genessia | Winter illusion: Guardian Election, Presents and a Confession [Video/OTA

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Winter illusion: Guardian Election, Presents and a Confession [Video/OTA - Private messages]

[Mavis appears on screen with a soft smile yet a determined expression on her face.]

Hi!

This message is addressed more specifically to the citizens of Fayren and, in particular, those of you who didn't get to attend or watch the Guardian Debates.

In about four days, it will be time again for you to elect the person you think could do the best job of being your city guardian.

It has to be someone who understands your concerns, and who can protect you. Someone who will help Fayren remain the wonderful city it already is and who will try to make it thrive even more.

Some of you know me as the master of the mage guild named 'Fairy Tail.' Others may know me as one of Fayren's deputy guardians for the past six months. Whatever the case, you all know that I make no difference between mages and non-mages, humans and non-humans.

If you elect me as your guardian, I will continue doing just that. I will be fair to all of you and protect you from any threat, magical or otherwise, that we may face to the best of my abilities. I will also put my efforts into trying to find the source of the weird 'events' [For lack of a better term] that have been affecting Fayren and the other cities of Genessia. To achieve that goal, I commit to collaborate with the other city guardians of Genessia and share any information I might uncover on the subject.

That is all I had to say for now. But if you feel I left any of your questions unanswered, please feel free to contact me.

Have a nice day and thank you for your attention.

[One last smile before she turns the feed off. Then she sends a few private messages.]

[Private text messages to friend list]
[Each person in Genessia, Mavis has some CR with will receive the following text message:]
I have something I'd like to give you. ^_^
[[ooc: Please see Mavis' post in the IC holiday present meme. If you wish to RP a meeting between Mavis and your character, please reply either here or in the meme. If not, just consider she gave you the present(s) listed. Merry Christmas!]]

[Private text message to Zeref]
I'd like to talk with you about what happened during the past event.

[Private text message to Mirajane]
How are you doing with your surprise? Zeref's okay to help.

[Private text message to Erza]
Did you get any of the answers we talked about while you were at the Dream Docks?

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Yes... I know. But this is something we should discuss in person, don't you think?

{ He knew they'd have to discuss the magic-copying elephant in the room eventually. He had no idea, but in hindsight, he should have. Unless this world is lying. It wouldn't be the first time. }

Yes, I think so too.

In our room or outside?

That depends. How much privacy is warranted?

{ It's not like the others didn't know, now. }

[That's not really the reason why she asked.]

I think I'd like to take a walk. Let's meet outside.

Edited 2017-12-24 01:18 (UTC)

Of course. I'll be right there.

{ He puts the device in the inner pockets of his robe, and gets up. Without a word to anybody who may or may not be present in Fairy Tail's main hall, he heads outside, pulling his robes tighter around his frame from the cold. It never really bothered him, but, well, it's a big difference in temperature from the hearth-warmed building he just left. }

[Mavis is wearing a soft pink scarf on top of her usual outfit. But still no shoes.

As she sees Zeref coming out of the guild hall, she smiles at him.]

Hey. Let's go to the lake.

[She starts walking in that direction. She's usually not someone to step around the subject but here... She's just not sure what to say.]

The lake. Of course.

{ Where else would they have gone, but to the lake? He walks alongside her in silence for a good, long while. When the trees come into view, he finally has to break the silence. It's too awkward not to. }

I didn't know. { She should know what - or rather, whom - he is referring to. In hindsight, he should have guessed. August was the spitting image of Mavis when he was younger, and he found him not far from Magnolia. His sheer level of power and potential suggested a magical pedigree that was the making of gods. It made sense. So much so that he's furious with himself for not seeing it.

But maybe that was for the best. }

And if he knew... he didn't tell me.

[Of course she knew who he was talking about. She bit her lip.]

How... how did you two meet, then?

Outside of Magnolia. { Not far from the lake, actually. Maybe on some level... } He was alone. He found me, all by himself, as if he knew who I was and where I would be. Somehow, he'd raised himself. He'd been surviving on petty thievery. And yet... I could feel the power radiating from him. It had the potential to surpass even my own. I brought him to Alvarez, ordered that he be given a full education and taught to use his magic.

He was a Shield of Spriggan by the time he turned twenty.

{ The youngest ever. In time, he was a symbol of the Empire's might. Indeed, the month of August in Alvarez became a month associated with calamity and disaster because of him. Entire armies surrendered just from the mere possibility that he could show up.

Bosco became a contemporary example of why. }

[Mavis listened in silence. Zeref's story was both happy and heartbreaking.

