CoLu Week Day 6: Pilot
The Pilot: the first
A Pilot: an individual guiding
To Pilot: to guide
XxXxXxXxX
He really fucking hated coming into town like this. To start with Cubelios couldn't come with him. She caused wide spread panic and drew way to much attention. She was his constant companion and he hated being without her. Then there was the noise. Constant, overlapping, earbleeding noise. Even suppressing his magic as much as he could only blocked out most of it. He still heard anyone close enough to touch and of course everything everybody else heard only louder. He hated it.
Today was a little different since his trip into town was voluntary. Rumors said Salamander, the fire dragon slayer, was in town. He could care less about the wizard himself, but he wanted, no he needed the information he could glean from the man about the magic they shared. Dragon slaying magic wasn't just magic. It changed who and what you were. He had instincts driving him to do things he couldn't anticipate and needed to understand in order to deal with them and control his own fucking self.
...how dare he ...oh bubbles ...then she didn't ...apples and chicken ...I need to hurry or ...how pretty ...why didn't I think ...wish it was ...he's holding my hand ...so help me ...
If these stupid fucking people would all shut up and stop thinking that would be great. It's not like any of them were thinking anything important. Petty shit all of it. No-one even had anything interresting to think, so it was petty and boring.
Fuck that shit!
Well... That was less boring. He reached out with his magic for the female mind.
You have no idea what I went through for this money you over ripe apricot! 20,000 jewel my ass! Which got groped on my last job. Groped! Fuck you very much dad! He doesn't even do anything! 20,000 jewel and all he does is dance a little and look cute. If I'm gunna get treated like that anyway I might as well put it to good use.
The mind kept jumping back and forth between topics like a yoyo. He caught her description of the old 'apricot' she was talking to, some stupid punk grabbing at her ass while she waited tables, and some stuck up rich geazer who was apparently her father. Why was she waiting tables if her family was that rich? Then there was the mental imaginings of a 'doggy' that he was pretty sure would actually look like a snowman. Then she started flirting with Apricot.
"How much is it really worth? Surely you can cut me a deal?" There. You can look all the way down my shirt. Lots to see in there. That should knock off a few thousand. Plus the sexy voice, a couple more thousand. Look in my eyes Apricot. That's right. Big brown doe eyes. Guys always fall for that. And cue wink. I shouldn't have to pay more than 10,000 tops.
The corner of his mouth lifted into a smirk. Oh, he liked her. She had a lot of fight in her. Not a positive opinion of men or their self control, but a lot of fight. He would have stayed outside the little magic shop and listened longer, but a scream of "Salamander!" called his attention to the reason he was here in the first place and he walked away.
He took his time approaching. This was a powerful light guild mage. It wouldn't do for him to be seen or recognized. He also circled around so he would be downwind. As a dragon slayer Salamander would have advanced olfactory senses. The hint of dragon in his scent would draw his attention in a way he didn't want.
He kept his eyes on the crowd and sniffed the air. No dragonlike smell. He could smell dozens of different florals, fruits, and perfumes from what looked to be a predominantly female crowd, but no dragon. There was fire, but it wasn't the kind of fire he was expecting. Not as pure or powerful, not even smokey, it was more of ...chemical fire smell. It burned his nose. He reached out and listened, carefully sorting through the throng of girls proclaiming their undying love for the wizard he was looking for. There. Found him.
"I am Salamander. It is so nice to meet you ladies." His lip curled up in a sneer. Salamander's voice sounded as fake as his fire smelled. He listened harder, trying to focus through the noise around the wizard. So simple. Use the name of a famous wizard to draw a crown, a simple charm spell and the ladies fall all over themselves to get to me.
Well that was just great. Days of bargaining with Brain, hours of being in this noisy as fuck town, and all he got was a fucking fake as shit Salamander. No wonder he smelled and sounded fake. He was. This was such a huge load of bullshit.
He turned away with a growl that had people near him shying away, only to stop two steps later. It was her, the girl from earlier. He heard her. Only... This wasn't her. It wasn't right. It was her voice, but the bite and fight he had admired earlier was just ...gone.
Why is my heart beating so fast? What's gotten into me all of a sudden? He looked at me!
No way in hell was this right. Something was wrong with her. The fake was using a 'charm spell' right? She must have gotten caught in it. It was taking her free will from her. Fuck that shit. Not while he was around was this asshole dulling that kitten's claws. He focused on her thoughts as he walked toward the crown.
