Crossing the Waterscape

It had become difficult to put into words what the world looked like to her nowadays. She imagined it similar to if a dog had to explain to a human their sense of smell: the difference in perception and the limited nature of human language meant that there simply was no easy way to convey all the details.

What she did know was that it was probably a good thing that she'd gradually grown into who she was today. If the average human suddenly had access to her abilities they'd probably go mad as their mind wouldn't be able to handle it.

But to call it a curse or an inconvenience would be incorrect. There were many, many advantages, and if the main drawback was an inability to make others understand her perspective she would endure that without any complaining. It wasn't like she was much of a people person anyway: those who she could connect with would either form some level of understanding or manage to bridge the gap in other ways.

One advantage was that she had become pretty good at making predictions. Such as the one where someone important would show up at the port city of Cedar for the first time in years, which resulted in the dragoness shifting her plans and heading for the westernmost settlement without hesitation. In fact, she moved with enough haste that once she arrived she figured out that she was ahead of time by an hour, leaving her with little to do but wait around to see if her predictions would once again prove themselves correct.

While she idled the minutes away she took on her usual human form, tendrils of shadow materialising into bandages wrapping themselves around her left arm. Hard boots made little sound as she walked around the harbour, making sure to keep her distance from any sailors busy with cargo despite looking like she wasn't paying attention to them at all. A harbour was, among other things, a logistical hub, which meant that there was a lot of space to avoid traffic jams. Large warehouses dominated the edge of the port, and even at this time of day sailors and dock workers were busy moving large crates. An endless cacophony of heavy thuds, loud voices, and cumbersome footsteps. Akeya had an appreciation for industry and hard work, but they were often taxing on her senses.

But she had taught herself patience and resilience, so she focused on the blue ocean that covered most of the horizon. Her golden eyes narrowed as she caught a small shape in the distance, small enough that nobody else had noticed it yet. As she concentrated she picked up more details, including the ones she had been looking for, belonging to the person who was important enough to make her wait.

Fortunately, once the ship was in sight it was much easier to just wait for it to slowly grow bigger until others also noticed its presence. Given that this ship came from a different continent entirely it caused quite a commotion, Akeya stepping back as a crowd formed of those who had come here for similar reasons as her. While she could understand their eagerness she wouldn't show it outwardly, folding her arms and waiting patiently for the ship to finally enter the harbour and get moored to the pier.

Even before Leila had left the ship's wooden deck behind Akeya could see her clearly. It was actually a curious thing: she might be seeing Leila more clearly than before her lover had left for Guiltina, as she'd steadily been improving her abilities over the years.

Shaking her head Akeya stepped forward, making her way through the throng of people smoothly as a serpent. There was a lot of noise in the air, but she registered it all as being of lesser relevance as she couldn't detect any hostile agents. Appearing from amidst the people she walked up to Leila, her expression stoic and focused as usual while she planted a hand on her hip.

"You're back."

Truthfully she wasn't entirely sure what to say. On one hand, it had been years, on the other, it hadn't. Once you began messing with concepts such as time and space distance, whether spatial or temporal, became difficult to parse.

"It's good to see you again in this place. But we should find a better place to talk, they've got a lot of cargo to move."

A large ship such as the one which moved back and forth between Ishgar and Guiltina wouldn't only transport people. Only those of significant wealth could afford such luxury. Even without strong diplomacy traders and merchants were looking forward to resources and wares unique to Guiltina. Even now the dock workers were trying to make space amidst all those reuniting with friends and family so they could start unloading the ship.

Current Appearance:

WC: 814
PWC: 814
TWC: 1,076

@Leila Vergious

It appeared that Leila also managed to notice Akeya's presence quickly. With her abilities that certainly wouldn't be surprising, although the assassin made a mental note that she'd have to check if she'd be able to avoid even her lover's senses with her cultivated abilities. She didn't know the extent of Leila's detection skills, but it didn't take a genius to imagine that remaining hidden from the edenchild would be challenging.

However, that was for another day. For now, it seemed that Leila wanted more than a simple greeting, as even without any magic she moved quite quickly to wrap her arms around Akeya before the disguised dragoness could react. Her current human form also meant that they were almost the same height, so without any difficulty the silver-haired maiden managed to initiate a kiss, leaving Akeya somewhat surprised at the suddenness of the affectionate gesture.

But it wasn't like she just stood there like a salt pillar. Lifting her own arms she wrapped them around Leila in return as she answered the kiss, her bandaged hand resting on the edenchild's hip while the other gripped the narrow waist. It wasn't a long kiss, but Akeya did her best to express her pleasure at reuniting with Leila, much more so than her stoic demeanour would otherwise suggest.

Once the kiss ended Akeya looked into Leila's eyes, her golden gaze peering into those azure blue orbs. While her disguise was complete enough that nobody would expect the raven-haired human to actually be a dragon that gaze always remained the same, containing such focus and intensity that for many it felt like an actual physical weight to be targeted by it.

"It's more common nowadays."

Before Leila had left for her journey Akeya hadn't been as quick to hide her true nature. It actually felt a bit strange to be reminded of that, as it felt like a distant memory despite not being that long ago.

"Circumstances have made it a sensible course of action. I'll explain later."