Mavis was out of reach, so it made sense he would have looked for his father. But at the same time, part of her wished he could have been raised as a member of Fairy Tail. But if Precht abandoned him - because who else? - why would he have wanted to come back?]

How old was he when you met him?

Edited 2017-12-24 02:26 (UTC)

He couldn't have been older than five.

{ Yes, Precht had abandoned him. Given how he was a completely different person when they met again nearly ninety years later, it shouldn't surprise him. Yet another reason why Zeref didn't feel an ounce of remorse for having killed him. In fact, as he realizes that it must have been Precht who had abandoned him, his only regret is that he can't kill him twice.

They entered the woods. The dead trees marked the path; during the last Breach, Zeref had been forced to use his magic to fend off the spirits. He hadn't 'killed' any, insofar as any of them could be considered 'alive.' But the moment they felt his magic, they ran. These trees stood as a testament to why. }

I didn't... I still don't know how. It has to mean... well... you were never truly dead, were you? Or is this just another way for Ankhseram to torment us?

[That had her bite her lip.] That's almost the age I was when our village was burnt down.

How old were you when your parents and Natsu died?

[His last questions puts a smile back on her face.] I guess I never truly was, no. [Just playing the part of the sleeping fairy trapped in a lacrima.] Besides, a child is always a blessing, no matter the circumstances, don't you think?

Not much older. { Young enough to be shipped off to a magical boarding school, but not old enough to be recruited for a guild, apparently. Assuming mage guilds as we know them even existed that long ago. }

I--... If I had known, I never would have... { Left her with Precht. } I'm sorry, Mavis. I wish we could have raised August together.

[Somehow, that's something the three of them have in common.

She set her hand on top of his, reassuringly.] I know. I wish we could have, too.

But at least he got to know you were more than just the Black Wizard Zeref.

...I liked the life I thought we had last week.

I can only guess as to why he never told me.

{ Maybe he was afraid of triggering Zeref's curse, maybe he didn't want special treatment and wanted to be judged purely on merit, or maybe he just didn't think Zeref could live with the kind of guilt that would come from knowing he abandoned Mavis - and by extension, him. Whatever the case... Zeref still wished August had. }

I did too. It was... { His han closed around hers. } ... I've... come to a realization here, Mavis. In this world.

{ He's unsure how to say this, so he might as well just spit it out. }

I've thought less and less about dying here. And it's not because I know death is meaningless in a world where death is impermanent.

[Mavis didn't think August knew about their curse. Not when he met Zeref. But then again, he was a special child, so who knew?] I guess he didn't want to get a special treatment. [Or to be sent away by Zeref. But she didn't say that out loud. She didn't want to sadden Zeref by saying that.]

You have? [She asked, leaning closer to him.]

You have no idea how happy it makes me to hear you say that. [Of course, she'd have preferred to hear he wasn't thinking about it anymore. But she knew it wasn't that easy.]

{ Dying was one of the things he genuinely believed he couldn't do, for nearly four centuries. It's only natural to wonder what it would be like, if not to desire it outright. Even if he may enjoy life with Mavis in Genessia, that didn't take away the fact that he spent four centuries fixating on that desire, a desire kept perpetually out of reach by the belief that it was impossible.

But none of that mattered here. Even if Genessia making death temporary weren't the case, Mavis had given him something he hadn't felt in so long that he had forgotten what it was like. A reason to reconsider. }

What we have in this world... it's enough to make me want to never return to our own.

[He's just going to respond with a video, because it's too much of a pain to try to text with his claws.]

Is that so? Very well...where should we meet?

[That's perfectly fine. She just likes sending text messages because people don't have to answer immediately if they're busy.]

Can you come to Fairy Haven?

...All right. I'll be there shortly.

[Very shortly, as Qubine will fly over to Fairy Haven, and upon arrival, his sizable form lands on the ground with a heavy thud. Hopefully he didn't knock anything down...]

Mavis...?

[Mavis is sitting in a tree on a low branch. And even from there, he's almost taller than her. She waves at him.]

Over here, Qubine!

[She jumps down, barefoot into the snow. Nothing, not even the weather, could have Mavis wear shoes. She's holding a basket with a large handle. Inside of it is a box from a certain store in Genessia. ]

I hope nobody already gifted it to you. But if someone did, well, you'll have two.

[She sets the basket on the ground in from of Qubine. Qubine's figurine is facing upward. It's like it's looking right at him.]

[Qubine is huge. When Mavis sets the basket down, he'll simply lower his head to get a closer look. It doesn't take him long to recognize the figurine of himself.]

...Is this one of those figurines that was announced in the newspaper?

