her own selfish desire to make sure that at least some members of her old guild had escaped unscathed and found happiness. It wasn't too late for her to walk away and let Kasumi think that she had just hallucinated the whole event. Judging by the hostility that she was presented with, it was probably best that she not push the red head any further. Seeing her was understandably upsetting.

"I am whatever you want me to be." Riley managed, taking several slowly steps backwards, she soon turned on her heels and began to walk away. She didn't really want to leave Kasumi in the state that she was in, angry and seeming about ready to cry, but if it came to violence she also didn't want to have to fight the other mage. With a bitter sigh, she pushed her hands into the pockets of her jacket and fell into silence.

[Jimmydalad]

"Don't go!" Kasumi suddenly shouted, the words escaping her mouth before she could think. Kasumi attempted to regain her composure, rubbing some of the tears out of her eyes and started to take deep breaths. Even if this was an illusion, Kasumi knew she would hate herself forever if she didn't use this opportunity.

"I... I need answers!"

She let the words sink in for a moment. In that time, Kasumi took more breaths, reorganizing her mind as she lowered her weapon. She didn't know how Riley was feeling, or if it was even Riley she was talking to. Yet she couldn't hold back any more. The questions that were in her mind, that she had had in her mind for three years were starting to resurface, alongside a whole bunch of memories.

"Where did you go?" Kasumi asked, the pain ringing in her voice. "Griffin Wing was my home. You were practically my family. Then you vanished. Vanished for what is now three years." It felt like Kasumi was rehearsing from a script. In a way, she was. She bit her lip, resurfacing the more painful memories of her former guild.

"Once you left, it wasn't the same. People were arguing about what to do. Some wanted to look, others said we needed a new leader. It was chaos and Phantom Cloak saw that. If you were there, we could've stood a chance." She looked down towards her necklace and took it off, holding it in a way to show the Griffin Wing insignia.

"Why did you leave us Riley!" Kasumi yelled in anger. Tears were now starting to fall down her face as the emotions rose back up again. It had been too long.

[Merc]

As Kasumi called to her and Riley obliged, coming to a halt and peering over her shoulder at the other female in an attempt to try to figure out why someone so openly hostile wanted her to stop.

Answers, of course. She knew that she owed everyone at least that much, so she slowly turned to face Kasumi, allowing her to say her piece. She ranted, yelled, cried and blamed her for what had happened, but Riley remained silent until she had finished speaking. A silence lingered, during which time she wondered if what she was about to say would just sound like excuses, but she eventually decided that she owed the truth to a good many people.

"That day, when I left the guild, I had every intention of returning." She assured, her voice just loud enough for the redhead to hear her. "I've longed to return all this time, but I wasn't able to. I wasn't even in this world." It was a hard thing to believe, Riley knew that much, and she wouldn't blame Kasumi for not understanding or even for assuming that she was lying to try to save face, but still, she continued to speak.

"I got caught in a spell that brought me to a strange world of demons and monsters. I always returned to the place where I appeared in that world, hoping to find a way back, but it was only recently that it appeared... Far too late to help anyone." She shook her head for a moment as she fell silent once more, waiting to hear her reply.

[Jimmydalad]

The silence was deafening while Kasumi continued to cry. She had hoped that she would've been able to have at least some control over her emotions, but it looked like that wasn't going to happen. She still made an attempt to look at Riley, waiting for the answers that she had been looking for.

Riley's story could be described as fantastical. Kasumi just stared at her, her eyes hinting a mixture of curiosity and bewilderment. Another world? There was magic strong enough to do that? She didn't really know how to take the new information. It could be possible that Riley was lying, but the way that she presented the story to Kasumi told her that it was honest. Kasumi briefly wondered if it was just her relationship with Riley that influenced her thoughts, but Riley could've easily just ignored her.

"I can't say that I fully understand what happened." Kasumi started, sniffing and cleaning her face of tears. Kasumi looked down to the ground, her face contorted in deep thought. She was still angry at Riley. It wasn't all-consuming, but she would be lying to herself if she completely absolved Riley from the guilt of losing Griffin Wing. Looking longingly at the necklace, she slipped it back around her neck and forced a smile at Riley.

"I'm probably being stupid or sentimental, but I would like to believe that the Riley I knew would never have left us if she had a choice." Kasumi paused, trying to gauge Riley's reactions. For times, it was hard for Kasumi to read how Riley really felt. She thought it was because she was a guildmaster and she was a member of said guild. Now though, even without those ranks, Kasumi still found herself perplexed by Riley.

