#002. ╱ arc iii: post war. let me be gone for a while.

[aeceso]

High above her in the skies, birds were circling. If she was not in the middle of preparing her herb garden for the colder temperatures that were sure to soon come, she would have taken a moment to observe them. She liked birds, always had. Even when she had been a young girl. They were so free, unshackled. Her left ear twitched, identifying the bird calls despite her attempt to stay on task. Sparrows, presumably. Her right ear, at the same time, caught the soft sound of a breaking twig and she turned her head. Laxus. Now, that was . . . interesting. Unexpected.

She nodded at him, quietly watching his approach.

@raiiryuu liked this for a starter!

[aeceso]

She almost rolled her eyes as she traced the rim of her teacup with her finger. Ivan could be so . . . strange about social interactions sometimes, even social interactions with people who had known him all his life. Who had cared about him on some level all his life. And who does he get it from, hm? her inner voice asked. As always, Porlyusica elected to ignore it. "You should," she said calmly. "The croissants he serves are also quite excellent."

And this, she would like to stress, was not a dig on the fact that she worried about the fact that her son seemed rather thin and haggard sometimes, and that she wished that he would take better care of himself. She took another sip of her tea, regarding her son carefully. "Sure," she said. She had been almost eager to get out of the forest as of late. "I heard rumours of strange occult rituals your guild uses to name the new members of the murder."

"i suppose that is true." bob was an intelligent man, behind his eccentricates. iva'sn mother knew much more than he did and quite frankly, he was content with that state of being. it also meant she was in touch with her friends. "i'm happy you enjoyed it. perhaps, i shall finally take up one of his invitations for brunch."

his words were littered with sarcasm towards the end. the truth was that the brunch invite felt more like an ambush in waiting than a true brunch. but what it was bob was looking for, ivan had no clue. which was annoying. but now was not the time to be annoyed. luckily, he has better news. "the hatching season will begin soon at raven tail, if you'd like to visit. it's quite...fun for some."

[aeceso]

it was quiet, but a comfortable one between them. and then, a sudden memory came to him, unbidden and something he hadn't thought about in years. it felt strange for it to be true, but no, he knows where the fossil is now, in a box in his closet with a bunch of childhood items. "...did i really dig a treasure in your front yard?"

before she had become a mother, she had always thought that she would raise her child on truth and truth alone. then she had been a mother and quickly, the realisation had set in that this was not exactly feasible. children were innocent. this innocence had to be protected. she had committed to legends about helpful elves that delivered presents on particularly chilly winter days. she had told ivan stories of fantastical things that had little connection to reality. to do so had been to protect his childhood, and to teach him about wonders and miracles.

laxus' childhood had been a lot less innocent. his illness had seen to that. thus, it had been even more important to create marvels and mysteries in his life on the good days. she remembered well how ivan had looked as she had watched on from her kitchen window, shovel in hand and slightly smiling to himself while laxus had been asleep on the couch in her living room.

looking at her grandson now, she almost smiled. his childhood was long gone, yes, but there was no need to burst what little bubbles of mystery he had still left. '' i did predict a glorious career in archaeology for you at some point, i believe, '' she said calmly.

[aeceso]

The ball of yarn bounced twice as it escaped the bowl and she snarled at it, unable to maintain her composure. This was frustrating. She should not have let herself be goaded into partaking in Bob's idea of a friendly holiday gift for our dear old teammate, but she had been having a day and Bob was good at coaxing her to delve into the less friendly aspects of her personality. Well, the wool had been laying around for quite some time because she had come to realise that anything it produced was awfully scratchy. Which was why she was knitting socks from it for her esteemed former teammate. And she would guilt him into wearing it. Silly pancake of a man that he was.

Focused on her project, she used her foot to keep the wool from escaping too far as a knock came from the door. She frowned. She was not expecting anyone, but when was she ever? "Yes?" she called out. "Door isn't locked, just come in."

@originmade liked this for a starter!

[aeceso]

on occasion,  porlyusica did feel her age in her bones by the time when she finished cleaning up after a long day of work.  most days,  her work was a reward in itself and she found peace and serenity in the knowledge that she had eased someone’s burden,  but as she sank into the old,  creaky chair behind her house to breathe,  her thoughts remained troubled.  no matter how much she did,  the mountain that needed to be shoveled away never seemed to shrink  ---  quite the opposite,  at times.  

she sighed and rubbed her temples before her head turned into the direction of a breaking branch,  tired eyes finding someone she had not seen in a while,  but she had always possessed a good memory for faces and the names that belonged to them.  it had not always been a blessing.  ‘ ‘ levy, ’ ’  she said with a nod as she gestured to one of the free chairs,  ones that were just as old as the one she was occupying.  ‘ ‘ what can i do for you?  ointment for paper-cuts,  nasty little things they are? ’ ’ 

@fairybond liked for a starter.

