I was writing this when I was bored at the airport. Please don't expect updates to be weekly. I really don't want to get Sting and Rogue OOC in terms of magic. I am just hoping that Mashima tells what Sting and Rogue can use already. I am getting tired of waiting.
Anyways, this story takes place before the Fairy Tail aces disappear on Tenrou. About a year before that. I hope you like the story.
Fairy Tail had always been the top guild in Fiore after Phantom Lord fell. They were the model guild and everyone strived to be like them although their constant destruction of private property made more unpopular than popular. But who could stop them? They were much too strong and they had good morals although they often fell short.
But Fairy Tail was not the only guild in existence. There were many others although they were not as well known. One of these anonymous guilds was Saber Tooth. Saber Tooth was a small guild, even smaller than Goliath. Their members were weak mages that had been rejected from other guilds. Their master was not particularly strong either. But one day, Saber Tooth would gain some very, very cocky members and their status would change greatly.
The guild of Saber Tooth was a small building in the town of Seplin. It was not very ornate but it was comfortable enough for the mages living there. The town that surrounded the small brick building was a quiet town. The citizens trusted Saber Tooth and they were quite friendly, the mages of Saber Tooth helping them with anything they needed done. Currently there was construction going on for a new house and Saber Tooth had decided to lend a hand. The master had gone on a pilgrimage to Arcana so he could visit the Wizard Council.
"Maximilian! Hand me that hammer will you?" asked a man wearing dirty work clothes and had a white hardhat on.
The teenage boy that was hammering in a nail looked at the man and handed him the hammer he had been holding. The boy's name was Maximilian and he was one of the few in Saber Tooth. He had long dark brown hair and he was wearing a dark green t-shirt with tan cargo pants. He was thin unlike usual mages with their prominent muscles.
"The house is sure coming together huh?" the teenage boy asked as the man wearing the hardhat smiled and nodded as he hammered in a nail into the thick wood.
The man wiped the sweat off of his forehead and he picked up the towel that had been placed on a beam of wood. The man looked at Maximilian as he wiped himself down.
"Hey…you're a mage right?" he asked as Maximilian nodded.
It was true although not everyone in Saber Tooth was a mage. Mages usually showed abilities at birth but some did not even indicated possessing magical power until they were fully grown. Maximilian was a mixture of both. He had shown potential for magical growth but his magic had never improved even though he was almost an adult.
"Of course I am!" Maximilian said, grinning at the man.
The sun was hot and the man wiped his forehead again as he took off his hardhat. Many others were working on the house and Maximilian knew them all. The man looked up at Maximilian, squinting his eyes because of the sun.
"Have you ever thought about being something more?" the man asked as Maximilian stared back at him, confused.
Being…something more? What did he mean? The man sighed and explained to Maximilian what he meant.
"Maximilian, have you ever thought about joining a different guild?" the man said as Maximilian continued to stare at him, confused. The man sighed again and continued. "I know that you have been a part of this guild your whole life but…you can be so much more! Think about it Maximilian! Saber Tooth is not a guild for you! It is too weak! I know you wonder why you never get stronger. It is because there are no jobs for Saber Tooth!"
Maximilian felt a lump develop in his throat. He was sweating a lot because of the sun and his cheeks burned and his mind raced. Quit Saber Tooth? Maximilian looked at the man, worried.
"But I came here when my mom and dad died…I cant just leave now!" he said, trying to find a good reason why he should stay.
The man shook his head and stood up and picked the hammer back up. He grabbed another nail and started to hammer it into another piece of wood. The man spoke grimly as he continued his work.
"I know. You owe Saber Tooth your life for taking you in when you were an orphan. But you want to be stronger, don't you? You cant become stronger if all you do is help me with my work and help my wife with chores. You have to go on missions Max. Saber Tooth is a dead end for you and Bailey. You are both very talented mages, I can tell. But you can never be known if you stay here." The man said as he picked up another nail and hammered it in.
Maximilian looked at the ground, feeling torn. Should he leave to make a name for himself and abandon the guild that had saved his life or should he stay? Maximilian sighed, suddenly extremely tired. He turned away from the man and he walked towards the brick building that he called home.
"Bye….thanks for your opinion…" Maximilian said as he trudged away underneath the hot sun.
"No problem. Just remember what I have said. You can be so much more Max." the man grunted as Maximilian disappeared around the corner.
?
Thud
The knife clattered to the ground and the body of the cloaked thief fell to the ground. There was the sound of someone wiping their hands and then a sigh.