"Three years have been a very long time to be away from Fiore. Want to hear about it?" She didn't feel the need to press her on the issue of the other world. That could wait. Right now, Kasumi wanted to talk and calm down, wiping away the few tears that were still there.

[Merc]

"I still don't fully understand myself." Riley assured, hands in the pocket of her jacket as she watched the other female with interest. Kasumi was understandably upset, but she didn't seem quite as hostile as she had when she had first appeared. It was probably too much for her to hope that Kasumi would forgive her, but she still hoped that in time she would find it in her heart to be able to.

Nodding as Kasumi mentioned that she didn't think the old Riley would abandon them, she gave a sort of sad smile. Her present self also didn't want to give up on the guild, even if there were but a few fragments of it left, she, once again, wanted to bring to to glory. There was a good many things that had to be done before that time came, but that wouldn't stop her from working towards it. Something held her back from mentioning her desire to rebuild, despite the fact that she would love to have all of the old members return to her guild, she didn't want to belittle their suffering by suddenly showing up and asking them to return to a guild that they had seen destroyed before their very eyes. 

Kasumi seemed to want to talk more, and Riley was happy to allow it. "Yes, I'm sure I've missed a lot." She agreed, sliding her hands out of her pockets, she took a few tentative steps towards the redhead before taking a seat on a fallen tree, her green eyes watching the other female expectantly, patiently. "What's happened in the time that I was gone?" In particular, she was interested in how Kasumi had fared, but she didn't bother getting specific just yet, she wasn't sure how welcome it would be.

[Jimmydalad]

Riley for the most part seemed to be friendly. In the very least she was willing to talk. A sigh of relief escaped Kasumi as she sat opposite Riley, resting on a tree. It seemed like Riley hadn't changed too much. That or she had not noticed any changes that had occurred. Taking some time to think, she eventually started to talk.

"Well, it's been a long three years, I can tell you that. As I said before, once you left, the guild went crazy. It was the blind trying to lead the blind. No one had a clue what they were doing and everyone was getting angry at each other. I'm not 100% sure why, but Phantom Cloak decided to attack us. They used to be Shark Fang, y'now? Not sure why they changed the name." Kasumi chuckled to herself, her thoughts briefly slipping back. A small smile danced on her lips before it turned into a frown.

"In any case, they attacked and slaughtered anyone they could get their hands on. At the time, I was terrified. I was and am still a D-rank mage. I had no idea what to do and I knew that Phantom Cloak were strong." Kasumi looked haunted as she stopped. She closed her eyes tightly and clenched her fists. "I hid. I hid and watched as my guildmates were killed before my eyes. It was cowardly and I probably should've tried to protect the guild and die. Yet I didn't."

Kasumi was afraid to look at Riley. She didn't want to see her reaction. She knew that she should've died that day. That her life was essentially traded for many others. There were times where she asked herself why she was still alive and on some nights, the memories of the massacre would come back to her, jolting her awake, her heart beating quickly. After staying quiet for a while, she tentatively looked back at Riley, breathing deeply.

"After the inital massacre, Phantom Cloak continued to hunt down Griffin Wing members, trying to cull as many of them as they could. I ran away, removing my mark and stayed hidden. Getting rid of that mark was the last thing I wanted to do, but I had to. If I died, then everyone else's deaths would've been in vain. Without anywhere else to go, I sought refuge with Fairy Tail and joined their ranks." At this, Kasumi turned her back and lifted up her hair, revealing the Fairy Tail symbol on the back of her neck.

"From there, I've been in and out with them. At first, it was very hard for me to do anything. As time passed though, Phantom Cloak stopped pursuing Griffin Wing members as aggressively as they did and I was able to do stuff with Fairy Tail. It's not been much, but I've sort of been the go-to person in Fairy Tail about Onibas. I spend my time in between here and Magnolia, sorting out things in the area and reporting back to the guildmaster. It's... been nice."

Kasumi paused, trying to gauge a reaction from Riley. Was she providing too much information to her at once? She didn't think Riley would like the thought of her former guildmembers being hunted down like they were. Yet she had been gone for the last three years. Kasumi felt that she had to know.

"More recently, there's this disease going around. Deadly Crow Disease. You might've heard of it considering so many people have been affected by it. It literally kills normal people, but mages who get the disease don't die. That's not to say they aren't affected by it. They lose the ability to use magic. No cure's been found for it and everyone is worried. People are blaming mages for being the cause, since they don't die from it. I don't know why you've only managed to make it back now, but you've gotten yourself into a really messy world right now."

