Control

Ⅰ

The long walk from Hargeon back to Magnolia made her fair, toned legs ache, but it was well worth it. A burlap sack slung over the girl's left shoulder carried a total of three hundred thousand jewel; the reward from a job in the small port town. The other arm held her small bag of personal belongings: hygiene necessities, extra clothing, and snacks to satisfy the growling stomachs of her and her partner. Speaking of the partnership, her best friend and Exceed slept peacefully on her head, messing up her brunette hair as she walked. All of the extra weight only made the pain of the journey worse but she would rather die than take the train. Her extreme motion sickness wouldn't allow it.

With incredible strength comes incredible weaknesses.

    It was the trait that all dragon slayers shared, though hers was almost triple the agony. That is why she and Leese, her taupe-furred friend, either flew with her wings or walked. Sure, it made them tired but also strengthened them. The train never used to bother her much because they'd always had the blue-haired angel named Wendy to use Troia, a healing magic, on them. That was seven years ago. They still find it hard to believe that Fairy Tail had lost its family all that time ago. It feels like just yesterday she was hiding behind the bar with Mira to stay out of the adults' fights.

    It feels like just yesterday they were saying goodbye to them on the boat.

    The nostalgia made her feel dizzy but she continued trotting forward as Magnolia came into view. She lightly shook Leese awake from her wavy brown locks.

    "You think you can fly us the rest of the way?" she asked softly.

    "Sure," she yawned, "why not?" The exceed summoned her Aera and latched onto the back of the girl's slightly torn up, black halter-top. Her combat boots were lifted off the ground and high into the atmosphere. Her legs trailed behind her torso as they flew toward the small barn with speed. The cool air made her shorts stick against her skin and her long hair tickle her lower back.

    As they touched the ground again, the soreness instantly returned. They trudged toward the main doors that led to their makeshift bar to find them open. She could hear new voices inside making a ruckus and being loud. The soreness disappeared as she ran inside, ready to fight if necessary. Instead of being bombarded with punches and men, the usual mages of Twilight Ogre ran out holding their injuries and crying about getting revenge. Her violet eyes trailed over the large number of people in Fairy Tail's minuscule bar and rested upon a group that hadn't changed in seven years.

    Team Tenrou all looked toward her questionably, but one scarlet-haired mage approached with a smile. Her arms wrapped around the girl tightly with her head rested on the shoulder of her cold, metal armor. Water formed in her purple eyes as she instinctively raised her arms to return the gesture.

    "We're home, Rin," she said smoothly. The familiar voice made tears draw lines on the girl's cheeks. She pulled away and Rin immediately reached out to her again, scared she would disappear. Erza grabbed her hand and held it softly. "Don't worry, I'm not leaving." Rin looked at her teammates and found all the people she used to look up to as a child. It felt weird staring at them from this height since she had only ever looked up to them.

    "W-Welcome home!" she cried out. Lucy, Levy, Wendy, Cana, Lisanna, and Mira all grabbed her into a tight hug while the boys smiled from the sidelines.

    "You're so grown up," mused Gray.

    "Yeah! Just yesterday I was carrying you around on my shoulders," added Natsu.

    "Yeah, um, about that," Rin began but I was halted by Alzack.

    "Don't worry about it. We already told them." The brunette sent him a small smile and looked at Romeo who was crying and smiling for the first time in the past seven years. Rin grabbed him and brought him into a loose headlock as she messed with his hair.