"Sting, did you have to do that? I don't even think the guy was serious about cutting out our guts." Rogue said as he gave a look to his partner, Sting.
The cocky blonde haired dragon slayer shrugged his shoulders and spit at the thief that was groaning on the ground. Sting was wearing his usual attire but he had a bored look on his face.
"Whatever Rogue. You always want to ruin the fun don't you? Always telling me to be moral, blah blah blah." Sting said as he brushed off Rogue's comment.
Rogue was glaring at Sting when suddenly the sound of light footsteps came from behind them. The two dragon slayers turned to look behind them at the dirt path to see their strange cat like creatures running after them. One was wearing a weird frog suit and the other was wearing a sleeveless blue vest with three buttons down the right side.
"Wait up you two!" the one wearing the vest said as they finally caught up to the two dragon slayers.
Sting grinned when he saw the exceed running towards him and grabbed it and lifted it onto his shoulders and grinned at it.
"Ah, Lector! About time you showed up. You missed all the action! We beat the thief up pretty badly." Sting laughed as Lector high fived Sting and the two laughed.
Rogue just rolled his eyes and looked at Frosch that was waving his hand at Rogue. The exceed was a bit strange but Rogue didn't mind.
"Hi!" Frosch said as Rogue picked him up and put him on his shoulder.
"Yeah, hi. Sorry I took off like that. Somebody has to keep Sting in check or we all dead." Rogue chuckled as they continued down the dirt path, the sun starting to go down.
…
It had grown completely dark by the time Sting and Rogue met the strange man who would change their lives. Lector and Frosch were holding small lanterns and a warm orange glow cast on the faces of the two dragon slayers as they walked the dirt path towards nowhere in particular. The man had been coming towards them on the dirt path and he suddenly blocked their way when Sting and Rogue were about to pass. The man's face was hidden by a tattered brown hood and he wore a dark blue cape over the brown leather jacket he was wearing. Sting took a step back and showed his sharp canine teeth.
"Oh, another thief? Just try me!" Sting shouted as he threw a punch at the man.
Rogue was about to stop Sting but there was no need as in a few seconds, Sting was howling in pain. The man had twisted the cocky dragon slayer's arm behind his back in a matter of seconds. Rogue raised his eyebrows at the man, suddenly interested in the man. He had managed to defeat Sting in seconds! The man looked up at Rogue, the dragon slayer taking a step back when he saw the man's face in the warm glow of the lantern Frosch was holding.
The man had no eyes, just empty holes of darkness.
It also turned out that he had a small beard of gray that been hidden before. Sting was still struggling and Lector was kicking at the man's legs, telling him to let Sting go. In a moment of panic Rogue drew his katana, for the first time in his life, scared.
"What do you want! Just who are you!" Rogue demanded as the man smiled, Rogue shivering and Frosch letting out a whimper.
Sting suddenly stumbled to the ground, the man letting go of his arm. The blonde haired dragon slayer growled and rubbed his wrist in pain and was about to attack again when the man raised his hand.
"Peace. Fighting is not what I want. I have an offer for you both. You both seem to be wandering mages. Am I correct?" the man asked.
Rogue nodded as he put down his katana slightly. Just what was this man's offer? Sting just gave Rogue a look and the man continued on.
"How about I give you a home? It will be a place for you to work and to live. I am a guild master, my guild not too far away from here. Saber Tooth is its name. How about it? You can battle all you want against dark mages." The man said.
There was no sound besides the crickets chirping as Sting and Rogue thought about the man's offer. Sting spit on the ground suddenly and was about to yell at the man about "honor" and "not being a charity case" but Rogue stepped in first.
"We accept." The dark haired dragon slayer said to the eyeless man.
"WHAT? Rogue are you an idiot! Wait! Don't answer. Of course you are an idiot!" Sting shouted at his partner, Lector nodding and snickering.
Rogue glared at Sting. He was such a knucklehead.
"Sting, I don't think you realized how long we have been travelling. More than seven years. I want to stop travelling and have a place I can call home for once." Rogue said reasonably.
Sting grumbled as he looked away and the man nodded happily.
"Welcome to Saber Tooth."
I hope that was alright. I didn't want to show Sting and Rogue using their magic because we don't know it yet and I didn't want to seem OOC. If you read "Ravens have tails" or "Dragon Myth", you may have seen a few characters from those stories being mentioned or shown. Anyways, I hope you liked the chapter and sorry if I can't update this story as much as you would like me to.
FF