[Merc]

Watching as the other girl sat down across from her, Riley smiled, genuinely relieved that Kasumi was willing to level with her. Her emotions changed rapidly through Kasumi's spiel, but the change in her demeanor was most apparent when the redhead started talking about the reincarnation of Shark Fang, the dark guild Phantom Cloak, and how they had relentless hunted members of Griffin Wing to their deaths.

Half lidded eyes stared through the forest as her mind slipped away just enough for her restraints on her magic to break free - causing a cold sensation to fill the area. An aura of raw magical power the felt cold, perhaps even a bit ruthless. The air was suffocating, thick, and a normal person would have likely been knocked unconscious in the presence of such power. As the energy caused the leaves around her to whip up and whirl about, Riley seemed to realized what was happening.

Shutting her eyes, the aura disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, and the leaves fell slowly to the ground. When her eyes reopened, they were calm, listless, as though she were hiding behind a wall of apathy.

"I'm sorry. I know it doesn't mean much after everything that has happened, but there's nothing I regret more than letting that happen to everyone." She quietly sighed after she finished speaking. Her elbows propped on her thighs and her fingers laced together as they came to dangle between her knees. "I can't really do much about this disease, but I will do my best to try to right the wrongs that happened in my absence." Riley assured, bowing her head slightly. "I'm glad that you found solace in Fairy Tail. It was always a respectable guild. I hope you thrive there." By the time that she lifted her head she was smiling once more, albeit softly.

[Jimmydalad]

Once again, Kasumi was trying to penetrate a face that betrayed no emotions. It frustrated Kasumi a little, not being able to know how Riley felt, especially since they used to be in the same guild and had spent a decent amount of time together. Still, maybe it was just her talent and a particularly good one at that. Kasumi could only imagine the usefulness of having a good poker face when dealing with other people.

"Thanks Riley."

Kasumi was glad to receive Riley's good will about Fairy Tail. It felt like a weight had been lifted off her. It was only a little, but at least it was a start. Kasumi beamed at the other girl, resting her hand on her shoulder. The smile only lasted a brief while as her thoughts lingered on a question that had come into her mind.

"Are you thinking of reviving Griffin Wing?" Kasumi asked, letting her eyes wonder around the trees before resting them on Riley. "I mean, it was your guild. Phantom Cloak might try and hunt you guys down, but I can try talking to the Fairy Tail guildmaster and ask for their support."

A part of Kasumi knew that she probably was clinging onto some dim hope from the past. She also wasn't sure how comfortable Marika would be with the idea, but relations between the two guilds were good in the past. Hopefully the good will from the past could be helpful.

"If not, what do you plan on doing?" Kasumi stared at Riley expectantly, waiting for an answer, her fingers tapping lightly on the ground next to her.

[Merc]

Riley was surprised when Kasumi asked if she would be remaking the guild, though she supposed she probably should have been since it was probably the most obvious thing for her to do.

"Well..." Her voice trailed off for a moment as she debated how she should answer. Sometimes she wasn't even sure herself what she wanted to do, but at the end of the day it always came back to the same things.

"In time, yes. I would love to, but at the moment I have a lot of ground work to do." She reasoned, as though trying to convince herself as much as she was Kasumi. "First I have to build a place where the mages will be safe, even if I'm away. A haven, of sorts." Recalling the plans that she had in the works for a castle, she licked her lips softly in thought.

"Then there's that dark guild..." Her tone changed, becoming darker at the mere thought of the guild that had wronged so many of her people. "I'll have to deal with them somehow..." She didn't delve any further into that particular part of her explanation, but it could be assumed that 'solving' the problem with Phantom Cloak would involve a great deal of violence and bloodshed.

"I would also like to help Onibas since it has suffered a great deal with the loss of the guild, and I have a lot of trust to earn back..." She murmured, beginning to realize that she had a very long list of things to do - and none of them would be easy.

"I'm also looking for my brother, if he's still alive. His name is Maddox Aquila, he used to be a part of Fairy Tail..." She trailed off, looking to Kasumi. "Do you... happen to know if he's still a member?"

[OoC: Maddox left the guild after Riley vanished, searched for her a while, then disappeared into the mountains. Feel free to know as much of that as you want. n_n]

[Jimmydalad]

Kasumi nodded as Riley discussed her plans. For most of it, Kasumi stayed quiet. Riley had let her rant, talk, shout and scream at her, the least she could do was listen to her plans. For the most part, they made sense. She did notice how dark Riley got at the mention of Phantom Cloak, a feeling she shared with her immensely.