Is it cuz he's a famous wizard? Is that why my heart's throbbing out of control? Could it be? There she was. Bright blond hair and a tiny blue miniskirt. He approved. Charm spells broke when you knew about them right?
Am I in love? Is he the one? Fuck no you aren't, and hell no he isn't. He leaned down so his shoulder touched hers and he was close enough to whisper in her ear. Wow. She smelled good. Like daphne flowers. It suited her.
"Charm spell meet Daphne. Daphne, charm spell." He heard the spell break in her mind. Like shattering glass. For a long moment he heard nothing from her but the echo of his words. Then the sexy kitten from earlier came back when a feral growl ran through her mind. Now that was better.
Why that no good, low down, filthy, dirty, rotton... Ya know what? You aren't even worthy of being a pile of shit. A fecal smear, that's what you are. Fuck you!
Finally she turned to look at him with a sweet, sunny, dandelion smile. Beautiful and innocent. She had big brown doe eyes just like she had thought earlier. Her voice was bright and cheery when she spoke. He liked it, but it was hilarious considering what was going through her head.
"Hi there!" Holy panties! Hello sexy. Stars, your eyes are beautiful! I've never seen hair such a rich color before. I wonder how weird it would be for me to ask to touch it? "I'm Lucy." I don't know who you are or where you came from, but we can absolutely be friends. "Thanks for helping me out. That was a totally sleazy thing for that guy to do." Stupid Fecal Smear. Eh, it got he here so I guess I'm not complaining.
"Erik." For a second he felt like he had slapped himself. Why did he give her his real name? "It was my pleasure." It really was. A beautiful, dangerous flower like her should be free to do and feel whatever she wanted. She shouldn't be forced to bend her will to anyone.
"Let me treat you to lunch as a thank you?" Come on sexy. You're a guy. Guys never turn down food. And I'd really like it if you stuck around for a little while
"Sure." He never turned down food. She was right about that. It was a little more complex than just because he was male though. Years of starving in the Tower of Hell followed by the lacrima messing with his metabolism, and his everything else, made food a precious commodity. "I'm not picky, so I'll enjoy whatever you feed me, Daphne." Though if he was honest she was sounding more delicious than anything else he could think of. Even more so when he listened in on her reaction to his name for her.
Daphne? Shit. He thinks I'm someone else. Damn it! He is so sexy and sweet too. Like caramel. Actually his skin looks kinda like caramel. I wonder... Shut up Slut Lucy! "Umm... My name is Lucy."
"I heard you. Daphne suits you." If she got brave enough to ask out loud he would absolutley let her taste him.
"Oh." He's giving me a nickname? Holy Panties! Isn't that a flower? "Wanna tell me why you think I'm a Daphne?" At least I'm not a sunshine. I get so tired of that one. How unorigional can you be?
"Daphne flowers are complex, beautiful, and deadly poisonous." He grinned at her for a moment, earning the approval of her inner monologue. "They also smell delicious."
Does that mean he thinks I smell ...delicious? Beautiful and deadly huh? I wouldn't call me deadly. My magic isn't that strong.
A doorbell echoed in her head followed by a ...cow? The doorbell was familiar, and a glance down confirmed it. She had gate keys. She was a celestial spirit wizard, like Angel. The cow must be one of her spirits. That explained the snowman dog from earlier. Celestial spirits were all weird and none of them were what they should have been. The cow was probably from the giraffe constelation or something stupid like that. He did catch the glint of gold. Angel was always going on about her Zodiac keys. They were supposed to be powerful and extremely rare.
A chill ran down his spine when he saw the whip hanging from her belt. How had he not seen it before? Surely she wasn't like that? He hadn't caught that dark sadistic tone inner thoughts. Just independance. She was a kitten. She had claws to protect herself not...
"Carry your kinks with you, Daphne?" It took everything he had to keep his voice even. To his surprise she blushed. He would have appreciated it more if it wasn't for the torture device she was carrying. He listened carefully to her thoughts as she spoke.
"It's not like that." Shit. Not him too. Why does everybody think that? "I'm a wizard. My magic uses keys, these keys," She touched her keys and smiled this weird soft smile. "to summon spirits from the celestial world." He knew how celestial spirit magic worked. He wanted her to skip to the part where she explained the fucking whip. He couldn't hear any memories of anger or even of hurting anyone. Not yet at least.
