Musa and Riven/Comics

Season 1
Rather than having their first meeting in the Black Mud Swamp like in the animated series, Musa and Riven meet each other for the first time during the Traditional Meeting Dance between the Alfea Fairies and the Specialists of Red Fountain that occurred in Issue 2. According to Musa in the beginning of Issue 3, one boy that stuck out to her the most was the one who was standing by himself outside the ballroom. Seeing this boy by himself had a strange effect on Musa as it made her feel like he was going through some things that she could have helped him with. This compelled her to watch him for awhile under the moonlight until he noticed her at some point and turned in her direction. Stella interrupts Musa's retelling by squealing over this boy possibly kissing her and Musa beats her and Bloom with a pillow for teasing her. Flora is eventually able to get Musa to continue her story and Musa flatly tells her friends that this boy just turned to her for a second, said "hi" and went back inside.

Musa did not even get a chance to learn his name but Stella reveals that his name is Riven after Musa confirms her description of his appearance. Musa finds herself captivated by Riven's mysteriousness but Stella shouts at her over how he is nothing but a mean and nasty boy, and insists that Musa find a better guy to be interested in.

Musa does not meet Riven again until Issue 9, which chronologically acts as a precursor to Issues 6 through 8, as Musa finds work as the Librarian's Assistant to Miss Barbatea and helps clean out the section of the Alfea Libraries that had been found behind one of the walls.

Eventually, Riven's group of Specialists is sent to help clean out the books as well because Barbatea fears what may be in that ancient section of the library, so Musa takes this as an opportunity to get closer to Riven. Unfortunately for her, Riven remains distant and she learns from Timmy that even he has a hard time getting close to him.

Hours go by and Musa eventually finds herself without anymore energy to keep going. The torches around her are suddenly blown out and Musa realizes that she may have strayed too deep into the ancient section as she cannot find Timmy or any of her classmates. Suddenly, she is pulled over to the side by Riven who tries to quiet her down because there are monsters nearby. Musa notices a foul odor and Riven reveals that the monster whose shadow he can see from a nearby corner is that of a giant Serpent Rat. Once Riven sees that the Serpent Rat is leaving and has not noticed them, Musa decides to change the subject by asking if they know each other as she remembers seeing him at the Traditional Meeting Dance. Riven reveals that he does not remember her so Musa takes it upon herself to formally introduce herself to him. Unfortunately for her, Riven quickly occupies himself with lighting some torches which ticks Musa off. That is when Riven comments on Musa's beauty which Musa takes as him making fun of her due to his tone and Riven gets even more annoyed with how easily offended she got over a compliment. Realizing how rash she was, Musa apologizes for misunderstanding him and tells him that she only wants to be friends, but this causes Riven to yell at her over how he is not interested in making friends because he feels like friendship is just an excuse for people to use others without paying them back. He then promises to escort Musa back to the others and claims that he will be leaving after that as he has had enough of being there.

Later that day, Bloom returns to her dorm having won the waitress position at the White Horse Café and finds the Winx unable to console an upset Musa. Though she claims that she does not want to talk about it, Musa eventually tells the girls of her day, specifically what happened with Riven, and Stella tells Musa that she should not waste anymore of her time with him if he does not want to even be friends with her. Musa is still unsure which prompts Stella to tell her that Magix is full of boys much better than Riven and the girls decide to organize a party at a nearby spot to cheer Musa up; this place being the White Horse Café that the Winx and Specialists later make their regular weekend hangout. In Issue 6, Musa comes across Darcy tending to an exhausted Riven in the middle of a storm in the Black Mud Swamp while looking for solid ground.

Hiding in some bamboo-like rods and bushes, Musa watches as Darcy helps Riven to his feet and out of the Swamp; causing her to fear that Riven may have opened up his heart to someone else before she ever got the chance to get him to warm up to her.

Once night falls and everyone is back at their respective schools safe and sound, Bloom asks Musa how she is as the girls told her that she got to see Riven. Much to the Winx's surprise, Musa admits that she did but claims that she is not thinking of him. Rather, she is thinking of another boy whom she had met at the White Horse Café a day earlier and gave her a lucky pebble. She then looks off in a daze wondering if she will meet this boy again soon like he promised. Though she acts unfazed by what she saw in the Black Mud Swamp, Musa's fears concerning Riven cause her to experience a nightmare in Issue 8, where she is stuck inside a thorny maze with a blood red sky above her. Looking for her friends, she finds a cloaked figure who turns out to be Riven and chases him down when he starts running. However, when she catches up to the figure, Darcy reveals herself from under the cloak and shoves Musa off the unstable cliff. Musa springs awake by the sound of loud pounding and finds that Mitril, the boy she had been thinking about, is on her balcony.

After the rest of the Winx are woken up by Mitril's noise, they let him in and are shocked to learn that he snuck into Alfea in the hopes of convincing Musa to leave the school with him. The girls begin to argue amongst themselves believing that Mitril is moving a bit too fast with Stella being the only one who finds the idea of him and Musa eloping to be romantic. That is until Musa clarifies that she and Mitril are not dating and she was never looking for a boyfriend to begin with, even after Stella points out how terribly she has been treated by a certain Specialist with pointed magenta hair.

