Weak To Fire

11

Mereoleona had felt bad for weeks. She had been busy most of the time, but when she wasn't busy she was feeling terrible. Terrible about leaving Y/N behind without saying a word. She could have left a damn note or something, just to let her know she was dealing with an emergency and that she was coming back, as soon as she could. But she hadn't thought of it at the moment.

And who could blame her? She had literally just been woken up by Marx, she had barely managed to sleep at all, she was exhausted and she was being told that she had to come to the capital as soon as possible, because her younger brother who she loved dearly was in a coma, after the capital had been attacked. It wasn't exactly a good situation to think straight and now she was regretting it. She was regretting that she hadn't taken a minute to just take a breath and think and make some good and reasonable decisions. But it was too late now. She could only try to fix it now.

There wasn't even much she could do once she was back in the capital. Fuegoleon was in a coma and there wasn't much anyone could do about it. Every free minute that Mereoleona had and that she didn't spend worrying about whether she had fucked up things with Y/N, she spent at Fueggy's bedside, hoping that he was going to wake up soon. But he didn't wake up and so she just kept sitting there, talking to him and then going back to training the Crimson Lions and then back to worrying about Y/N. It was all she had done while she was in the capital.

She barely found the time to get some sleep, because she was worrying about so many things all at once (and because all of it was giving her a headache). Thankfully the Crimson Lions kept her quite busy. She had a lot of work ahead of her. Some days she had been wondering what the hell Fueggy had been doing with them all this time, since some of them barely seemed up to shape at all. Or maybe she was just being too demanding. Mereoleona always had a tough time figuring that part out. By the end of her stay in the capital most of them were probably glad she wasn't actually the captain of the Crimson Lions (even though she would have done a good job).

She technically wasn't supposed to leave that job yet, because there was still so much to do and because Fueggy still wasn't awake to take his job as captain of the Crimson Lions back, but she was starting to feel way too bad about Y/N, so she had decided to take a short leave to see whether she could find her again and whether she was willing to talk to her, at least. And then... well, she could properly explain what had happened and maybe they'd actually be able to sort things out.

So here she was on her way back to that same patch of forest that she had spent the last few months in, before she just dipped out of there for a couple of weeks. Hell, she hadn't even expected everything to be taking this long, but it all just ended up taking ages and she was stuck in the capital. She hated the capital, she had no idea why she even stuck around so long, but one thing was sure: She was going to blame Fueggy for this as soon as he woke up.

If she ever made it out of here alive. Mereoleona was pretty sure that Y/N was going to be furious with her and rightfully so. She felt really, really bad about the whole situation and she knew she really fucked up and she knew she should have at least left a message, but it was what it was now and all she could do was apologize and try to explain the situation that was going on. And hope that she would understand to some degree. And that she wasn't going to be mad for long.

It wasn't long until Mereoleona found the same clearing by the lake. There was her hammock that she had left and it was in surprisingly good condition. Had Y/N been taking care of it while she was gone? That was a good sign, right? But where was Y/N? She didn't seem to be around. Maybe she was in her lake or something... What if she had left the lake after Mereoleona had disappeared without a word? Mereo's heart sank. That was a possibility, but it wasn't one she liked. If she had decided to move it would probably be impossible to find her again.

Mereoleona went over to her hammock to see whether there were any signs of where Y/N might be, but she didn't have to look for long. She was surprised by a lot of water hitting her and drenching her completely, soaking her to the bone. This could only have been Y/N with her water magic. No other way. Mereoleona wanted to get mad and complain about it, but she kind of deserved that. She turned around slowly and saw Y/N standing there, looking furious.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she wanted to know. It almost sounded like a growl. Damn it. Mereoleona had really fucked up, huh?

"I'm... I came back." she just answered, not really sure what she was supposed to say. Sure, Y/N still looked as petite and dainty and small as ever, but right now Mereoleona didn't want to mess with her. She had seen what that girl could do and if she wanted she could kill her with ease.

"I can see that. Where the fuck have you been? And why are you back?" Y/N wanted to know. Mereoleona brushed a wet strand of hair out of her face and took a deep breath. Where should she even start?

"I had to go to the capital, Y/N... I know... I know, I should have said something, but... I guess that's why I'm here." Mereoleona answered. It seemed to be the wrong answer, because Y/N looked even angrier than before. Honestly, every explanation that Mereoleona had thought up in her head just didn't seem to work anymore all of a sudden. This was terrible. This was exactly why she didn't do relationships - because people got hurt and it was difficult to talk to them when they were hurt. Why couldn't she have stuck to that simple rule?

"You're here to say something then? After all this time? Mereo, it's been weeks. What could you possibly have to say to me?"

Mereoleona was about to take a deep breath and say something - anything - but her head was completely empty. She had no idea what to say. She had no idea how to talk to Y/N when she was this angry. Especially when she was right to be angry. Mereoleona probably would have been upset if she was in her position. Hell, she probably would have burnt down the entire forest by now.

"I guess-"

"You know what? What if I don't wanna hear what you have to say? Maybe - just maybe - I'm so over this already that I don't even care anymore." Y/N interrupted her. That was something that Mereoleona knew was a lie. Y/N was definitely not over anything whatsoever. Otherwise she wouldn't be so mad. Mereoleona was very close to pointing it out, but she reconsidered when she thought about the consequences of saying that. They wouldn't be good.

"Well, I guess, then there is nothing I can do about that. I... I kind of wish you'd talk to me and that you'd at least hear me out before making any rash decisions, but I get why you're upset. And I am sorry, I know I'm at fault here. But it's up to you if you want to talk to me or not." Mereoleona said. What else could she do after all? She couldn't force Y/N to listen to her and her reasoning. She couldn't force her to believe anything she said, really. She was completely at her mercy here.

"I don't think I can listen to what you have to say right now, Mereo. Sorry." Y/N replied. Mereoleona nodded.

"That's okay. I mean... I was planning to stay for a few days here, before I'm needed back at the capital, so... maybe if you feel up for talking during that time... Maybe then we can sit down and just... I can tell you what was going on. How does that sound?" she suggested. It seemed to have worked, because some of the hardness disappeared from Y/N's face and there was even the hint of a smile on it now.

"I think that's a good idea. I'll... I guess I'll let you know when I'm good to talk."