[And the basket is pretty big too. Well to Mavis, it is. It's the biggest she could find. She even made the handle sturdier so that Qubine would be able to carry it without breaking it.

She nods.]

Yes, it is! They're very nicely done, don't you think?

[Don't mind if Qubine reaches down to tear the package open and pull out his figurine, examining it.]

Well, I suppose I can't argue that. Back home, we have stuffed dolls and figurines of the deities...so it feels kind of strange to be honored in the same way...

[As he handles the figure, he accidentally triggers one of the "fire beams" to fire from his mouth.]

Perhaps they should make it fire "ice beams" rather than "fire beams." Then it would be more accurate...

[Oh, he can do what he wants with it. It's his present after all.

Mavis chuckles a bit at his comment on deities.] I don't think people here think of Guardians or Deputy Guardians as deities. But it's still a tribute of sorts. A way to thank us for our work. And I feel very honored by that.

[Which is why she wanted to make sure Qubine got his too.

Mavis looks down at the figure.]

Oh, you're right. I hadn't noticed that. Otherwise, I would have told them. ...I guess old clichés die hard. [The cliché of the fire breathing dragon, she means.[]

I see. I wouldn't think any thanks would be necessary.

[He glances down at the figure again.]

"Clichés"? Which ones would those be?

Whether they're necessary or not has nothing to do with it, Qubine. They just felt like it. [It makes the gesture even nicer.]

I meant that most people think dragons breathe fire, not ice.

[Liora's eyes widened in curiosity. What could it be?]

Really? Wh-what is it?

Come to Fairy Haven and you'll see.

Well...okay.

[She flies over to Fairy Haven (thankful that she's at least regained that much strength after the incident). She lands on the ground softly on all fours and begins crawling carefully towards the building.]

Hello...?

[Mavis comes out of the guild hall as soon as she sees Liora land. She runs to her.]

Hi, Liora!

[She's glad to see she's looking better now than last time.]

Glad you could make it.

I found something I thought mind be useful to you. [She takes out a large enveloppe, opens it and very delicately takes out the ofuda.]

Do you know what this is?

Um...

[Liora examines the ofuda carefully. From what she could see, it just looks like a strip of paper with strange symbols.]

No...I don't know what it is... Is it something special?

It is. It's called an ofuda. It might look like a mere strip of paper, but it's imbued with magic. Like a talisman or an amulet, if you'd like.

This one helps the person who uses it to channel their magic. And it was made especially for a light magic user.

[Well, that certainly piques Liora's interest. She still looks confused, though, as she holds up the ofuda by one end, lightly flapping it.]

Really? How do I use it?

The girl who makes them, Konoka, told me that you need a special training to use those. But I've seen her do it, you need to have it close to the source of your magic and when you attempt to cast your magic, the ofuda activates and helps you channel it.

As I said, this one was made to be particularly effective with light magic. I didn't tell Konoka who it was for, though, don't worry.

But she'd be the best person to show you and explain to you how to use it. So you might want to meet with her, sometime.

[A pause.] I hope you like your present. I know how important it is for you to control your magic.

I'll have to meet with her sometime...

Would I be able to wear it?

[She isn't sure how else to carry it in any case...]

I think so. Most people came out of the battle with Alvarez fine. [There were a few notable exceptions, like Erza's own mother and (as the latest event revealed) Mavis's son, but Erza didn't want to put a damper on the news when they'd both have mixed feelings about that.]

As for you and Zeref, it's a little confusing, and it doesn't help that I wasn't there for most of it, but if you want to know, I'll try to describe it.

Could you? [Try to describe it, she means.] I'd like to know, yes.

All right.

[Erza will switch to video as she continues - while she figures that Lucy or Levy could easily put it into writing, Erza doesn't figure she'd be able to tell the story through typing. She looks a little nervous, but it's what Mavis wants to know.]

Shortly after Zeira led us to the guild, we encountered Zeref's forces blocking our path. Some of the Spriggan were among them, but we tried forcing our way through regardless. [As to be expected - there was rarely a problem that Fairy Tail mages couldn't solve by smashing through it.]

His soldiers were much stronger than before - someone had turned them into mindless berserkers who kept fighting long after anyone else would have collapsed in agony. I tried to force my way through them, but I wasn't strong enough, and the Master... [She takes a deep breath, trying to find the words. Even though she lived through it, and knows that it turns out okay, it ties into what happened to Mavis, so she can't leave it out.]

There were thousands of them - maybe millions - and he...

...he used Fairy Law.

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Winter illusion: Guardian Election, Presents and a Confession [Video/OTA - Private messages]

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