Together Again [Fawn + Riley]

[Merc]

The guild master of Griffin Wing had made a special trip all the way to Magnolia to visit her daughter, Fawn, whom she found herself missing since they had returned from the other world - the demon world that they had been trapped in for three whole years. Truth be told, she wondered how the girl was adjusting to the situation. After all that they had been through Fiore seemed like a peaceful, safe place, but this same peace was also unsettling at times.

At least Riley believed so. She rose a hand to the side of her neck as she strode through the front doors of Fairy Tail, a place that she had been many times in the past, and a place that she would certainly continue to visit in the future.

Her green eyes scanned the main area, and she wandered further still, nodding, smiling, and waving to the member's of Fairy Tail as she passed them. She imagined that she looked a bit different to them, but she hadn't changed nearly as much as Fawn had. To them, their guild master must have been unrecognizable.

As she didn't immediately spot the young girl anywhere, she paused in the center of the guild hall, her hands on her hips as she looked about, "hmm, did I pick a bad time?" She somewhat rhetorically asked, allowing her green eyes to wander as she waited. She had ditched her old jacket, that had been torn to shreds years ago, for a blue jacket that hung to about her knees and was completely open in the front. She still wore her sleeveless turtleneck, which she was quite fond of for whatever reason, and instead of the stockings she used to wear, she instead sported a pair of brown pants. On her feet were not normal boots, rather they looked a bit like some sort of light armor, allowing her to tread softly and comfortably.

While she looked the same as she always did, she looked different as well, partially because of the clothes, but there was also a slightly different air about her than there had been before the incident.

[berrysour]

Things had been quite interesting since she returned from that world, she looked into a mirror, thinking about how much smaller she was when she was ripped away. It was quite odd returning and expecting people to recognize you, however it wasn't as odd to explain as she had thought. Fawn's magic had always altered her body, so she simply explained that her magic had permanently altered her and she was now fourteen years old, and that she had been adopted by Miss Riley.

That was easier to explain to some more than others, however things pretty quickly calmed down and she simply returned to her job as Guild Master. Well, minus the recurring nightmares, ranging from memories of that hell to her new ones as a slave of darkness.

She brushed her long black tresses, she was sitting in her office, which she had recently renovated to have a more girly appearance, as well as a vanity table. She looked down at her light purple nails with the symbols of Fairy Tail and Griffin Wing painted in white. Every time she did she would think about how her mother was doing, both the one who had passed away and the one who was caring for her now.

She slipped her pink jacket over her light blue and purple dress and and opened her door to walk out into the guild hall. As she did she heard Riley's voice.

"Mother!" Fawn yelled out as she gracefully leaped from the railing on the second floor down to where Riley was standing, she quickly embraced her with a warm hug.

[Merc]

Riley's attention snapped upwards as she heard a familiar voice calling to her, and she instinctively opened her arms, watching Fawn as she effortlessly leaped from the second floor down to the first, she hugged the younger girl tightly, smiling broadly now and seeming happy once more.

"Ah, I've missed you," the young woman stated, giving a bit of a sigh as she rocked the girl back and forth a little in their hug, squeezing her gently before leaning back a bit, allowing her room to breathe as her hands came to rest on her shoulders, "have you been doing well, Fawn?" She asked, on a more upbeat note, while staring down at the girl that was nearly as tall as she was.

She took a glance around Fairy Tail, which felt rather nostalgic as she inhaled deeply, her eyes soon returning to her daughter, "it's good to be back here, isn't it? Fairy Tail looks better now then if ever did before," she chimed, sounding somewhat like a proud parent (which she did consider herself to be), as she gave a bit of a gesture around the room with one of her hands.

[berrysour]

Fawn rested her head against her mother's shoulder, "I have missed you too, I had gotten use to seeing you every morning that it feels weird not waking up with you." She hummed softly and closed her eyes as she felt Riley rock her slightly. A she asked about how she had been, a part of her wanted to tell her about the nightmares, her fears of losing her sanity and soul forever. But she just couldn't worry her with that, part of her didn't want to spoil the time they were sharing together.

"I've been doing wonderfully, Mommy! How are you?" She said with the cutest childlike expression, she enjoyed letting her guard down around Riley, she didn't have to be strong around her or a leader, she just had to be herself.