[aeceso]

A rare smile escaped Porlyusica as she regarded Erza. The gift basket was a nice gesture---one that she could appreciate, she enjoyed fresh fruits---but the more important thing was that Erza was taking good care of the eye. This, from the healer's perspective, showed a certain level of appreciation for the work. And like most, Porlyusica responded well to appreciation of the things that she worked hard on.

"There are teas and the sort," the healer said as she sat down on the other side of the table. "Herbal remedies that can keep your thoughts from racing. But my field of expertise is physical health, not mental health." Sometimes, she almost regretted her field of focus. Then, she remembered that being your own mindhealer was probably highly frowned upon and that she should maybe really look into finding a mindhealer for herself one of these days. "If your physical check up doesn't show us anything, I'd probably recommend a fellow professional who actually has the knowledge required for successfully helping you."

ERZA BRINGS OUT A MINI gift basket, containing bags of tea and fruits, setting them down on one of the tables. Just a token of appreciation. Not too elaborate but it's thoughtful. She sits down across from her, readying to be checked.

          Receiving the other's question, she nods. ❝I have.❞ She religiously follows the routine. The artificial eye is truly a gift. It not only restores her eyesight, but also represents her second chance at life with Fairy Tail. ❝It's still as good as new.❞ The handiwork is still impeccable like day one. ❝Well, I can sleep sometimes but I can't stay awake,❞ she admits. Her progress has not been linear. There are days when she's okay, and days when she's not. Sometimes, she wonders if this is something she will never overcome, and just something she has to learn how to live with for the rest of her life. ❝Is there really a treatment for it?❞

[aeceso]

a brief outline about what is going on for sica after the war

technically,  she comes out of retirement during the war,  but she finalises her paperwork to reinstate her as a doctor of marigold hospital very quickly afterwards.  she mainly helped strategise medical relief --- she had been out there to see the war happen firsthand and thus,  her insights were valuable.

this time as well as the respect her expertise was met with coaxed her out of her self-imposed exile in magnolia’s forest.

during makarov’s trial  ( and there were many things he was tried for,  ranging from child endangerment to treason ),  she was a witness and her testimony was scalpel-sharp,  surgical.  for her,  this was nothing personal.  it was not the final stroke of a revenge plan many years in the making.  it was not about retribution for old pain,  it was about the truth.

nevertheless,  she left magnolia afterwards and instead moved to cornus town for both professional  ( she had been offered an interesting job in a nearby city )  and personal reasons.

[aeceso]

😟 : a worried text

➽ gildarts:  hello gildarts.  i apologise for texting you this early,  but i cannot remember discharging you yesterday and you were not in your room this morning.  i am certain you just went for a brief walk in the forest and did not wander into magnolia to help out there which would go against my instructions.  breakfast is ready in fifteen minutes,  i hope you still like scrambled eggs and bacon on toast.

texting meme:  a worried text  /  accepting.

[aeceso]

‘ ‘ ---you look like you could use a cup of coffee,  gildarts. ’ ’  averting her sharp glance upon finishing this first cursory inspection of this rock in the guild’s foundations,  she strolled away from him,  rolling her shoulders and motioning for him to follow her into her home.  ‘ ‘ careful in the hallway  ---  i’ll be departing again tomorrow afternoon so things are more messy than usually around here, ’ ’  she warned as she sidestepped the suitcase she had bought only weeks before the war for the occasional congress,  the suitcase that was now showing the signs of extensive use.  ‘ ‘ what have you been up to? ’ ’

@hisreveniens​ liked for a starter.

[aeceso]

"OG Porlyusica!" DJ Hook Wizard Puppy smiled brightly and opened his arms at the healer. "I swear, I didn't mean to drop in unexpectedly, but I was thinking about how you were doing and teleported here! Man, magic can be crazy sometimes! Like that time I ended up deadass in the middle of Iceberg when I meant to go to the Iceberg cuisine restaurant OG Goldmind recc'd me! How have you been doing? Still kicking ass and taking names? Your place is very chill, by the way. I like the vibes, man."

goldmine had told her when she had been … bewildered by the man and his general personality that his name was brent and not … whatever his pseudonym was. their paths had crossed when she had spent time ín goldmine’s guild after makarov had disbanded his, and despite what many might assume, she had yet to scold him for anything. the chaotic vibe, as he would put it, that radiated from him was a good fit for the guild goldmine had founded after leaving fairy tail. still, she had not expected him to simply — appear in the middle of her laboratory.