He was hearing doorbells and the cow again, along with some sort of music. "Some celestial wizards use their spirits as shields." He had seen Angel do that. "I don't." I wouldn't even need to carry this if I were a guy. I could just punch shit. He heard some guy calling her baby and, finally, someone screaming, no it was yelling, and it wasn't her. It was one of her spirits. Aquarius. Lucy was appologising for bothering her. There was still no whip.
"My spirits are my friends. My family." Look it has a heart on the end. How cute. Way to think ahead Lucy. His eyes flicked down. Yep. There is was. The whip had a heart shaped tip. It was a barb really, but for someone who didn't know better He guessed it could be a heart.
"I fight beside my spirits." He almost flinched when he heard the crack of a whip in her memory, then the sound of her own voice joined it. How dare you! Only the worst kind of cowardly scum hits a child! Open, Gate of the Golden Bull! Taurus! He heard the cow again.
"It takes time and space to call a spirit. I don't have the physical strength to use most traditional weapons. The whip is something to give me that space that doesn't require brute strength. Plus I had access to it when I was young." Stupid asshole stablemaster. I got his sadistic shithead self fired so fucking fast. That poor horse.
Wow. That was... nothing he had expected and nothing he would have imagined, quite possibly everything he could have hoped. She had taken a weapon used against the defenseless and now used it to protect those she cared about. He still felt jumpy and skittish being so close to something that had caused him so much pain and left so many scars, but he was ok with it. Really it was poetically suiting for his Daphne to weild a whip.
"Umm..." Why do I feel so awkward? Why is he looking at me like that? "You like Stellan food?" She gestured at a nearby cafe.
"Daphne."
"Y-yeah, Erik?" Huh, he liked her using his real name.
"You are special." She rolled her eyes. So special. Voices echoed in her head. Crazy. Stupid. Loco Lady. You're super kinky aren't ya girly. "Not that kind of special. You are an exotic flower willing to grow in common soil in order to share your beauty." He tapped her nose as she starred at him with wide eyes. "Don't change." He walked into the Stellan cafe and heard her follow.
Special like an exotic flower huh? Where does he get this shit? I mean it's super sweet and all, but it's not like did something special. I just explained how my magic works. I'm definitely not complaining. A girl doesn't get compliments from a guy that hot every day, and I have a feeling this specific guy doesn't give many out at all.
That would be the understatement of the decade if she said it out loud. He never said anything even remotely nice about anybody. What exactly made her special enough to change that he wasn't exactly sure yet. Of course the fact that her first thought when she saw him was 'Holy panties' probably helped. Those big brown eyes she already knew were a male weakness definatley helped.
"So. You're a wizard." He said, sliding into a bench and trying to relax as well as keep his focus on suppressing his magic both at the same time. She sat across from him.
"Yeah, but I haven't joined a guild yet or anything." Makes me only half a wizard. I should probably explain what that means and why it's important. Yeah, how about we nip that one in the bud and not.
"You have a specific one in mind? You get in with the wrong crowd it can cause a whole mess of problems." Lamia Scale was the closest. Maybe that was why she was in town. She wasn't local. She started fangirl squealing in her head. He was willing to bet that was a yes on whether she had a specific guild in mind.
"Fairy Tail." Her eyes lit up. They are the absolute greatest! "I hear it's really tough to get in though because they are the most popular guild there is." They have some really powerful wizards. I'd be so outclassed. I doubt I could get in any time soon. "They are always featured in Sorcerer Weekly." One of their wizards practically leveled a whole town last week going after bandits. Talk about power, but overkill much?
He had heard about that. Those 'bandits' had actually been a minor dark guild working under his guild and Brain had been furious. He was actually glad to see them go, because they had been a pain in the ass to deal with. Idiots the lot of them, which was why the wizardry magazine had only labeled them as bandits.
"If I could actually convince them to let me in I think I'd just about die!" Fat chance of that, but I'm going to be aggressively positive about this. "I'm telling you, I'm definately going to join Fairy Tail some day."
Just being the best didnt seem like a good enough reason for her to choose one guild over another. She wasn't shallow like that. He would have pressed her for more, but she silently answered without even knowing he was looking for more.
Nobody ever tells Fairy Tail what to do. Even the Council can't control them. I wanna be free like that someday. Free enough I don't have to hide. Fuck you dad! Fuck your empty house and your stupid corsets and your pointless rules. You can fuck your chauvinistic marriage contracts with that damn railway you love so much. I'm going to be a wizard and a good one. I'm going to be free.