Musa explains that she only met Mitril by accident and hung out with him because she really liked the stories of his various adventures and exploits. She even admits that she wanted to run away but she needs to stay at school for her new friends and for her father's sake. She politely declines Mitril's offer and Mitril leaves, regretful for embarrassing Musa in front of her closest friends. According to Bloom, Musa had followed Mitril out to the balcony and the two shared a few words before Mitril left, but she does not know what the two said to each other because Musa never told any of the girls. Shortly after Mitril finally left, Musa bursted into tears and the Winx had to console her until she stopped. When she finally calmed down, however, Musa never went back to bed. Instead, she stared off at the full moon just in front of the balcony windows and Bloom suspects that she may have been thinking about her tumultuous heart being torn apart by her feelings for both Riven and Mitril. In Issue 11, Riven finds himself locked in the dungeons of Cloud Tower once Darcy and her sisters have finally decided to discard him. Though he has actively betrayed his friends thinking that Darcy truly cared about him, Riven vows to make things right with them and uses his lockpicking skills to escape his cell. He accidentally alerts some of the Trix's Army of Darkness when trying to break Griffin out of her cell and flees farther up the school until he finds himself cornered with his only exit being an open window. He eventually leaps out of the window to evade capture and as he plummets to the ground, Musa feels her heart skip a beat while helping her friends and classmates fend off the rest of the Army at Alfea.

Musa and Riven do not see each other until after the war against the Trix in Issue 13, as the Winx were awarded a special mission to the mountains with the Specialists by Faragonda for playing key roles in the war.

Once the day of their mission arrives and the Winx are all on board the Specialists' shuttle, Musa and Riven find themselves seated next to each other with Flora in between them. After hearing how the Winx are on a mission to harvest pure moonlight up in the mountains, Riven makes a snide remark over how they are on "girly business," which immediately ticks Musa off and causes her to question why he even came in the first place. Riven insists that he would not have come if he had a choice and Flora has to try and calm the two down by insisting that they will all be able to have fun together. Once Timmy has the shuttle take off, Musa huffs to herself as she wonders why Riven acts the way he does. Flora catches Musa's words and tells her that Riven only acts out because he just wants to get noticed. She goes on to claim that all boys like Riven just act tough to hide how they really are deep down, but Musa cannot understand why they have to be so understanding to guys like that. Flora insists that that is why women are necessary but Musa does not feel like she is necessary to Riven and admits to Flora that she thinks Riven only acts the way he does because he thinks of himself as more important than everyone else.

Later on, after the group is split apart by a sudden hailstorm, Musa, Stella, Brandon and Riven find a cave to take shelter in until the storm passes. With everyone all comfy by the fire, Musa decides to share her chocolate with Riven after seeing Stella share her food with Brandon. He accepts her chocolate and Musa tries to take the opportunity to get closer to him by asking if they should search for the rest of their friends as she scooches closer to him. Riven believes that it would not be a good idea as it is already dark out and upon feeling a change in the mood thanks to Stella and Brandon being affectionate, leaves the cave to get more firewood, which, as a result, also leaves Musa feeling rejected yet again. By morning, they all regroup with Sky, Bloom, Flora, Tecna and Timmy and the group eventually finds Crystal Lake. They all then decide to camp out by the lake to await the full moon and, by nightfall, the Winx begin harvesting moonlight.

As they do so, Musa and Riven sit on a nearby cliff and begin discussing about the beautiful moonlit night. Riven realizes how amazing it all is and tells Musa about a rumor that claims that moonlight has a strange effect on people. Musa agrees with the rumor by explaining that moonlight makes people become more romantic and opens their hearts more easily. Riven suspects that it may be true which causes Musa to wonder if Riven has something more that he would like to say. That is when Riven admits that he does but it is still quite hard for him to say even now.

Once the Winx have harvested enough moonlight, the group decides to head back down the mountain since the moon is so bright out. Riven offers to help Musa carry some of the harvested moonlight, something that is rather unlike him, and Bloom and Stella whisper amongst themselves over how the moonlight seems to be taking effect. Despite everything that has happened, Riven remains distant towards Musa in the next issue as she struggles to invite him to a party that Stella organized by the White Horse. He remains firm on his decision to sit the party out as he does not like parties and likes them even less when there is nothing to celebrate. Musa tries to explain that it is just to have fun but Riven repeats what he said about not liking parties and walks off, leaving Musa by herself until she has an unexpected reunion with Mitril.

As Musa and Mitril catch up with one another, a group of witches decide to cause trouble by instigating a fight between Riven and Mitril. They try to make him jealous but Riven reveals that he does not care much as Musa can be with whoever she wants, however, he quickly changes his tune when the witches claim that Mitril had been badmouthing Red Fountain. After telling the witches to mind their own business, Riven storms over to Musa and Mitril and lashes out at the both of them; Mitril for supposedly badmouthing Red Fountain and the Specialists and Musa for being around him. He and Mitril quickly get into a fight and Musa struggles to break it up as she tells Riven that this is all just a bad misunderstanding. The Specialists try to jump in to stop the fight only to end up getting directly involved thanks to Mitril's instigating but, luckily, Stella is able to jump in and get them to stop. Eventually, the girls are able to get the boys to compromise and Musa ends up going to the party with Mitril believing that it would make it easier for them to catch up.

At the party, Musa enjoys her time with Mitril as Riven sits alone on another part of the shore watching the two. Once the party ends, Musa decides that she will be staying behind for a little while longer as her friends leave for Alfea to hang out with Mitril some more. Riven leaves with the rest of the Specialists but not before saying goodnight to Musa and, once he is gone, Musa and Mitril begin talking over how poorly Riven took having to compromise. Mitril does not think that Musa believes what she says until Musa outright tells him that she is with him now, not Riven, and she gets frustrated with how both him and Riven feel the need to be the best instead of just being different.

Eventually, the Specialists are attacked by a group of thugs that leave behind a badge belonging to Mitril's crew, causing Mitril to be apprehended as the prime suspect. To make matters worse, news of the attack quickly spreads as Musa is caught in the middle of what many think may have been Riven and Mitril escalating the fight from earlier. Not wanting either boys to be seen as guilty, the Winx help Musa investigate last night's attack to prove Mitril's innocence and with Mirta's help, the Winx are able to find the evidence they need to prove Mitril's innocence and put the whole case to rest.