“ brent, ” she greeted as she set aside the basket of herbs she had gathered from her greenhouse minutes before. “ i’d invite you in but you’re already in my living room. ”

truth be told, half the time, she did not really understand what he was talking about, but this seemed to be a common affliction around him; goldmine seemed to have reached the point where he had just accepted that this young man was the way he was and that there was likely nothing that could possibly change him. 

mentioning for him to sit down, she leaned against the door frame and shrugged. “ can’t complain much, ” she said calmly, traces of fondness ghosting over her face. she did like goldmine’s guild; sure, it was  somewhat chaotic,  but it was chaotic in a … good way. when his mages did outrageous things, it was born from the essence of their personality, not their need to follow their guild master’s reckless philosophies. “ no patients at the moment, only visitors who stop by to … chat, like you, i suppose. i don’t think i heard the iceberg story yet? do you want tea or do you have somewhere to be? ”

[aeceso]

@reivun

He was down to his last straw and he was well aware he would be crossing murky water because of it, but he knew his mother as well. He had forgiven only one person in his life who had wronged him and he did it silently because he was, if nothing else at the end of the day, Porlyusica’s son. He knew he put her in a tough position years ago and that was the only sin he was willing to admit—to himself. Though she did not back him up after his excommunication, he had forgiven her anyway because it was more than Fairy Tail politics, for her, it was family drama. Everything else after that had been to take his father and everything he cared about (his image, his guild, his chosen family) down. Ivan saw himself as a soothsayer and he may be a villain but he was also, despite how bitter the taste in his mouth was, his father’s son.

He knew his old charge well and he was the one who trained her to be the way she was today so avoiding Zilla in the forest was almost child’s play. Thankfully he took the reins on this one and he hadn’t let Rabastan ever get a bite of her. So when he entered his mother’s chosen abode, thick parcel filled with his own research notes on Lacrima, he acted in his usual way and greeted her calmly with, “Good afternoon, mother. It is nice to see you well.”

Empty words had been spoken from Ivan’s mouth but any words from son to mother were anything but empty. It meant Zilla was doing a good job at keeping Rabastan’s loyalists away. It was good for him as well, though he was sure Zilla was unaware just how good it was for Ivan.

“I am afraid I cannot stay long. I was hoping you would be willing to watch over my own research in our mutual interest in Lacrima. Rabastan has been rather…uppity about it lately and it has been getting on my last nerve.” The last part was true and his casual demeanor fell away, truly showing just how taxing that man was on Ivan’s patience. He had been willing to take in Rabastan when he lost his magic (due to Ivan’s own machinations, sure, but Rabastan even admitted to being a willing participant. Not that it helped either of them when Makarov’s guillotine swing down.) and entrusted him with day to day Raven Tail business because Rabastan was good for that and useful even without his magic and THIS was how he repaid Ivan. Tut tut.

“As you understand,” he continued, swallowing down his annoyance at Rabastan, “these notes could upset what balance there has been in our peaceful world of magic.”

That they already had before went unsaid.

she should be sending him away. she should not be sitting there on the floor, her own folders scattered around her — she had asked zilla to be left alone, had wanted her peace — and actually  wonder  what kind of research ivan was bringing to her door. because … his research had touched what should have been left undisturbed. she was a woman dedicated to progress, but she was also a woman who shunned progress when it was bought at too high a price.

there were times when she grew frustrated with herself. so much about what had happened in the end had since been swallowed by the haze of forgetfulness, had gotten lost among the frantic scribbling of her own research — never to be found again. and she was not sure if she  wanted  to remember. after all — she remembered her disappointment when her research — and it had been her work that had been the foundation for ivan’s — had been used in ways she had not allowed. there was no use in crying over this, now, she reminded herself as she held out her hand as a part of her mind was still unpacking what else he had said. 

rabastan was a name she did remember, from days long gone, though she could not say the same for the  reason  why he had left the guild. it must have happened not long after ivan had been excommunicated, she decided, in a time when she had sought solace and redemption at the bottom of every inkwell she had ever owned. she had been frantic, then, had been driven by something that no longer mattered either. she could not recall ivan and the other having been  friends  by any means, but then, she had not been the mother ivan had needed, towards the end. she had been frustrated, she had been hurt, and she had pulled back from everyone, locking herself up in her study, only emerging when someone brought her food and all but  begged  her to eat.

( she had not been a very good friend, either., willful and stubborn as she had been )

“ i’m an old woman, ” she still mused aloud, “ so i don’t know how much i can  do  against one of your … associates, ivan. but — i’ll watch your research. as a favour. ”

she did not mention that she was not alone. ivan would know, there was little he did not know, but there was no point in stating things neither of them were keen to actually discuss. the way zilla had been on edge, lately, was partially responsible for the way porlyusica’s old and often neglected spellbook was never far, these days, for how it was always within reach. she hoped that she would never have to open it again, but fate had a funny way to make those things happen.