"Maddox Aquilla? Can't say I've heard of him" Kasumi said disappointedly, looking down at the floor. She thought for a moment before she quickly flung her head upwards. "Marika, the guildmaster, might have an idea about him though. I could ask her." She didn't really know what else to say on that subject. A silence sat in the air, Kasumi seeming to be lost in thought.

"You're not going to be able to do all that on your own." Kasumi stated bluntly. "Part of the reason I joined Fairy Tail was so that I could get revenge on Phantom Cloak. Griffin Wing was and always will be my family. I'm not saying join the guild, but I could try and get you to talk to Marika and see where you could go from there. You're going to need allies, strong ones. You might also get information about Maddox from her."

Kasumi stood up, brushing her clothes and looked over towards Riley. Her former guildmaster sounded like she had a difficult journey ahead of her. Kasumi felt obliged to help her, especially since Riley took her in when she first came out into the world. A cheesy grin came across her face as Kasumi picked up her staff.

"As for helping out Onibas, actions speak louder than words. The hotel foyer has a board that has general missions for mages not in guilds. My recommendation is to start there. If you want, I'd be more than happy to come on missions with you. Then again, I'd probably just slow you down."

Kasumi chuckled to herself, passing off her self criticism as a joke. At times, Kasumi found it very hard to do missions on her own. The nature of her magic meant that she had to leave herself open to attack. It didn't take a mage to know that could be extremely dangerous. She walked over towards Riley, extending her hand towards her friend.

"I am and always will be a Griffin Wing. I'll always be up for lending you a hand. If you do manage to build up the guild again, give me a call. If I can, I'd rejoin it in a heartbeat. If not, I'll certainly do my best to make sure the relations between Griffin Wing and Fairy Tail stay strong."

She thought she sounded a little cheesy, but she felt that Riley needed to hear those words. Being away from the world for 3 years was never a good thing and the world had changed since she had been away. If Kasumi could help her get her footing, she would do her best to make sure she could.

[Merc]

A look of disappoint crossed Riley's face as Kasumi told her that she hadn't heard of her older brother, but she nodded in understanding. There was no telling where Maddox had gone or what he had gotten himself into, but he was resilient, so there was no way he would get himself killed. Or so she told herself to keep the fear at bay.

"I would appreciate you asking, if you don't mind." Riley smiled softly, eager to hear news of her brother, the only family that she had. Still, she listened to the thoughts that Kasumi offered her, even if some of them made her a bit uncomfortable.

"I don't know that I want to go crawling to Fairy Tail for that sort of help right away..." She quietly admitted, scratching her cheek with a single finger. Her expression softened considerably as Kasumi assured her that her heart remained with Griffin Wing, though she wasn't sure how to respond to it at first, she eventually gave a genuine smile. As Kasumi offered a hand, she accepted, standing out from the stump and giving a firm handshake before getting a little braver and pulling the other girl into a brief hug - she didn't want to press her luck, after all.

"I think I'd like to start with finding Maddox, if he can be found. After that, I'll work my way up to the bigger things. Perhaps I should do some missions before approaching Fairy Tail looking for help..." She mused aloud, though it was hard to tell if she was talking to Kasumi or to herself. "Maybe we could take a mission and make our way towards Magnolia as we go? I'm all sorts of broke at the moment since basically everything I had was in the guild, so I do need to start doing those again..."  She murmured, rubbing at the back of her neck somewhat awkwardly.

[Jimmydalad]

Kasumi giggled at Riley's need to preserve her dignity. She reckoned that Riley hadn't really been in a situation like this before and thus, was probably just trying to adjust to the status shift. Kasumi wondered how it must've felt for Riley to lose everything. In a way, Kasumi experienced similar but she didn't have the status Riley had before.

Seeing Riley warmly smile for the first time cheered Kasumi up almost immediately and while taken by surprise by the hug, she quickly hugged her back. She chuckled to herself, not really used to seeing this side of Riley. She did have to admit that she did want to see that side of Riley more often.

"Yeah, you really need to go on a mission." Kasumi said, lightly poking Riley in the stomach. She let out a hearty laugh and looked at Riley with a radiant smile. "Come on, I'll show you the mission board. Hopefully the clerk isn't scared of me after I tried forcing myself into that C-rank mission." She remarked, talking more to herself towards the end.

In her heart, Kasumi hadn't completely forgiven Riley. A stubborn part of her clung to the idea that it was her fault that she went missing and brought the guild down. At the same time though, she felt that it wasn't a subject they needed to dwell upon anymore. She had spoken her part and aired her grievences. She was willing to let bygones be bygones and make new memories. And maybe, just maybe, she could help Griffin Wing reform.