Freedom. He could understand that. This dad of hers had chained her with ribbons and lace to a Tower built of gold. A prettier cage than his had been, but still a cage. Her only way out had been a new cage, just like his had been. She had found a loophole though and escaped. She was free. He hoped she stayed that way. He hoped that someday she could be, as she had said, free enough she didn't have to hide.
"Fairy Tail is a growing guild. Most guilds aren't likely to turn away new members. If they are then they probably aren't the crowd you belong in anyway. Don't jump strait in though. Go to Magnolia. Talk to their wizards and their master. Make sure it's what you want before you decide for sure."
"You know them?" Holy fucking shitballs on a cheesy cracker! That was hard not to react to. The stuff this girl thought sometimes was off the wall crazy. He liked it. I'm so stupid! "You're a wizard aren't you?" Maybe a green mage? Plant magic would explain why he keeps bringing up flowers.
"I am. I have magically enhanced hearing and poison magic." Brain would flip shit if he knew that he was telling her that, but that jackass could suck his dick. He toed the line pretty damn close most of the time. Poison. That explains the flowers. It's amazing how dangerous a lot of that shit is if you do more than admire it from a distance.
"So are you part of a guild? Which one?" No matter how much he liked his Daphne he wasn't going to give her the answer to that question. Even more So because he liked her, he wasn't going to put her in danger like that.
"Remember what I said about the wrong crowd and problems? You need to not know about my problems. I'm a bishop in a game I never wanted to play. I'd rather you didn't become a pawn." Oh, Erik. You're so sweet though. Yeah, no he wasn't. Just shows what one bad decision can cost you I guess. I hope you can fix your problems. Or escape them like I did. Shit. If he knew how to hope he would be hoping for the same thing. "Tell me about your spirits?"
Don't want to talk about it huh? Ok. I can understand that. She gave him a sad smile and began to talk about her spirits. They were her magic, her friends, her family, her life. She shared that with him, holding nothing back.
It was nice while it lasted. They ate and talked. For a while he felt almost human. It hurt to watch her walk away, but he couldn't keep her. She needed sunlight to grow and be happy, and he would be dragged back to the shadows wether he liked it or not.
He thought of his friends, his family, as he waited for Cubelios to finish swimming and smell him out. They needed him. He wasn't mentally sound by any means, but without him there his sister and his brothers would finally lose themselves. Angel would lose the fight to keep living. Racer would finally go insane from his simple inability to outrun his problems. Hoteye would give up on his brother, and after that himself. Midnight, he would lose the last of his will to Brain.
They would suffer with his absence. And they would suffer because of his absence. That was how Brain controlled them. Step out of line and someone else gets hurt. They had been through enough in the Tower and in their early years as the Six Demons that threats against them directly held little weight anymore.
He heard the ripples Cubelios caused as she swam towards him. He smiled. He had missed her company while he was in town. He wondered if she would have liked Daphne. Of course she would have. Though most people were afraid of the huge snake, Daphne, he was sure, would have gotten over it quickly if she was afraid at all. Cubelios raised her big purple head up from the water to look him in the eye where he crouched. He ran a hand along the ridge over her eye.
"Did you have a nice swim?" She flicked her tongue at him. "Catch anything good?" Two tongue flicks. So she ate very well, or at least had fun with her hunt. "You'll never guess what I did today." Her head tipped back and forth. Snakes couldn't roll their eyes, but if they could she would have. "I actually met someone I liked." She jerked her head back to express her shock. "I know right? Her name was Lucy, but she seemed like more than that to me so I'm calling her Daphne. It's what she smells like anyway. Not that I'll ever see her again to call her anything." She flicked her tongue in the air searching for a scent. "My shoulder touched her. You might still catch a scent on my jacket." He shifted so that the shoulder in question was closer to his friend, who flicked her tongue out and tipped her nose up to express her pleasure.
"So the Salamander thing was a fake. Literally, the guy was pretending to be Salamander to get attention or something. It was stupid. Brain will be pissed if we come back without something good. We'll have to find something useful to take with us when we go back." She hissed in displeasure at the idea of returning to their guild. "I know but..."
A far to familiar scream of rage echoed in his ears. No one else would hear it, but he did. His kitten's internal war cry against those who would harm the innocent. How fucking dare you! I won't let you take those girls! Filthy slaver scum. I should have turned you into the authorities earlier when Erik caught you using that charm spell.