With the video evidence taken by Tecna, the police reveal that the Specialists' attackers were amongst the many enemies that King Erendor had made and they used the tension between them and Mitril's crew to make it seem like Mitril wanted to settle the score. Musa realizes that Mitril is nowhere to be found and rushes out of the police station after being told that he was freed that morning.

A short while later, Musa makes it to Mitril's ship just before he takes off and regretfully watches as Mitril boards the ship. Riven approaches Musa from behind and tries to console her by telling her that sometimes the thing people want the most can be right in front of them but they never notice. Musa agrees with Riven and adds that people may notice it when it is too late as she watches Mitril's spaceship take off. In Issue 16, after being warped into another world and coming across a strange clay statue of a young man, Musa becomes disheartened by the story of King Nobody as she finds that it relates to her current situation with Riven. She laments over how he seems to refuse being sincere with her and believes that things would be drastically different if he would just tell her his heartfelt feelings.

Suddenly feeling that someone is watching her, Musa turns around to find Riven standing behind her and wonders how he made it into this strange world as well. Riven claims that he came because she wanted him here and asks if she is not happy to see him. Musa admits that she is happy to have him here but finds it odd how he would suddenly appear right as she started thinking about him. Riven pulls Musa in closer as he asks what she was thinking about but Musa finds herself becoming bashful with how close they are. That is when Riven confesses that he often thinks about how great things would be if they were a couple as the two of them draw closer towards one another for a kiss while Riven lists off all the other things about Musa he had been thinking about. However, just before their lips meet, Musa realizes that the clay statue is gone which causes who she thought was Riven to discard that appearance, revealing himself to be King Nobody, the man who had been cursed without a face to take the form of the person that the one physically closest to him desires. Musa then runs off feeling heartbroken and suddenly finds herself back at Alfea after tripping.

By the very end of the issue, after the Winx had successfully helped free King Nobody from his curse, Stella reminds the girls of what he had said to them before they left: that he always told the truth when speaking to them in his other guises. Though, while Stella laughs it off thinking that it would be impossible for King Nobody to know such things, Musa, along with Bloom and Tecna, are left to wonder if he really was able to tell them the boys' earnest feelings.

Season 2
Sometime during their hectic second year, Musa and Riven finally became an official couple. This can be seen somewhat at the end of Issue 19 as Musa seems to be comfortable with being close to Riven. Likewise, Riven seems to be comfortable with Musa being openly affectionate and does not actively try to run from her more romantically-charged advances. This is not to say that Riven has completely simmered down, however, as his behavior in Issue 21 begins to drive a wedge between him, his friends and, more importantly, Musa.

After a greedy businessman by the name of Belizarius tasks his men with seeking out the Shaab Stone, a meteor fragment capable of completely nullifying all magic within a certain area, the three headmasters have all their students focus their efforts into stopping them before Belizarius can get his hands on the Stone.

From the very beginning of their mission to locate the Stone within the Enclosed Territory, Riven seems to be looking for trouble as he constantly accuses Helia of only being given the title of commander by Saladin simply due to their familial ties and not for his own merit. He constantly tries to have the Winx and Specialists go against orders and follow his rash decisions whenever it seems like Belizarius' men will get away with the Shaab Stone, which naturally causes problems for the whole team given how dire the situation is. Musa eventually confronts Riven for his behavior which Riven tries to use as an opportunity to show her that he is just as serious about the Shaab Stone Retrieval Mission as everyone else. However, Musa does not believe that the harmony of Magix will be destroyed all because of "some dumb stone" and chooses to believe that the realm's harmony can be preserved with their efforts. She then uses this as an analogy for Riven's difficult behavior and tells him outright that he will never win the respect of his peers if he continues being disrespectful towards them.

Sadly, even Musa's words are not enough to deter Riven as once night falls, he takes it upon himself to snatch the Shaab Stone from two guards, forcing Timmy to cover for him. The two are easily captured and Lothar, the leader of the group, uses him and Timmy as his ticket out of the Enclosed Territory. It is ultimately thanks to Riven's rash actions that allowed for Belizarius to get his hands on the Shaab Stone and, to make matters worse, this quickly causes tension between the Specialists as Helia believes that he should face all the consequences that come with the mission having failed since he was appointed as commander to his group.

Such tensions can be seen boiling over in the following issue as Riven continues instigating with his friends and practically refuses to see that he is at fault while Helia continues to face ridicule on all sides. Meanwhile, Musa feels like she is also at fault for being incapable of talking Riven out of his rash actions. Luckily, by the end of the issue, it is revealed that everything from Riven's behavior to Helia's expulsion and later collusion with Belizarius were part of a larger plan to steal the Shaab Stone from under the businessman's nose. Once the Shaab Stone is stolen and properly disposed of, Riven apologizes to Helia and the two make amends, erasing any lingering tensions that both the Winx and Specialists may have had. In fact, months later in Issue 23, Riven can be seen performing in a band called New Magix Sound with Sky and Brandon for a large party being held at Alfea, showing that he has gotten over his disdain for parties and is even willing to entertain a crowd with his friends. The Trix, who have lost their memories and have been reinstated into Cloud Tower, try to flirt with him, Brandon and Sky after their performance but the Winx quickly jump in to assert themselves. Riven then uses this as an opportunity to make it clear to the witch trio that he has already given his heart to Musa as Brandon and Sky do the same with Stella and Bloom respectively.

This shows that Riven is not afraid to show that he and Musa are official to others, especially when someone makes unwelcomed advances towards him. It should also be noted that Darcy had been eying Riven as, when the Trix return to Cloud Tower after having their advances refused, she asks Icy why they should settle for "any guy" and admits to liking the drummer (Riven) despite having no memory of their past relationship thanks to the events of Issue 20. This gives Riven more of a reason to show off his newer, more healthy relationship with Musa towards Darcy given how their relationship went the year before.