"Thank you, It really was a sight for sore eyes when I came back. I know you had to feel the same when you returned to Griffin Wing." she smiled, "So what brings you here? Business or just a social call? I can make reservations for us to have dinner. I wish you would have called ahead, I want to bake you a cake for when you visit." She said with a obviously fake pouty face before smiling and nuzzling Riley's shoulder.

[Merc]

"Yes, I know what you mean," she assured, nodding her head softly. It was certainly strange being around someone for the entirety of three years - and then suddenly being far away from them, living on separate sides of the country. It was a very strange feeling, a bit isolated and lonely, actually, but she supposed that much was to be expected. It would be nice, of course, if they could live together and be a real family, but they both had their duties as guild master's.

"I'm much better now," Riley assured, chuckling a little at Fawn's behavior. She always felt better when Fawn was able to relax and act her age, rather than having to shoulder responsibilities and worries that someone of her age should not be burdened with.

"It was certainly good to return to the guild... And to discover it was still standing. I was worried that someone might have leveled our guilds while we were gone," she laughed a bit at this, as all her worrying seemed a bit funny now, but at the time it had been something that she lost a great deal of sleep over.

"Well, I found myself missing you more then I could bare, so I flew over here as fast as I could," she admitted, smiling fondly as one hand moved to lightly play with Fawn's hair, "I promise I'll schedule ahead next time, I came here on a bit of a whim this time," Riley pointed out, chuckling a bit. Even if she had called ahead, she had used her magic to transport her, so the cake might not have even been finished baking by the time that she had arrived.

"We can still go out for dinner, though. It would be nice to sit back and enjoy a peaceful meal together," she paused a moment, before giving a bit of a laugh, "and it's nice to be eating normal food again..."

[berrysour]

Fawn's eyes lit up, "Yay! Dinner sounds lovely!" She laughed lightly and blushed slightly as her mother stroked her hair, it reminded her of when he was little and her birth mother had held her like this, it felt like things were even more right than before the three of them had been pulled into hell. Which reminded her that he should actually pay a visit to Battler sometime. He was probably enjoying living in a world again with more women than just them two.

She slowly moved out of the warm embrace of her mother, holding Riley's hand still however, "Would you like to have dinner at Liam's Fireplace? It' a new restaurant that opened up, I hear they have amazing desserts."

It was strange how everything felt much more marvelous to her now that she had been starved for three years, she wasn't sure if it was becasue she looked at it as luxuries now, or if becasue she was simply excited to be sharing simple good time with Riley now as oppose to oppressive ones that always had a dark looming cloud.

[Merc]

Riley smiled contently, watching as Fawn stood upright, still grasping onto her hand. At her suggestion, she nodded softly, "of course. You know how much I love my sweets," Riley agreed, though if the girl had suggested that just go to a fast food place and get a pizza or something she still would have been happy enough to accompany her.

While the situation felt familiar for Fawn, having a mother once more to fawn over her (no pun intended), having a 'real' family was still a little new to Riley, whom hailed from a darker side of Fiore. She hoped that she was being a good mother to the girl, and was genuinely trying her best to do so.

"I assume we'll be eating dinner a little later, So... What would you like to do in the mean time?" Riley soon asked, "I'm happy to do anything you might want to do, as always," she assured the girl, not wanting her to be shy - preferring that she stated what she wanted instead of holding it back and harboring regrets.

[berrysour]

Fawn thought about it, she wasn't sure, since she hadn't had much time to really go out and do stuff since she returned, she had mostly piled herself back into her work. She tilted her head back and forth, with a thinking face as she tried to decide on what she wanted to do with Riley. Then she had remembered her appointment tomorrow and the gift idea she had a few days ago, this would be the perfect time for it. "Oh, How about we go to the mall? I feel like splurging and getting a few new outfits."

She smiled, "Are you staying the night? Pleassse?" She asked, trying to be as cute as possible, she did want to have a sleep over with her mom, mostly becasue she did miss falling asleep beside her. "Tomorrow I have an appointment to do some modeling for the Fairy Tail Merchandise, and I'd like you to come with me."