He growled aloud as he looked over the water. Slavers. In Hargeon. He shouldn't get involved. He knew he shouldn't, and she was a mage. She would be alright. She would deal with it. Then her scream of rage changed into a wail of despair. It was silent, but he heard it.
No! My keys! Give them back! How could I be stupid enough as to leave my whip behind? Don't throw them! Nooo! Aquarius! Taurus! Cancer! Don't go! Lyra! Horologium! Grampa Crux! How could you!
"Daphne..." With her keys gone, without her whip at hand she was defenseless. "Cubelios, I have to get on that boat." Long hours of practice saw him landing on her back with balanced precision. She could fly, but with her already in the water she could swim faster. "She's a celestial wizard. They took her keys and threw them overboard. Once you get me on that boat go try to find them." He let his claws form and channeled poison to them as they sliced through the water.
"You use magic to take advantage of others! You're the worst wizard alive!"Actually he could think of a few who were probably worse: Brain, Hades, that psycho Zancrow, Phantom Lord's master Jose, but he got where she was coming from and approved of her attitude.
Cubelios lept up, and he used her as a springboard for his own jump us onto the boat and right through the wall into the room where he could still hear Daphne fuming. The buffoons froze in shock at his dramatic entrance. Daphne only experienced a moment of surprise before she lit up. Erik! I'm so fucking happy to see you right now!
"Hey you! I thought you were leaving town."
"Well that was the plan, but..." He shrugged. "What are you doing out here, Kitten?"
"This sleaze," She glared and pointed at the fake Salamander. "promised to get me into Fairy Tail if I came to his stupid yacht party." He snorted. Figures.
"He's not who he says he is. Not a Fairy Tail wizard and definately not the Salamander. I didn't expect you to run into him again or I would have warned you. Actually it's my bad for not listening better earlier and hearing what he was really up to." He was listening now. Say what now? It's not like he was going to admit this was a trap right there in front of his prey.
"You doubt my greatness! I am the Salamander! The most..." He was absolutely not going to keep listening to this.
"You are Bora of Prominence." He pointed a single, poison dripping claw at the man's face. "The Salamander is a dragon slayer, and he would eat you for breakfast. It's just your luck I'm the one who tracked you down. From what I hear of him he wouldn't care much what you said about him, but dragging his guild's name through the dirt is a ticket straight to the hospital, if not the morgue. I'd have called it good luck, because I don't care whose name you use, or how dirty you get it..." He grined at the scum bag in front of him and was privately thrilled to hear Daphne's reaction. Wow that's sexy. "Accept you turned that good luck real bad. Wrong town, wrong day, wrong profession. Definitely the wrong girl. Should gave kept yourself out of trouble and stayed with Titan's Nose."
The crew of this rotten boat was bordering on terrified and he hadn't even done anything yet. Knowledge always frightened stupid people. Some of those who had been running in seedier circles for longer were trying to figure out why he looked so familiar. He heard Cubelios slither up the side of the yacht. The slight jingle that accompanied her told him she had found his Kitten's keys.
The scum backed up with gasps of terror when his friend came in through the hole he had made. One of them even pissed his pants. He sneered at them. Stupid cowards. Daphne was, as expected, startled, but she figured out how things were pretty quick.
Shit that's a big snake. Are those my gate keys? Thank the stars. I thought I would never see them again. If it has my keys and the crew is terrified... Is the snake the friend Erik was leaving town to meet? I didn't know you could be friends with a snake. I didn't know they got that big either though. Yeah. Its head is on his shoulder and he is petting it, so that makes the snake an ally.
As soon as it became apparent that Cubelios was with him a large portion of the rabble before him realized who he was, starting with Bora. Shit that's Cobra... We're all going to die... Fuck Bora. He fucking tried to kidnap fucking Cobra's girl!... What the hell are the Oracion Seis doing in Hargeon?... I don't wanna die today... Shit! One of the idiots hit his knees and started begging.
"Please! We're sorry! We didn't know who she was! We don't want any tr..." A quick step got him close enough for a boot to the chin to knock the man out. He was about to talk about his guild. Cobra he may be now, but he didn't want Daphne seeing him that way. With her he was Erik, and he liked it that way.
"Cubelios this is Daphne. Daphne this is my best friend Cubelios. She understands us, even though she can't speak." She? His best friend is a snake. Ok. I'm about to have a one sided conversation with a snake. This is new.
