Well, it's been a while. Sorry, but I got bored of writing for a while because well, I had no inspiration. Thankfully, some has returned, and I hope to get more as the week progresses, hopefully making me want to write more.

Just a warning, this is slightly AU and I'm accepting OCs if I feel like they are good.

I really don't have anything more to say, so I hope you guys enjoy this short preview.

The kick was strong, and it sent the child slamming through the wooden doors and out onto the muddy street, rain pouring down as the child struggled to get to his feet, wiping the mud from his face.

"You think you have what it takes to join us?"

The kid looked up at the open doors to the huge building he had been kicked out of, his dark brown eyes reflecting fear. The child scrambled to his feet and stood defiantly in front of the open doors as the rain continued to pour, soaking the child completely. His clothes used to be relatively clean, but they were now a disgusting brown color from the mud that now covered his clothes. His hair stuck to his head because of the downpour of rain, but the most striking feature of the child was his demanding facial expression. The child shouted back into the huge building without hesitating.

"Why can't I join you?! I'll do anything! Anything!" he shouted, his voice breaking at the end.

Suddenly the child let out a scream of pain as he was slammed back down into the mud. The child looked up at who had assaulted him and his eyes widened when he saw who it was. It was dark, but light enough to see the blonde hair and sneer that gave it away. It was Sting Eucliffe, one of Saber Tooth's two dragon slayers. He prodded the child with his boot and smiled.

"You can't join us because you're weak. Saber Tooth has no use for weaklings!" Sting pushed the kid away with his foot and turned to walk back into his guild. "Get out of my sight, weakling."

With that, the child was left alone, the rain pouring down, mud surrounding him. Slowly, the kid stood up from the mud, brushed himself off, and walked away, head down. Perhaps tears were shed, but they were lost in the rain.

The child soon found himself standing in a tavern, a puddle of water forming underneath where he sat, alone. The mud on his clothes had washed off in the downpour, but they were still stained brown. The tavern was not crowded, most customers opting to stay home instead of trudging through the rain. The kid sat there, thinking about what had happened. What had he done wrong? He had thought he was strong enough to at least be considered, instead, they threw him out, and he was even mocked by his hero.

His hands balled up into fists, and he felt tears coming to his eyes when suddenly somebody came into the tavern, sitting down at the table where he was sitting. It was an old man, his aged face covered in wrinkles, grey hair, and wearing an ancient jacket with several holes in it. He smiled as he sat down at the wooden table with the child.

"A little young to be in a tavern aren't you, boy?"

He glanced up at the old man and just grunted, not wanting to get into details. The old man laughed and continued.

"What's your name? I don't remember seeing you come here before in all of my years here."

The boy hesitated, but still answered his name. It would have been rude not to. He looked up at the old man, and tried not to sound weak.

"My name's Armanis. What's your name?" he asked, suddenly curious about the old man who had decided to sit down with him.

"Well, nice to meet you, Armanis. People around here call me Brennan. Now, what is a kid like you doing here?" Brennan asked.

Armanis stiffened. He didn't really want to talk about it to a stranger he barely knew, but he continued on anyways. He needed to get it out. He told Brennan the whole story and the old man listened and when Armanis had finished, the old man sighed.

"You tried to join Saber Tooth, eh? Bad luck there, son. In my day Fairy Tail was the strongest guild, but it seems they haven't been doing too well with all of their strongest members missing." The old man stopped to think and scratched his chin and suddenly smiled. He turned back to Armanis. "Well, you're in luck. I was recently buying things from an old friend when he gave me an old book. Now, I'm an old man, so I'm going to give you the book so you can use it. Perhaps it contains knowledge you can use to join Saber Tooth. How about it?"

Armanis was frozen in place. He just stared at the old man and a smile slowly spread across his face. A spark of hope still burned in the child.

"I accept."

The old man took out an old book and placed it on the table and Armanis took it in his hands. He thanked the old man and left, smiling with glee. The old man had told him to use it to join Saber Tooth, but that idea had long since died away…

I hope that was good. It's been a while since I have dealt with Sting and other FT characters. Anyways, I am accepting OCs if they interest me, so don't be afraid to send them in! The form is on my profile.

Thanks for reading! FF