She smiled, looking at her mother's new jacket, it really did suit her quite well. She always thought Riley looked so cool and bad ass. It always made Fawn think she was so strong, which was true. However she still didn't really accept that they were both equals in a lot of regards, both masters of famous guilds, both Wizard Saints. When she looked at her she saw an amazingly powerful person whom she could only attempt to try and match even a inch. In short, she admired Riley very much.

[Merc]

Riley absently smiled as Fawn as she thought about what they should do. She was glad to see that the girl was adapting well to being back in Fiore, and that she had essentially fallen back into her own routines. As she came to a decision, Riley nodded her head, "That sounds like a great idea, we can have ourselves a little girl's day on the town," she agreed, and with this moved to link her arm with her daughter's, chuckling at Fawn's begging - for the simple fact that she didn't need to beg, she need only ask and Riley would be happy to stay.

"Of course I can stay the night, what sort of woman would I be if I allowed my daughter to model without supervising?" She asked, smirking a bit at the fact that Fawn could quite obviously handle herself. Nevertheless, she was glad to tag along to see what was happening there.

With this decided, Riley began to walk forwards, arm still linked with Fawn's, as she led her out of the guild and down the street, heading towards the aforementioned mall. "Hmm, I don't think I remember what stores are in the mall," she mumbled suddenly, though she seemed to at least know what direction to head in.

"Oh well, if you see anywhere you want to go in just say so. I don't mind stopping," the young woman assured. While shopping had annoyed her in the past, she found it somewhat liberating at this point in her life, after having her choice in clothing limited for so long, it was nice to be able to pick whatever she wanted to wear - without having to keep in mind how inconvenient it might have been if they were to be attacked by a horde of demons or something of that nature.

[berrysour]

Fawn smiled, her arms linked with Riley's as they walked out of the guild, she really felt like she was dreaming, that everything was so perfect, yet, at the same time. Maybe it wasn't as perfect as she was telling herself. Should she confess to Riley that she had traded her soul away in hell for more power? She could feel that guilt tearing at her, trying to spoil every bit of happiness she could find. But really, nothing could come from it. She had to figure out how to fight the darkness in her heart without causing her mother more problems.

"Oh yeah, they have a bunch of cool shops, Our guild even owns one in there called the Fairy Day. I really want to see if the clothing stores have any of the new Heart Kreuz Winter Dresses, I've seen them in magazines and they look amazing." She continued to go on about the dresses and how they matched various winter themes, she was just happy to share excitement about something as trivial as clothing, she remembered the dress she had wore for her birthday, when everything happened. How sad she was when it was piratically destroyed on the first day.

They entered the mall as she finished her rambling, it was fairly well packed with tons of people, some of them fairy tail mages, lots of them were just normal teenagers, without a care in the world except homework. Fawn occasionally envied that, and wondered if that would have been her life if her father hadn't gotten involved in shady dealings, not to say she would trade where she was for the world.

They passed a store called, "Jewels & Smith", Fawn smiled and tugged her mother, "Let's go there first!" he spoke with a very chipper tone as she tugged towards the shop. It was full of various jewelry from both the normal but amazing, to the magical and divine.

[Merc]

Riley hummed a little to herself as they made their way to the mall, the tune fading away as she listened to Fawn rambling about dresses that she was interested in. "Heart Kreuz is a pretty popular brand, I'm sure we can find some of those dressed in one of these stores," she absently commented, glancing around a little as she entered the mall. In spite having new clothes herself, she hadn't yet been to a mall or any place that was too crowded with people. Instead, she had a tailor coming to her and fit her with some clothes. She wasn't sure why, but being around too many unfamiliar faces had made her uneasy the first time she had ventured into the streets and such.

She had grown more accustomed to being around people again at this point, but her green eyes were always looking about, as though expecting to see a demon among the ocean of faces. Absently smiling at her own paranoia, she blinked when she felt Fawn tugging at her arm, seeming to want to go into a jewelery store.

"Certainly," Riley replied, allowing herself to be 'dragged' along. There were certainly some nice pieces of jewelry on display, though she looked around thoughtfully, allowing Fawn to move them both along to whichever display case she might wish to view, "was there something in particular you were looking for?" She wondered, her eyes wandering towards the magical items - as always, she was still very interested in magics.

[berrysour]

"Not really, But I do make some custom orders here for nice Fairy Tail Jewelry. They also have lovely gem stones and Lacrima, so I like to browse every now and again and see if there is anything that I could buy." She said as she let go of her mother and ran towards the counter, whispering some instructions to the man at the counter.

