Ayle walked slowly down the street, wiping sweat from her brow.
"These clothes are so thick," she grumbled. "Why's Uncle Myr so overprotective? And all the other clothes he sent are heavy pants and shirts too! I'm going to be boiled in this heat!"
She continued her laborious walk. "Must… keep… going…" she murmured to herself.
She was mentally preparing herself to go further when her stomach growled loudly, and she realised just how hungry she was, not having eaten a morsel since that morning.
Ayle immediately forgot about all attempts to keep going and whipped out her map, looking for the nearest place to eat.
"Hm, let's see," she said to herself. "The Injun Inn seems closest. And I remember something about the travel guide saying the food is quite good there!"
Ayle, filled with a new vigour, cheerfully set off in search of the inn.
An hour later, Ayle sat comfortably in a booth at the Injun Inn.
"What can I get you, ma'am?" said the kindly-looking innkeeper.
"What do you have?" she asked.
"Well, we have the option of ordering a Full Meal with small portions of each of the following, or you could order them separately too. In the Full Meal, we have roast beef-"
"Okay, I would like one portion of that!" she exclaimed. "What else do you sell in the same category?"
"Mashed potatoes, tomato soup with croutons, sandwiches and ice-cream." the man said. "That's it for the Full Meal, but we do have other items on the menu as well."
"Oh, never mind about all those. I'm quite happy with the selection. Could I have a portion each of all of them? I don't mean to say I'd like a Full Meal, but I would like a separate portion of each," Ayle said cheerfully.
The man looked taken aback. "Um, of course, ma'am," he stuttered, and left to place her order.
Twenty minutes later, steaming plates of beef and sandwiches, bowls of hot soup and mashed potatoes and a large cupful of ice-cream in front of Ayle, and she eagerly dug in, shovelling it into her mouth like there was no tomorrow. The heat didn't affect her. She finished the potatoes in under two minutes, only slowing down to savour the last salty golden chunk of goodness on her tongue before chewing and swallowing. She gulped down her soup and gobbled the beef and sandwiches in much the same manner.
Then she looked at the ice-cream.
An evil glint came into Ayle's eyes as she cackled, "Yum… I love ice-cream!"
The poor cup never knew what was coming.
Ayle attacked the frozen treat with her spoon, sticking it almost down her throat. More than once the spoon clanged harshly against the cup, making a loud sound that startled most, if not all, patrons of the inn.
When she was finally done, she lifted the cup and licked it clean, smiling like a child with ice-cream smeared all over her face.
She lifted her napkin, all prim and proper, and proceeded to dab delicately at her mouth.
People stared as she talked calmly to the innkeeper, paid (quite a hefty sum for how much she had eaten, but she had more than enough) and walked out after asking where the most destructive guild in the city, Fairy Tail, was.
This girl was Odd with a capital O, the innkeeper decided. Who in their right mind would want to go to Fairy Tail? She would fit in perfectly with that bunch of oddballs.
Cana was having a peaceful morning when the guild doors opened to reveal a girl of average height, clad in a thick brown cloak and traveller's boots.
Cana smirked. She was clearly not from Magnolia – who would wear winter clothing in such weather if they were from here?
The girl, surprisingly, walked up to her table and said a quiet, "Hello, can you help me?"
"Well, depends," Cana said with a shrug. "Does it have to do with booze? Fortune-telling? I do both!"
"Well, not exactly. You see, I – I've come in search of Natsu Dragneel!" the girl declared boldly.
Cana laughed. Looking for Natsu? She must be nuts. Would fit right in with the rest of Fairy Tail. "Oh, that idiot?" she said jovially. "He's right there!"
She pointed to Natsu, laughing uproariously over something Lucy had said. Gray reached over to bonk him on the head.
"They're all idiots, really," she confided to the girl. "But don't mind them. I'm Cana, by the way."
"Ayle," she answered distractedly.
Cana looked her over. Ayle was rather ordinary at first glance, really. Thick, short brown hair and moderately pale skin with a few scars. But her striking deep grey eyes made her face seem prettier in a girl-next-door way. To be frank, she was quite cute, Cana decided.
"Well, Ayle," Cana said with a grin. "Don't be shy to go right over and talk to those idiots."
"I will," Ayle said, smiling faintly back, and walked over to their table.
Cana smiled and took another large gulp of beer.
She'd like to get to know this girl better.
"Um, are you Natsu Dragneel?" Ayle asked.
"Yeah, why?" the pink-haired boy said sloppily, mouth full of food.
Ayle almost smiled – he was her kind of guy – before realizing why she was here, and who she was talking to. She had to physically make an effort to stop her nervous smile from turning into a hate-filled glare.
"I heard you were looking for Igneel." she said in a quiet tone.
"Yeah…?" Natsu looked more on edge now.
"Well, I can help you find him," she proposed.
Around her, the table - and its neighbours - had gone completely silent.
"What?" Natsu exclaimed, slamming his hands down on the table and standing up.