Though the two still go through a few small fights here and there, they never escalate to a point where one of them feels unloved, hurt or doubtful. The two remain quite close and comfortable with one another which can be seen in Issue 31 during the Winx and Specialists' usual hang out over at the White Horse, as Musa rests comfortably with Riven's arm wrapped around her shoulders.

The couple's bonds are further strengthened in Issue 32 during a mission to rescue Bloom's dragon friend from Lothar and his cohorts. Thanks to fragments of the Shaab Stone having been slipped into Alfea's drinking water, the Winx cannot transform or use their magic, so they call the Specialists over to help. Once the group splits up in the forests just north of Alfea, Riven and Musa manage to find the mercenaries' base camp but are quickly outed when a venomous snake approaches them and bites Riven's forearm, causing him to shout. As the two of them rush from enemy fire, Musa focuses all her attention on Riven's condition. Eventually, the effects of the snake's venom finally get to Riven and cause him to collapse in a cold sweat. Seeing how potent the effects are, Musa fears that Riven will die if he does not receive immediate treatment and tries her best to ease his pain by sucking the venom out from the bite wound on his forearm. She keeps this up until Bloom and Sky arrive on a pair of dragons to bring her and Riven back to Red Fountain to get him treated. By sunset, Riven's condition improves and he regains consciousness. Thanks to their friends wanting to give them some sort of privacy, Musa is his only visitor and despite almost dying to a snake's venom, Riven still asks if Musa is the one who is okay. When she confirms that she is, he tells her that she took a serious risk sucking the venom from his wound but Musa does not think of it as such a big deal since she believes he would have done the same for any of his friends. Rather than say anything else, the two of them grasp each other's hand and look one another in the eye as the light of the sunset filters into the room showcasing their strengthened mutual respect.

Season 3
Musa and Riven's relationship seemed to have hit a bit of a snag sometime during their third year in school as Riven has defaulted back to being his usually distant self, while Musa begins feeling insecure. This is evident in Issue 37 where Musa expresses these insecurities to the Winx unable to understand why Riven does not find her to be as beautiful as she would like him to, especially after seeing the portrait of Flora that Helia had painted for her.

After getting some surprisingly insightful advice from Stella, Musa realizes that she just needs to showcase more of her positive sides to Riven and she does so by preparing a special gift for him just before their evening out with the boys. Once evening rolls around, Musa takes the initiative by giving Riven a collection of songs sung by his favorite band. When asked how she was able to get the entire collection, Musa reveals that she got some of them from a few friends and she asks if Riven enjoyed his present. Naturally, he did and enjoyed it even more so knowing how much thought Musa put into it just for him as it must have taken a lot of work to get all the songs. After thanking her for the wonderful gift, Riven begins opening up more and more to Musa as he confesses to treating those around him poorly and even hopes that he did not treat her poorly too often. Musa insists that he has not done so too often which prompts Riven to apologize and ask for forgiveness. Musa agrees to forgive him so long as he does not treat her poorly anymore as she grabs hold of his hand as she gets up. Riven promises to never treat her badly ever again as he is dragged to his feet by Musa who wishes to see if Riven will truly keep his promise by going on a small walk with her alone so she can tell him of an idea she wishes for him to know. As the two get up and go on their walk, Musa reminds Riven of Sifelius, her old composer friend, and reveals that he wishes to lend her the greenhouse by his mansion so that they can practice their music. Everyone else naturally takes notice of how well Musa and Riven are getting along and wish her the best as they continue their walk. Unfortunately, the mood is cut short when Sky receives an emergency call from one his classmates over Viktor Krazan being spotted. Refusing to let them go after not being able to see them for so long, the Winx decide to tag along for backup and so the group speeds over to the industrial area on the outskirts of Magix City to catch Krazan before it is too late.

Since they are unable to precisely locate Krazan's signal, the Winx must stay just outside the factory with Riven and Timmy standing guard as Sky, Brandon and Helia rush in after him. As they keep watch, Stella pulls Musa over to figure out how things are going between her and Riven since he has not been acting like his usual self all evening. Musa tells Stella that all she did was follow her advice by using her expansive knowledge of music to discern Riven's favorite rock group and compile a CD with all his favorite tracks! She then remarks over how sweet Riven becomes when he is calm and hopes that this situation with Krazan ends soon so that she can continue to enjoy this side of him.

Luckily, Musa gets to see a more of Riven's calm and sweet side after the issue with Krazan is finally dealt with, however, her insecurities often end up getting the best of her like in Issue 38. Here, Musa scrambles to make herself look presentable enough to impress Riven and with a bit of help from her trusted friends, she is able to catch her bus while looking her best.

She rides the bus into the city until she spots Riven waiting for her at a bus stop and once she hops off, she and Riven hold each other close for a short moment as they admire the other's beauty. It turns out that Musa has a meeting with Sifelius and Riven decided to come along as support. Rather than be abrasive or overly cautious, Riven keeps true to his word by being as supportive as he can be without it coming off as forced. He remains respectful to Sifelius and reassures Musa that he will be by her side to help with any issues she may face as the new pavilion owner. Once the two finish up their meeting with the kindly former composer, Riven makes sure that Musa is not biting off more than she can chew with taking on ownership of his pavilion and tells her that she can always change her mind if it proves to be too much as he finds Sifelius to be a reasonable fellow. He then assures Musa once again that he will keep true to his promise to support her, but Musa still fears that they may end up fighting again and even tells him that she and all their friends have a hard time understanding Riven whenever he gets overly skeptical of people or things. Riven claims that this is all because of bad experiences that he has had in the past and when Musa asks why this case would be different for him, he confesses to taking a liking to Sifelius.