"Yes my Dear, We will have it ready tomorrow." Fawn smiled, "Perfect! Have it delivered to this address." She said as she handed the man a bag of jewels and some papers. She smiled and walked back towards Riley. "There doesn't seem to be much new in stock, but I made another custom order. Something to wear at the modeling tomorrow." She spoke with a cheery expression as she linked her arms with Riley once again and walked out of the shop.

They walked passed various kids, one of them kind of looked like Fawn three years ago, she was wearing a fairy tail hat and a blue jacket. Fawn mused, she was quite the cutey back then, but she loved how she had changed. "It's actually going to be my first real photo shoot, They printed my picture and stuff when I first took over, but I was way too shy to do anything like that back then. A little too young a well." She said as they walked towards Fawn' favorite clothing store, It was named Simply Style. There were various dresses on display in the windows. One was pure white and it seemed to be enchanted so that it appeared to be snowing the most marvelous snow flakes around the dress.

"Ooh! I have to try something like that on!" She laughed and tugged on Riley's arm as she very excitably went into the store. It was true that with her Fairy Magic she could make any clothing she desired, but the wight and feel was very different than real clothing. She also wondered if the store might have something cool she could get Riley to try on.

[Merc]

"Hmm, I see," Riley absently murmured, casting a glance towards Fawn as she wandered off to talk to the storekeeper, she bent herself over the case that she was observing, eying the objects within it with a bit of interest. She rose a hand to her face, tapping gently at her bottom lip with a finger as she thought - not really hearing what Fawn was saying to the man.

When she returned and grasped her arm, Riley blinked herself from her trance, uprighting herself once more and turning to look down at the girl, whom was apparently ready to move on once more. "Oh well, I'm sure you'll look nice in it," she commented, as they left the shop once more, this time heading for a clothing store.

"Oh, is that so?" She asked, nodding slowly as it made sense (and being a bit of a shy person herself, she could understand how Fawn felt), "well, it should be interesting for you. Just try to have fun," Riley concluded, giving a bit of a smile as she watched the odd dress, which had snowflakes falling around it. She stared at it for a moment, cracking a smile at Fawn's words.

"Well, we're got lots of time, try on as much as you want," she suggested, following after her daughter - her eyes dancing a bit to try and spy any other funky dresses that might be on display.

[berrysour]

Fawn smiled, looking around she saw various outfits that looked amazing, she wished that her sewing was as masterful as some of the gowns that were on display. She looked back at her mother who was also looking around a little bit. She eventually came up to a girl about her age. She had spunky blue hair and was wearing clothing that suggested that she worked in this store.

"Hi, My name is Kilda, How may I help you?" The woman with the blue hair spoke towards Fawn.

"Hi Miss Kilda, I was hoping that you had something from the recent line of Heart Kreuz Winter Dresses."

She nodded, "Yes Ma'am, We have most of it in stock, what would you like to try on?"

Fawn smiled, "Hmm! Could you bring me the pink short dress, and that enchanted snowing dress from the display?"

Kilda nodded, "Please wait by the dressing rooms and I shall get them, Is there anything your sister would like to try on?"

Fawn giggled, "That's my mother actually."

Kilda apologized, "Wow, You look very young miss, is there anything you would like to try on?"

[Merc]

Riley's eyes danced a little as she observed some of the stranger dresses from afar. She supposed they were nice and all, but for the most part that were simply novelties, she couldn't help but note that dresses were rather impractical for her, given her way of life and need to be flexible in case a battle arose. She didn't particularly desire giving anyone a peek at her panties or anything of that nature as she was flying around.

As Fawn spoke to an attendant, she allowed herself to focus on the worker as well, her free hand moving to rest on her hip as she did so. When the woman suddenly asked her if there was anything she wanted, she blinked a bit, the hand soon moving to rub a little awkwardly at the back of her neck.

"Well, I don't know, really..." She admitted. Riley hadn't really given much thought to picking out anything for herself, as she was too preoccupied thinking about what Fawn would look cute in and such. "I guess you can bring me something, if you like, but I don't really have anything in mind," and I'm not exactly the sort of person to keep up with all of the latest trends...