[aeceso]

laxus paused. no. nononononono. this CANNOT be his life. why. why had god abandoned him. he swallowed his tea even though it was still hot and merely said, "oh. i didn't know you knew any quatro cerberus members ... i met um. that one. dj. at a rock festival in crocus." laxus craved death !

almost, she would have scoffed. of course she knew the members of the guild an old friend of hers had founded. the mere idea that somehow, she might not have kept in touch with someone who had always been reliable — it did not make much sense for her. then, she recalled that as far as the mages of his generation were concerned, she was an angry old woman who lived in the woods and who reacted … poorly to visitors.

“ goldmine is an old friend of mine, ” she said with a shrug. “ not of your makarov’s, however. and i do know brent, too. he has shown up here a few times. ”

[aeceso]

"For the arm." Ivan said, showing off a little box. It was wrapped with a pink bow and in yellow wrapping, colors that were so far away from the man's own taste but even after all these years he had a sense of humor. The clash was hilarious--to him. In it, of course, was his mother's favorite tea. "It's semi-legal considering the political climate but I did pay for it." With honest money? Who's to say.

“ hmpf. ”

porlyusica did not look up, though her eyes had not moved from the line she had been reading when he had approached. in all of earthland, she was likely the one person who did not feel — nervous, apprehensive when her son made an appearance. she had remained — impartial through everything, had had put her own grudge to rest a long time ago. life was too short to dwell on the past and as she had gotten older, too many things had happened that had put her frustration into relation.

then, she put aside the leatherbound notebook and turned towards him, a wry smile on her face. “ i  was  starting to run out, ” she admitted as she crossed her arms and swallowed down the  sadness  that so often threatened to choke her. “ thank you, ivan. ”

she should not accept his gift, just like she should have refused to treat him in the first place. but … but … sometimes, it was impossible for her to look at him and not see the boy she had raised, the boy he had been before he had been  destroyed,  before his heart had been shattered. and she was a mother, still. it was the one thing this forsaken world had not taken from her  ( yet ),  despite all attempts to do so.

“ will you stay for a cup? ”

[aeceso]

tag drop.

[aeceso]

@chaoticor​  /  brent:

‘ ‘ life hack:  you don’t have to be a wolf to yell sad noises at the moon. ’ ’

her first thought was a  brent,  you’re killing me,  immediately followed by a  well,  he isn’t wrong,  is he?  and she was not entirely certain if she liked what that meant for her overall sanity.  thus,  she found herself sighing at both him and herself as she watched him pluck the apples from the branches she had not been able to reach.  but at the same concern was biting down on her heartstrings  ---  the kid was one of goldmine’s.  one of his mages.  she wished she could still kid and have it mean not something that felt like sharp blades against something soft and vulnerable,  but too much had been not all right by the time she had left her old guild.

‘ ‘ . . . i hope that is not your only coping mechanism,  boy. ’ ’  she moved closer,  her skirt and her cloak rustling as she moved.  she had not seen much of goldmine since the war  ---  there had been an unspoken agreement between the three of them  ( goldmine,  her and bob )  to push back any meeting that did not have the fate of the country hinging on it until the dust had settled,  but she did not need to have insight into her old friend’s daily life to have an idea on how he was handling it  ---  a lot of time spent in quietude with his souls,  then trying to pass on the peace he found there to his mages.  she had known him long enough to foresee his actions,  to know that he had sent brent over with a basket of herbs because he had wanted to get the kid away from the more daunting tasks that waited outside of the woods.

she rubbed her wrist and stopped a few steps away from him,  her fingers tugging on a heavy branch to pull it down to her so she could grab some of the apples.  ‘ ‘ come on,  brent,  if you have more sad noises to yell at the moon inside of you,  you also have things to talk over with someone over apple pie and tea, ’ ’  she said calmly.  ‘ ‘ i am currently too exhausted to listen  ---  and you might prefer to talk with someone who isn’t a fossil like me,  but i can help you bake the pie. ’ ’

[aeceso]

@caelusia​  /  chelia blendy.

“  everything that you feel is just a chemical reaction inside your head.  wow.  ”

‘ ‘ it does not make it any less real,  chelia. ’ ’  red eyes narrowed with worry as the healer turned to look back at the girl that was trailing after her as she was picking apples from the trees she had planted near her home.  the wisp was one of ooba’s,  something that was a comforting thought today because as sharp and venomous as the viper was,  she took care of her own. 

and after what had happened,  chelia did need that care.  

rubbing a particularly pretty apple against her skirt until it looked as if she had stolen it from a fairy tale,  porlyusica sat down on the bench that laxus had insisted she needed.  ‘ ‘ the human body is a complicated construct,  one that has never ceased to fascinate me, ’ ’  she went on as she offered the apple to the other.  ‘ ‘ it is also not quite that simple  ---  i have books that i could give you so you can figure it out for yourself,  if you’d like. ’ ’