Going off of how Sifelius looks and talks to Musa, Riven came to see that he genuinely cares for her and does not wish to cheat her out of anything in any way as, if he spoke bluntly to her then it must have meant that he wanted to protect her in a way. Riven further admits that he likes being around Musa and proposes that they go out for ice cream to lighten the mood after such a serious talk. Judging by how Musa returns to the Winx in her dorm, it is safe to say that the rest of her date with Riven went better than she had expected. In fact, Musa even tells the girls of how sweet and kind Riven can be when you get on his good side and she credits Stella for giving her the advice that allowed her to become closer to Riven.

Keeping true to his promise, Riven accompanies Musa to Sifelius' mansion the next day. After Musa and Sifelius sign the contract she made with the help of the Winx, she and Riven run over to check out her new pavilion. Though it looks like a mess on the inside, Musa believes that the two of them and their friends will be able to clean it up in no time.

Even after the pavilion has been cleaned out and Musa starts up her little enterprise, Riven reminds supportive as he does whatever he can to help. When the Winx decide to hold a "battle of the bands" to help boost the popularity of Musa's enterprise, Riven manages to get the owner of Magix City's Central Nightclub interested in the competition! Now with the grand prize being a chance to perform during the club's primetime, Musa's enterprise skyrockets in popularity; becoming the talk of the town amongst Magix's youth! The two are able to maintain a positive relationship throughout the course of the year as, in Issue 39, Musa can be seen holding Riven by his arm as he remains content in her doing so after he and the rest of the Specialists come in second place the Magix Band Festival that was being held in the city's central nightclub. Also, in Issue 40, just before the Winx bust into the Black Castle to free Stella and Brandon and bring down an evil wizard, Riven advises for Musa to be careful and promises to wait for her just outside the castle.

For the rest of the year, nothing eventful happens between Musa and Riven, meaning that it is safe to assume that their relationship remained stable. The only time the two risk breaking up is in Issue 59 and that is only because of the Winx's rising popularity as a pop-rock band. Eventually it gets to the point where after signing a contract to go on tour throughout the Magic Dimension, the Winx realize that they have been biting off much more than they could chew when it turns out that they will have to leave their boyfriends behind if they wish to follow through with their contract. Luckily, by the end of the issue, the Winx are able to cancel their contract with Mister Morley and resume their lives as normal students.

Season 4
Throughout their fourth year in school, Musa and Riven have fortunately maintained a loving and relaxed relationship. This can be seen at the beginning of Issue 55 as the two of them can be seen playfully arguing over whether Riven thinks Musa is getting a bit chubby during their usual weekend hangout at the White Horse Café.

Unfortunately, their hangout is interrupted when the Magix City Police rush into the café to apprehend a crowd of suspicious-looking young men. The police are easily able to corner and arrest the men, who turn out to be foreigners engaged in the current string of kidnappings and traffickings going on in the city. Since the Winx and Specialists were witnesses to what just happened, the Police Chief has no choice but to have them all come down to the police station to give their statements.

A short while later, the Winx and Specialists go down to the police station and give their accounts on what happened and, since all of them are innocent of even being related to the trafficking scheme, they are able to leave without any problems. All except for Riven, who ended up being interrogated the longest and was the last of the group to exit the station. When Riven finally does exit the station, he seems much more distant than how he was before as, while he insists that nothing happened and that he was not much help to the officers, he seems unable to face Musa. To make matters worse, when the group decides to spend the rest of the day together swimming in the lake, Riven claims that "something came up" and cannot go. Despite Musa's pleas, Riven does not change his mind and he rides off on his hoverbike after apologizing. Bloom tries to console Musa by claiming that they can all still hang out together but, knowing how she would feel if she tagged along, Musa insists that if Riven is not coming, then she would be better off going back to Alfea. As she takes the bus back to the school, she becomes increasingly distraught over Riven's sudden refusal.

Once she returns to her shared dorm, she sits down at her desk at sulks for a bit before picking herself back up, believing that she must keep herself busy. She tries to play her flute but, after playing a sour note, decides that today is not a good day for it. She then turns to her laptop to surf the internet, where she eventually comes across an online chat site and quickly notices a message left by someone named "Tristan" asking if there is anyone out there feeling worse than he currently is.

Musa responds by claiming that, while she does not know of Tristan's circumstances, she is feeling really down after her boyfriend treated her badly. Tristan is quick to respond to Musa's message, claiming that he would spend every second with his girlfriend if he had one and, when Musa asks about why he does not have one, Tristan states that he has not been able to find a girl he thinks truly understands him yet. Musa continues to chat with Tristan for the rest of the day as her friends get ready to leave after a fun day out by the lake.

Meanwhile, as the Winx and Specialists get ready to head back to their respective schools, Stella goes on a tirade over how Riven ruined what would have been a nice day out for Musa and confesses to being annoyed with him whenever he goes about complaining like he does not have a girlfriend while "forgetting" to treat her properly once he finally lands one. Brandon tries to calm Stella down by insisting that Musa knows how to take care of herself and that Riven has his off days like everyone else, which causes Timmy to realize that Riven only started acting distant after being questioned by the police. After concluding that Riven may have been treated poorly by the police officers, Sky, Timmy and Brandon make it a plan to talk to him about it when they return to their dorms.