"It's nice to meet you, Cubelios." The snake tipped her head up to express her pleasure, which he understood even if the person she was pleased to meet didn't, and offered the retreived gate keys on the tip of her tail. "Oh, my keys! Thank you so much. I was so afraid I wouldn't be able to find them. My mother gave me most of my keys. They mean a lot to me." He heard the memories in her mind. Her mother was dead. These keys were all she had left of her.
Cubelios nudged his shoulder to get his attention. "What?" She gently turned him around to look out through the hole they had come in through. A couple wizards thought about going after him while he had his back turned, but he looked back and grinned at them. "Only if you want to die. I can hear you." They backed off and he turned back to what Cubelios was trying to show him. The shore was... to far away. "Huh. You're right. We need to get this chunk of rotton wood back to the harbor."
"I can do that." Aquarius can push us back no problem.
"Go with her, Cu. Just in case. I need to have words with these..." He curled his lip at them. "pathetic creatures." One of the creatures fainted. The rest were white as death as they backed away from Daphne and Cubelios. Once his girls were out of the room he let the full force of her rage show in his eyes. Poisonous fumes were escaping from between his clenched teeth.
"You know the Seis have never tolerated slave trade in our territory. Out of respect for Daphne's ...sensibilities you get to live today. Try to rip the freedom from anyone, ever again and we will find you. You will die slowly. Do you understand? In fact I suggest you make it a point to remind others of that policy lest I be reminded of this day when I'm in less forgiving company."
There were nods and cringes and whimpers across the room. He fixed his eyes on Bora and growled, releasing enough toxic fumes to knock them all out. He braced himself in his makeshift doorway just before the wave from Daphne's overly bitchy mermaid spirit hit the yacht. He wasn't worried about her. Cubelios would keep her safe. She knew going in that she would likely get half drowned anyway.
He listened closely to the authorities as they marched across town. He managed to dodge them as he helped Cubelios pull his half drowned kitten from the bay. The originator of the tsunami wave was wanted for questioning, so he helped her sneak through town to get her things and then helped her sneak back out. He heard several of the slave trading scumbags being taken into custody. Enough of them escaped capture to spread the word of his wrath over today's events.
"You are a trouble magnet aren't you, Daphne." It was a statement, not a question. She blushed. This time he could enjoy it even with her whip strapped to her hip. "Cubelios and I will walk with you the rest of the way to Magnolia. Just to make sure you get there safe."
"I didn't ask for any of what happened today. It was really only one long incident anyway. Bora the Predominantly Retarded only hunted me down because you helped me escape his trap the first time. Which..." She narrowed her eyes at him. "How did you know I was in trouble?"
"Spell charms are easy to spot if you know what to look for."
"I wasn't referring to the first time when I was standing in the middle of town. I was referring to the second time when I was on a boat in the middle of the bay and you came smashing through a wall." He heard that, but was hoping he wouldn't have to explain it. He didn't want her uncomfortable around him.
"I know stuff."
"You don't just know stuff. You know stuff. How?" He sighed. He heard the difference.
"I only know stuff because I hear it. I heard you. You were in a spot so..." He shrugged.
"Oh." If he had been someone else he wouldn't have heard her thinking back over the day and he would have thought the conversation was over. "So what, exactly, do you hear? Magically enhanced hearing is actually a kinda vague description now that I think about it."
"You're really smart, Kitten. It's one of the reasons I like you, but curiosity killed the cat, and it's going to get you in trouble."
"So knowing about your magic is dangerous?"
"Knowing anything about me is dangerous. You are the first person to call me by my real name in years."
"Your real name? As opposed to the name you go by?" He nodded. Why doesn't he use his real name? And why give it to me if he doesn't use it? And why only give me one of his names. Does that mean knowing his real name is dangerous? Or that knowing him by the name he goes by is dangerous. Why is his name dangerous? If knowing about him is dangerous does that mean he is dangerous? Shit he is! That's why those assholes on the yacht were acting so weird. They knew him. Or... No. They knew the name he goes by. The dangerous part. That's why they were so afraid. Whatever his other name is it is attatched to whatever his 'problems' are. Meaning... His real name is his real self... Or something. Is that a trust thing?
"I like being me with you. It's nice." Wow. It's almost like he could hear my thoughts. Because he could, but he wasn't telling her that yet. Maybe later.
"Ok, so knowing to much about you is dangerous. What can I know?" Not a whole fucking lot. She already knew enough to make her a target.
