Control

ⅩⅫ

It was a rainy day in Fiore. Dark, eerie clouds loomed overhead and poured out mercilessly throughout the entire kingdom. Sting was in the main office of Sabertooth gazing out the window, praying to whatever god was out there that his beloved had found shelter from the harsh weather. Rin was already vulnerable without her Magic. Getting sick would only make it that much harder for her and harder for Sting to stay put like he promised.

The rest of the Sabertooth guild ambled in the main room on the first floor, unsure what to do with their day inside.

"What are we supposed to do now? We can't take on job requests in this kind of weather," spoke the timid angel, also known as Yukino. A huff was released by the male sitting across from her.

"We just have to wait it out." Yukino's brown eyes scanned Orga who slumped in his seat. His arms were hung over the back of the long seat and his large legs were sprawled out underneath the table. Although he seemed confident in his tone of speech, he couldn't admit that the day had him feeling uneasy.

It made everyone uneasy.

Very rarely did it rain this heavily in the peaceful kingdom. Usual spouts of precipitation usually only last about an hour. However, the guild had been residential to not only guild members, but also civilians for the past couple of hours.

A familiar, dark-haired boy sauntered into the room from visiting his blonde partner upstairs in the main office. Two small cats trailed at his feet: one he was extremely fond and overprotective of and the other who had tagged along from boredom of watching Sting work.

Summoning Aera, the taupe Exceed flew up and perched her body on the top of the seat, right next to Yukino's head.

"How are you feeling, Leese?" Said cat smiled forcefully at the shy girl.

"Same as always. If I'm being honest, I don't think I'll feel better until Rin comes back," she mumbled. No more words were spoken as everyone's heads fell.

Upon her departure, Rin had promised to visit often whether it was to take a break from her trip or check in so everyone knew she was still alive. She left over two months ago and neither Sabertooth nor Fairy Tail had seen or heard from her. Sting repeatedly tried to connect with her Communication Lacrima, but she never responded.

Countless times, Sting tried to sneak off to search for her, but Rogue made sure to keep him from leaving and potentially risking his own life.

No one wanted to believe it, but maybe she wasn't strong enough to fend for herself—

A loud pounding sound rang throughout the guild hall. Upon further inspection, it was apparently someone begging to be let inside from the harsh weather. They had received countless others exactly like this all day.

Rogue moved away from the table where his closest friends sat and trudged over to the front door. He swung the heavy enclosure open to allow the person inside.

"Quick," he murmered in a bored tone. "We can't allow anyone to stay out—" Rogue's words caught in his throat at the sight of a body he thought he may never see again. From its standing position, it fell to the floor inside the guild as if it had been leaning against the door, waiting for it to be opened.

Time fell into slow motion as everyone watched in horror as the body dropped to the ground. With a heavy thud and a pained groan, it was set back to normal. However, Rogue was stuck in a trance from the sight.

The black-haired male slowly trailed his gaze to the fallen person and found a large amount of blood seeping from their shirt onto the guild hall's floor. His eyes widened and darted to Leese's own which were the size of the moon.