Shortly afterwards, the guys drop the girls off by the Alfea Gates and return to Red Fountain. When the girls return to their dorm, they find Musa in her shared room with Tecna with the lights off, which prompts Bloom to ask if she is okay. Bloom then goes on to ask Musa if she was able to sort things out with Riven while they were gone only to be brushed off by a disinterested Musa as she leaves for the bathroom. Meanwhile, at Red Fountain, Sky and Brandon manage to catch Riven gazing at the full moon just outside the dorms. After greeting him and telling him that he and Sky hope Riven can hang out with them by the lake sometime, Brandon notices that Riven still remains distant and asks if everything is okay. He tries to offer a helping hand but Riven cuts him off by insisting that there is no problem; he is just tired and needs to head to bed early. Sky then reports this to Bloom, who shares with him the fact that Musa had also been acting strange.

The next day, Musa fumbles in class, unable to remember one of the points in Wizgiz's class after being called up. Luckily, the bell rings just in time for her to leave such an embarrassing situation and after Wizgiz warns her that he will be calling her up to the front next class, Bloom approaches Musa to learn what is wrong as she already knew the lesson beforehand. Musa admits to being a bit confused as she pulls out her phone and becomes increasingly more distressed over how Riven had not answered the ten messages she frantically sent earlier that morning. Bloom tries to calm Musa down but to no avail as when Riven finally calls back, she lets loose; shouting at him over the phone while insisting that her anger is justified. She then orders him to meet with her that night at 7PM before ending the call in tears, no longer able to hold back her frustrations.

Bloom tries to comfort her friend as Stella joins up with them, but Musa insists that things will be sorted out once they are able to meet up. She then walks off after apologizing to her friends and claiming that she does not feel like talking, naturally leaving Bloom and Stella to worry for her even more.

Soon enough, 7PM rolls around and Musa and Riven meet up at the boardwalk by the White Horse. There, Musa is finally able to confront Riven, only to be told that he cannot tell her the exact answer. Growing increasingly frustrated, Musa demands to know why Riven cannot tell her and begins to suspect that he thinks she will not understand. Remaining calm with his eyes pointed downward, Riven insists that that is not the case and that he just cannot tell her. He mentions that "something new happened" and that he will explain everything once the time is right. That is when Musa claims that "something new" has happened with her too and confesses that she is tired of constantly waiting around for this "right moment" Riven is talking about. She then goes on to list her worries like how Riven had been avoiding her all week, leaving her to feel lonely as her friends remained cheerful and happy with their boyfriends, and tells Riven that she needs someone she can depend on. She then claims that Riven is not that person to her and, when asked what she means, Musa shouts over how she is breaking up with him, even going on to claim that she cannot stand him anymore. After making such a declaration, Musa storms off, leaving Riven to turn back the other way and quietly accept what had happened.

Later that night, Musa revisits the chat site from the night before and picks up where she left off with Tristan by telling him of how sad she is now that she left her boyfriend. The two eventually make arrangements to meet up in person by tomorrow while, back at Red Fountain, Timmy arrives at Sky and Brandon's dorm looking for Riven who still has not returned.

The guys become increasingly suspicious of Riven's behavior as he had not been to classes all day and even go on to suspect that he may be seeing another girl, which they believe would explain his distant behavior towards Musa. Though Sky insists that Riven will be back by morning just in time to embarrass himself during their upcoming exam, Timmy tries to get in touch with his friend as he fears what Codatorta would do to him if he finds out about all of this.

When morning comes around and the boys see that Riven still has not come back, they take it upon themselves to see what Riven is really up to after their exam. They also do away with their suspicions of Riven cheating on Musa with another girl as he would have at least told Timmy to keep Musa at bay, as well as how he would not keep his cellphone off for so long without telling anybody of what he was doing.

And so, after the boys finish up their exams, they head out on their hoverbikes for Magix City to search for Riven. Eventually, Sky catches sight of Riven riding in a large truck in the 35th Industrial Zone and notifies the rest of the guys who quickly assemble at his location. Still not knowing what he could be up to in such a suspicious part of the city, the boys tail the truck to find out. Meanwhile, Musa makes her way to the bus stop outside the Alfea Gates to meet up with Tristan as planned. Eventually, the guys end up in the Astro-Port Area but lose sight of the truck, which prompts Sky to call in the Winx for assistance. While the Winx make their way to them, the guys decide to search the area for Riven. Their attention is quickly drawn towards nearby crashing sounds, which lead them to Riven who leaps out of a nearby window!

Upon noticing his friends, Riven expresses his confusion as to why they would be around before trying to get them out of the area once he hears the men that were chasing him. However, the guys are quickly surrounded and have to defend themselves until the city police arrive having surrounded the place.

The Winx arrive at the Astro-Port area just as the cops begin detaining the traffickers. With the situation having settled, Riven reveals that he had been avoiding everyone to keep them out of harm's way as he worked undercover with the police. Upon realizing that Musa had not come with the girls, Riven runs off to look for her to explain the situation, however, unease quickly sets in as no one knows where she went and her cellphone had been turned off. Riven then calls up Madame Greta and learns that she had been seen around the White Horse after getting off the bus. As Riven speeds for the White Horse, Musa wanders the area around the lake looking for Tristan and fearing that he may have toyed with her. That is until a van speeds up next to her while a man pushes her inside as his cohorts place a sack over her head and tie her up! Riven makes it to the scene just as the van tries to speed off, so he drives his hoverbike to the front of the van to startle the driver. This causes the van to swerve off the road and into a tree, giving Riven the opportunity he needs to rescue Musa.

Later on, the police arrive to rescue the remaining traffickers who were also responsible for Wendy's kidnapping earlier in the week. After learning how the traffickers lure girls out with fake online personas, Musa asks for Riven's forgiveness once she realizes that she fell for the same trap. Riven, however, insists that he should have placed more faith in her as he did not tell her the truth. Musa agrees, adding that he should have also trusted his friends, and the two share a kiss as they make up, putting the whole event behind them. Their relationship seems to improve in the following issue, what with Riven encouraging and listening to Musa's concerns and plans surrounding their performance for the couples' portion of the citywide skating competition while both remain good sports despite not winning that or any of the individual portions they entered. Unfortunately, the couple hits yet another snag in Red Devils.