"How about we swap questions. You answer as much as you are comfortable with." He was so cheating here. He would hear the whole answer even if she didn't speak it aloud. "And I will give you all the answers I feel are safe. I want you to understand though. I'm sharing with you, not Tom, Dick, Bob, Sally, Sue, and Sue's skanky cousin."
"Personal shit. Got it. Ok. Can I go first?"
"Sure. Why the hell not?"
"What kind of snake is Cubelios?" A laugh burst its way out of his chest. That really wasn't a personal question. Holy panties. His laugh is even sexy. Damn this girl was good for his ego. Cubelios tipped her head up, pleased that she was important enough to their new friend that her first question was about her.
"Honestly all I know about her is that she is magical and very poisonous. I was a kid when I found her, and she was just a tiny little thing. No bigger around than my thumb at the time."
They talked as they walked, late into the night. Cubelios could see in the dark, as could he, so Daphne just trusted them to keep her safe. Stories were told about her spirits. His poison dragon slaying magic was explained, since she had seen his claws on the boat. He wouldn't tell her where he learned it, and she was sworn to complete silence especially where Fairy Tail's fire dragon slayer was concerned. He told her all the stories he could remember hearing about her prospective new guild and encouraged her to make friends with the Titania, who from what he heard was crazy protective and Daphne needed that.
When her feet just couldn't keep walking the three of them curled up in a ball and slept by the side of the road. He was shockingly ok with her touching him and she was shocked herself at how ok she was with being tucked against a practically strange man in the middle of nowhere at night. They slept only until the warmth of the sun roused Cubelios. He foraged for their breakfast as they walked. He ate everything poisonous and she ate everything that wasn't.
The rush from breakfast made him a little more talkative than usual during the next couple hours, during which the subject of family was brought up. She talked fondly of her mother, and he told her strait up that her dad was a bag full of dicks. He told her that his 'uncle', because he refused to call Brain his father even if Midnight did, was an even bigger bag of dicks and if she ever met the man she should run. He then refused to give her any way to identify the man she was supposed to be running from.
"I think those red berries from that last bush made you a little loopy. You sure you are ok?"
"It's just a good poison high. Don't worry about me, Kitten."
"You get high off of poison?"
"Only if there is a lot and I'm not using my magic or anything like that. Once we went past a bakery on apple pie day right before they tossed out the cores for the day. Did you know apple seeds have cyanide in them? I pigged out so bad. Then when the poison hit I got crazy goofy. I don't remember it because I kinda blacked out, but Sorano still has blackmail pictures stuffed somewhere." He wasn't so high that he would use the names they carried these days. Or maybe he was so high he was just remembering them as the kids they used to be.
"Who is Sorano?"
"My sister."
"You have a sister."
"No. Well I do, but she isn't really my sister."
"So like an adopted sister?"
"Yeah."
"Do you have any brothers? Either kind?"
"Three. Richard has a real brother, but we can't find him."
"How did you... lose him?"
"We didn't. Richard was stolen from him."
"Stolen? Erik, did this uncle of yours kidnap you from your families?"
"No." He stopped walking and hid his face in her golden hair. She still smelled really good. "The Tower of Hell did." Oh my stars... "I really don't want to talk about it, Kitten."
"Ok. That's ok. How about we talk about your other brothers? You said you had three. Richard is only one. Who are the others?"
"Sawyer and Macbeth. You would be good for them, Daphne." He pulled his face from her hair so he could look in her eyes. "You could show Richard that money won't fix the world's problems, teach Sawyer how to stand up for himself instead of running, make Macbeth laugh. I haven't heard him laugh in a really long time. I think... I think I was still Erik the last time."
Cubelios draped herself over his shoulders in a hug. He smiled at her. "Thanks, Cu." Daphne tucked herself under his chin and wrapped her arms around his waist. He sighed and let himself hold her. It was nice.
"I bet you could even help Sorano. She's so lost and broken. I don't know how to help her. Most days she just wants to die."
"Oh, Erik." She tightened her hold on him. Why doesn't he just take me with him? 'Problems' he says. Well that's vague as shit smells on a hot day. And this bag of dicks uncle of his. Somebody needs to kick that guy's ass. The Tower of Hell place he talked about. I hope somebody burned it down. If they didn't and I ever find it I'm blowing it the fuck up.
He loved that attitude. The Tower of Heaven would be near impossible to destroy. It was just to fucking big. She was more than welcome to try though. The same went for kicking Brain's ass.