She followed Leila towards the edge of the crowd, casting a glance out towards the clear blue skies and the vast ocean that expanded all the way to the horizon on one side. Compared to the bustling, thriving city on the other side it was both humbling and empty. Or at least quiet and peaceful.

"You appear to be doing well, which is good. I was wondering how your journey would change you."

She looked back at Leila. For the most part the witch seemed to be the same as before. Akeya wasn't one to wallow in nostalgia, but she was glad that Leila hadn't become a wholly different person.

In fact, she might have been the one to change.

Current Appearance:

WC: 457
PWC: 1,271
TWC: 1,868

@Leila Vergious

For the moment Akeya ignored Leila's curiosity, even though she knew that eventually she'd have to explain what was going on. Not that she intended to hide anything from her lover, but the reality wasn't that interesting, just not something that most people needed to know about.

The waves were calm and the winds were gentle as they stood at the edge of the pier, looking out over the rippling surface that glittered as it reflected the sunlight from amidst the clouds. After the original joy at reuniting with people important to them in one way or another the crowd was also dispersing, most people heading either for taverns or inns where they could catch up with their companions or see what this side of the water had to offer. The dockworkers and the sailors would use that opportunity to move the cargo on land, where various merchants and traders would lay claim to what was theirs as well as the occasional passenger whose worldly possessions didn't fit inside of a suitcase.

"I see. If you're already used to travelling then even these years wouldn't have much meaning." It might be a tad uninteresting for years of travelling to lead to little change, but it was realistic. "I'm glad you're the same as before." And it wasn't like Akeya disliked the Leila she knew. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Once again Leila made it clear she wanted to know what Akeya had experienced in the meantime. The dragoness didn't even need to look around to tell that they were now virtually alone, with the workers too far away to listen in on them. Folding her arms she kept her gaze on the ocean, narrowing her eyes slightly as the tip of her tail tapped against the solid surface of the pier.

"Several things have happened in the years between. Ishgar is not as safe or peaceful as it used to be. If you're asking about me specifically, I realised that possessing a human persona which could interact with civilization through mundane channels without undue attention would be worth the hassle of keeping my true nature a secret to most." She held up her left arm, wrapped in bandages. Dark seeped out from between the fabric wrappings like thick smoke, slowly forming a shadowy claw before dissipating again. "In my current appearance I'm known as Akemi, Ace of Fairy Tail. The majority of those who knew the dragoness Akeya on a personal level have withdrawn from the public." She smirked. "While this might be hard to believe, the latter is not actually my doing."

It wouldn't be surprising if a callous killer would simply eliminate everyone who might be able to blackmail her, but Akeya had found that most of those who knew her would eventually go away of their own accord, for one reason or another. That Leila had returned was, in some ways, a relief.

"Akemi is known to be a powerful human capable of using advanced dark magic, but otherwise of little interest. It's quite convenient."

Current Appearance:

WC: 508
PWC: 1,779
TWC: 2,650

@Leila Vergious

Akemi raised an eyebrow as Leila explained in more detail that, from her perspective, it wasn't that her journeys had decreased in meaning but that they no longer shaped her as her earliest journeys had. She could see how her beloved would differentiate between the two concepts, although she did wonder internally if a journey truly was meaningful if it didn't have a noticeable impact on the one who experienced it.

"Given that my love is the one who left from this place I'll take it as a blessing that it's the same one who came back, and not a completely different person."

Her voice was rather dry as she said it, even though the statement was completely truthful. If Leila had changed too much from her journeys overseas... well, that would probably have been unpleasant. Affection and attachment weren't sensations that came naturally to Akemi, and she wasn't entirely certain whether her unfamiliarity would make it hurt more or less than it did for other people when someone they cared about either disappeared or changed until they were barely recognisable.

Shaking her head she dismissed the thought, moving onto the other part of their conversation. Leila seemed to be amused by Akemi's decision to take on a human guise, which puzzled the dark assassin a tad. Her eyes narrowed slightly before she sighed.

"Given that I've made it clear in the past that I don't have a particularly high opinion of humans I can imagine why you'd find it entertaining, but it's still a pragmatic decision. The less you stand out the less unwanted attention you receive, and humans in particular take notice of non-humans."

She meant it was a logical explanation, although she could also imagine it coming across as defensive. Well, no matter. Leila's next comment did earn her a more entertained look from Akemi, the corners of her mouth actually going upwards.

"...We'll find out in due time. Of course, personally I'd say that Akemi is merely a reduced variant of my true self... but maybe you'll find it appealing."

The idea that her disguised self would start interfering with her true love life was absurd, given that she'd just revealed the truth to Leila so there was no possibility of a misunderstanding (although the edenchild's abilities probably would have prevented that anyway). However, that did make her curious: she knew that Leila had an attraction towards dragons, but she was also raised by humans and often associated herself with them. Maybe she would find a human partner equally as desirable as a dragon partner, as long as the personality was the same?

"Of course, either way it'd still be me, so I'd say we've got nothing to worry about. Although that does remind me of another experience I had which you might find more interesting. It gave me access to an unusual trick which could open up some... entertaining possibilities for the both of us."

Current Appearance:

WC: 490
PWC: 2,269
TWC: 3,370

@Leila Vergious