While it starts off well enough, the two on good enough terms for Riven to make sure Musa enjoys herself while their group of friends hang out at Magix's central nightclub, Musa seems to have fallen for Brian, a boy she had recently met who shares her dreams of becoming a famed musician. It had even gotten to a point where Musa sneaks glances at Brian while dancing with Riven as Brian stares back, leaving Riven all too aware of what had developed between the two. In fact, after returning to Alfea, Stella confronts Musa about it as Musa obviously denies her claims until Stella eventually leaves hers and Tecna's room annoyed. Musa's feelings for Brian also leave Riven worried enough to call Musa to check up on her, which naturally surprises Musa as she insists everything is fine before ending the call short.

As much as Musa denies Stella's claims, her behavior the following morning shows enough evidence that she had become infatuated with Brian without fully realizing it, as she leaves to show him a piece of news she believes would benefit him right after finding it. As a result, she ends up skipping lunch with the Winx as she hurries for a bus headed into the city.

When she arrives at Brian's apartment, she sneaks a few glances of her surroundings before ringing Brian's doorbell and rushing into his living room the moment he invites her in, insisting that there is no time to lose. Once inside, Musa informs Brian of a young composer's competition that he could enter and encourages for him to try when he asks if she thinks he has a chance. The two then end up staring into each other's eyes for some time until Musa catches herself and asks if Brian will enter the competition. He agrees to do so but on the grounds that Musa visit him every now and then so he can get her input on his composition, to which Musa agrees to while jokingly commenting over how tough a judge she will be. Musa then leaves and makes her way back to Alfea, only to return to Stella prying into her business with Brian. However, despite insisting that nothing is going on and that he is just her friend, Stella remains adamant on her suspicions, telling Bloom that Musa's claims only proved her point about her being mad for Brian.

A few weeks pass as Musa gradually spends more and more of her free time with Brian to help him compose his piece. She even gets so invested to the point of trying to give him pointers while he works and staying at his apartment until late in the evening. Realizing how late it got, Musa decides to head out as Brian promises to work on his composition through the night. Musa quickly gets more frantic upon realizing that she had completely forgotten her shopping date with Riven and rushes out, only to be confronted by Riven at a nearby street light.

Musa tries to assure Riven that she did not mean to forget their date and insists that she merely had things on her mind but Riven remains unconvinced, even as Musa goes on to claim that she is only helping Brian out. The two of them then make their way back to their respective schools arguing, which leaves Riven in an especially sour mood the next day.

Timmy notices Riven's bad mood but Riven insists that he did not fight with Musa and that he is only in his terrible mood because he just does not understand anything; namely what is going on between Musa and Brian. He then refuses Timmy's offer to call Tecna to figure out what is going on but is interrupted by Brandon, who cuts in to notify Riven of a visitor. When Riven goes out into the hall to check who it is, he is confronted by Brian, who introduces himself as Musa's friend and reveals that he came to Red Fountain to tell him in the hopes of dispelling any suspicions he may have formed.

Riven tries to leave after Brian makes his claims, appreciative of the gesture, until Brian admits to having fallen for Musa and how happy he would be if she chose him to be her new boyfriend. He then promises a fair competition between him and Riven for Musa's heart, to which Riven accepts but declares that it will ultimately come down to Musa's decision.

Meanwhile, at Alfea, Stella arranges for the girls to go dancing at central nightclub again, which prompts Musa to eagerly go change. Bloom, aware of what Stella is scheming, calls her out on creating more problems, but Stella insists that she only wishes to do what is best for Musa and that she should be with someone else as she deserves someone who is not always so cold and reserved like Riven. As for Riven, Stella believes that this would wake him up if he truly wishes to stay by Musa's side.

So, that night, the Winx and Specialists go to party at the nightclub and have a wonderful time. When they take a break from dancing to get drinks, Brian approaches the group to tell Musa that his busy schedule leaves him unable to work on his piece for the upcoming competition and has decided to give up on it instead. Rather than use this as a chance to brush Brian off, Riven proposes that Musa play Brian's piece in his stead and even offers to drop Musa off every night with his hoverbike. He then accompanies Musa as she goes to meet Brian's bandmates and, later, the nightclub owner, where they manage to get a spot in the competition after a band called the Black Lions.

Brian becomes nervous with the decision they had just made but Riven proposes that he simply play in his stead. When Musa points out how he cannot play the keyboard, Riven claims that the Winx can whip up some magic that could allow him to do so, which prompts Musa to ask the girls if they are okay with it. Though they do not know of the formula needed to improve Riven's ability to play the keyboard and are busy themselves with upcoming exams, the Winx agree to help Riven and Brian.

By Thursday, the Winx find the spell needed and meet with Riven and the Red Devils at the city's central nightclub. Riven tries playing the keyboard in sync with Brian's bandmates but still does so poorly compared to Brian. However, rather than get upset or feel humiliated, Riven simply asks if the girls were able to find the spell. When Musa asks if he is sure he wishes to go through with it due to how big a commitment it is, Riven assures her that he will be fine as the spell would only last until Brian is able to participate in the competition.