"We should keep walking, Kitten."
"Ok." She kept an arm around his waist as they walked. By the time they reached the outskirts of Magnolia he had grown quite embarrassed by how his strange comfort level around his Daphne, combined with his poison induced high, had caused him to vomit emotional rainbows. Before he knew it he was going to start shitting sparkles or hugging people.
Except... He had already done that. He hugged Daphne. Shit! He was totally fucking losing it! If his next shit had sparkles in it he was offing himself.
Cubelios stayed hidden outside of town. They found a cafe close enough to the guildhall for him to hear and sat down to drink tea. At least she drank tea. He mostly just held his mug and talked. He wasn't letting her walk in there without doing his own brand of recon. She knew he was listening. He just hadn't told her how deep he could hear.
"I think you will be happy here. They are all bat shit crazy, but it sounds like they care about each other. Titania isn't here right now. Salamander is. I think that guy cooked off most of his brain cells or something."
"If you can't be poisoned what makes you think he can cook himself?" He smirked at her.
"You'll see. You'll probably like him, but he's a little bit ...simple. Watch Loke. You might be able to give him a hand, but keep him at arms length. The Stripper is depressed. I bet you can help him with that."
"What stripper?"
"You'll see." She glared at him. Stubborn man. Why does he keep teasing me? "I don't want to give you all the answers before you even find the questions. It wouldn't be fun that way."
Her glare faded and she smiled at him. The same smile she had given her keys the first time she told him about her magic. He just thought it was weird at the time but now he was thinking it was an expression that indicated affection. It meant she cared about him.
"I'll miss you, Daphne."
"Then come visit me."
"I don't foresee me being able to."
"Oh." I had so hoped to see him again. I'll miss him too. To much.
"I'll try though. I promise. I'll come check on you if I can." That's the best I can hope for. I'll worry about him though. And his sister and brothers too. "You take care of yourself ok? I've got enough on my plate without having to worry about my Daphne." His Daphne? Not just Daphne huh?
"I will. You be careful too. I'll worry anyway, but I'll worry less if you promise to be careful." Please? You are important to me. "Don't let your problems and your bag of dicks uncle get to you." Hearing her say that out loud was hilarious. "Come find me if you need help. Or even if you just need to eat a shit ton of cotoneaster berries and just talk to someone. I'll even plant a bush once I get a place to stay." I've never had a green thumb before but I'll try. Even if I have to plant it in a pot in my window.
"I'll try." Shit happened. He had problems. Brain was a shit ton of bad news and had a new plan in the works. His adopted siblings were teetering on the edge of bat shit crazy in a bad way. He would be careful if he could, but he doubted he would have the option. He stood, paid their bill, and walked her just a few feet closer to her new home. "I'll stick around untill I'm sure you are safe here. Till you get your stamp. If you change your mind before then call for me and I will be there. Be free, and have fun."
"I'll try." Please kiss me goodbye, Erik. So he did. He almost lost himself in it and his fingertips were shaking when he stopped. Wow. That was amazing. Why did he do that?
"Because I wanted to. And you asked me to." But I didn't... Oh, shit! You can fucking hear thoughts! "Yep."
"Have you been doing that this whole time?!" Stars that would be so mortifying.
"Want me to tell you the first thing you thought about me?" Shit! I don't remember! Did I think about how sexy he is? Fuck he can hear me! I'm so embarrassed right now! "Holy panties." Can I die now? "I was listening before that though, when you were arguing with that over ripe apricot about your new dog spirit." He dipped his head down and stole another kiss before he turned and all but ran from her while he still had the power to leave.
Erik whatever your last name is... Shit I never even asked... You are a fucking creepy mind stalker! ...who kisses like a god... You better come back and visit me or I will hunt your sexy ass down you hear me? ...stupid Lucy of course he does... Tell Cubelios I will miss her too! She's the cuddliest giant snake ever! ...not like I have anything to compare her to though... Be safe Erik.
He stayed and listened as she met her new guild. She liked them. They loved her already. The Hargeon incident was brought up and they praised the water wizard who had brought the criminals to justice, though she didn't tell them she had been involved. 'Screw the magic council' their guild master said. He liked them to. She would be happy and safe here. The last thing he heard as he left was her thought as her guildmark was placed on her hand.
Blushing pink. Like the edges of a daphne flower's petals.
XxXxXxXxX
Till Tomorrow