As the couple continue to talk amongst themselves, Stella asks Bloom why Riven would even go through all the trouble for helping Brian as it seems completely out of character. When Bloom explains how he may be aware of Brian's own love for Musa, Stella suspects that Riven may be trying to outperform Brian and thinks of him as a lunatic until Bloom quiets her down. Before she can say anymore, Musa notifies the girls of Riven's consent and they cast the spell on him. To see if it worked, Riven joins the Red Devils for another rehearsal and plays wonderfully. Upon seeing the results of themselves, the girls decide to cast the spell on Riven every night until the night of the competition so things can run smoothly. By the next rehearsal, Musa admits to being taken aback by Riven voluntarily playing for Brian to give him time to compose his piece and ends up confessing to Bloom that she does not know who to choose. She then asks if she is being an idiot but Bloom assures her that it is normal for someone to have doubts like hers, claiming that the most important thing is to be sincere with oneself, and advises for her to wait until the time is right as she will know what to do when that time comes.

Once the Red Devils end their rehearsal, Riven steps outside to deal with a small headache. There, he is approached by Musa, who wanted to wait for him, and walks with him through the quiet city streets. She comments on how she has taken notice of how Riven may have been practicing at Red Fountain, to which he confirms. After hearing this, Musa finally confronts Riven by asking him why he is doing all this and reminds him that he does not have to before cutting herself off when she catches herself about to talk about Brian.

That is when Riven admits to having known of her feelings for Brian as well as his feelings for her, and tells her that they are all fighting a battle to get what they want. Thanks to Riven's own love for Musa and desire to give her the best, he felt the need to help Brian for her after seeing how fond she was of his music. Though he knows he can never be as good a musician as Brian, Riven still wanted to try his best for her in the hopes that she would notice. Riven's heartfelt confession moves Musa into embracing him and confessing her own love for him, reaffirming her love as the two kiss under the full moon. By that morning, Musa tells Bloom of what happened and rebukes herself for having been so stupid. As for Brian, he was able to finish his piece, meaning that he can compete by Saturday, but Riven has to replace him for the Red Devils to also compete. Musa worries about Riven's health though, as his headaches have been getting worse and worse from what she believes to be the spell they put on him. Coupled with how he has been practicing on his own free time, Musa fears that he may over-exert himself, but Bloom insists that he will be fine as the spell will be removed after Saturday, which would leave him free for Musa to spend all the time she wants with him.

However, once the night of the competition comes, Riven almost faints while parking his hoverbike, leading Musa to worry over his health as he insists that he can still play. Despite this, Musa has Riven sit out of the competition, leaving the Red Devils unable to perform as their position is overtaken by the Black Lions. Luckily, though, Brian returns having won the other competition he entered in, and is able to play his piece with his band, winning over the crowd. With everything having worked out well in the end, Musa bids farewell to Brian, proving to him that she has wholly placed her heart with Riven once more before she, Riven and all their friends dance the night away.

Musa and Riven seem to maintain a positive relationship after the whole ordeal as, in Issue 70, the two happily spend their week-long vacation in the White Mountain Realm together with their friends.

Unfortunately, this period of happiness within their relationship proves to be a brief one as, by the events of Issue 79, it is revealed that the two had broken up before anyone had realized it. Though Riven does not appear until the very end of the issue (and only as an image), he distances himself from Musa and his friend group entirely. Musa's pain, on the other hand, is much more apparent with her turmoil as the issue's secondary focus. She once again puts up walls around her heart and tries to act aloof towards Lukas, a rather popular co-worker of hers at the Disco Dance club that she developed a crush on, all while remaining hurt to the point of crying to herself in secret over the recent breakup.

Eventually, Musa confesses to the Winx one night of her feelings for Lukas and her constant self-doubt. Though she acts as though she and Riven are history, Tecna helps her realize that their breakup left her afraid of being hurt once more, which also fed into her constantly doubting herself until she was too scared to make a move on Lukas.

Taking both Bloom and Tecna's advice to heart, Musa garners up enough courage to invite Lukas out for a concert, which helps to draw the two together until they begin hanging out and, ultimately, dating until Lukas leaves the city to return to his father's side in Issue 84.

Sometime after her breakup with Lukas, it is implied that Musa and Riven pick their relationship back up once more. The two seem to be on relatively good terms as the two of them can be seen joining in on a Halloween celebration on Earth with no visible tension in Werewolves in Shady Hill, however, their brief time apart still seems to negatively affect Musa's emotional state.

Musa's feelings towards Riven and their relationship come into view much more clearly in Issue 97 during an ambush Lord Neruman enacts onto the Winx, who tried confronting him within the Dark Dimension. Having been knocked unconscious by Neruman, Musa is forced into facing a nightmare fueled by her own jealousy and insecurities: a nightmare in which Riven abandons her to openly romance another woman.

Eventually, Musa finds herself unable to watch and begins crying to herself as Riven parts ways with the woman he was dancing with. He then confronts Musa, asking if she was spying on him, causing Musa to try explaining herself while fighting back tears. Growing irritated, Riven asks her what she expected, and brings up the fact of how they do nothing but fight before telling her that he no longer loves her. Musa, becoming more and more desperate in that moment, clings to Riven's arm as she insists that there was always something special between them despite all the fighting they have done, but none of this stops Riven from walking away, claiming their story to be over. As he does so, his face changes to resemble on of Neruman's shadows before the Lord of Shadows himself goes on to taunt Musa in front of Flora and Bloom, finding her brand of pain to be "very moving."

Season 6
Though Riven is not present during the events of Season 5 within the comics, it is safe to assume that he and Musa spent the past two years loving and supporting each other. Riven enthusiastically cheers for her and the rest of the Winx during their soccer match against the Cloud Tower Witches in The Great Challenge, he and Musa spend a relatively nice and calm day out with friends in Attack of the Centaurs as part of a group date, and the two of them celebrate the anniversary of King Radius' ascent to the Solarian throne together with friends in An Unforgettable Party.

Unfortunately, with how their relationship comes to a close in the animated series, Riven's absence after An Unforgettable Party was more than likely the result of an offscreen breakup between him and Musa.