At the settlement of Sabertooth, the indistinct shouts of people trumpeted as civilians from the Kingdom of Fiore, who by now came to settle here, weaved new houses for the upcoming visitors from their homeland. They remembered six months ago, when local Fiore citizens came to the New World and stayed to improve the colony. The Fairyndians provided help, of course, though there had been a few trust issues between them. Some civilians showed resentment towards the Fairyndians because they perceived them as barbarians, or savages.
"Ship ahoy!" announced one of the gatekeepers, Boze. "Ship comin' from home! Open the gate!"
The Fiore civilians indicated the ship's arrival and made preparations to welcome the new visitors. The two gatekeepers, Boze and Sue, opened the large wooden gate, allowing the ship to enter. The ship's crew tossed ropes from the deck to allow the people on shore to pull the vessel towards the dock.
Meanwhile, squadrons of Fairyndians observed the scene from the trees of the forest. For quite some time, the Fairyndians had been on good terms with the Fiore settlers, though some didn't trust or even like them.
Curiously, Erza, Millianna, Wally, and Shô decided to observe the arrival of the new visitors up close and personal by entering the settlement. Erza whispered to her animal friends, "They must be visitors from Fiore, Sting's village. I wonder why they came here?"
Shô remarked, "I've never seen a Fiore naval ship's arrival this big since the Magnolia Company's Mercury Constant."
Millianna suggested, "Maybe they came here because they've brought new biscuits!" She added in a cheerful note, "Bone Biscuits are my favorite!"
Shô protested, "Hey, they're my favorite, too!"
Millianna cooed, "Aww, look at Mr. Grumpy-Wrumpy. He's hungry for Bone Biscuits."
Wally joked, "Yeah, what do you expect from an old lady's dog?"
"I'm not an old lady's dog!" Shô argued. "I'm not!" He calmed down, "I mean, I used to be Minerva's dog, and she's not that old, but I'm a changed dog. I'm not somebody's pet anymore."
"There's no time to play around," Erza suggested. "We have to take a closer look."
Shô and Wally agreed with a nod, while Millianna smiled excitedly, as Erza and the animal trio pressed on, taking in the sights and resonating sounds of the Sabertooth settlement.
"Attention!" Lines of soldiers saluted, awaiting the visitors' arrival. The Fiore settlers looked in awe as someone on a horse appeared and walked down the gangplank. He was a 19-year old man with blue hair and a red tattoo above and under his right eye. He wore a black long-sleeved coat, a dark blue shirt, white pants, and brown shoes. His name was Jellal Fernandez, the young diplomat sent by King Toma to fetch the Fairyndian Chief and escort him to the Kingdom of Fiore for peaceful negotiations.
"Look! It's Jellal Fernandez!"
"The young diplomat has come to visit us!"
"Is it really him?"
The vocal comments blared with admiration from the sea of civilians. Jellal completed his horse's journey through the gangplank as it stepped on the soil.
"Jellal Fernandez?" Erza wondered. "That's the name of the new visitor?"
Wally shrugged, "For all I know, his name rhymes with jelly. Maybe we should call him Jelly Man, instead!" He laughed at his joke, but Shô, Millianna, and Erza didn't laugh. "What?"
"I just hope we don't run into any trouble along the way—" Erza began, before a sack smacked her on the face. She shook her head, and glared at the one who did that on purpose: a man named Bora the Prominence.
"Hey, what gives?!" Wally scowled.
"You did that on purpose!" Erza exclaimed.
Bora turned to Erza and said in disgust, "Filthy barbarian." Not everyone in Fiore was fond of the Fairyndians.
Shô groaned, "C'mon, guys. Let's go. He's a waste of our time."
"So, you're callin' my girl a barbarian, are ya?!" Wally growled. "Well, I'll show ya, ol' man! C'mere!" The hummingbird flew as fast as lightning in hopes of attacking Bora with his beak, but he only hit Bora's sack, getting his beak stuck. "Darn, I missed!" He got himself free, creating a hole on the sack. "Ah, that's better." A biscuit came flying out of the sack and hit Millianna on the head.
"Whoa! It is raining outside?" Millianna wondered, before she turned and saw the biscuit on the ground, rolling away. She grinned, licking her tongue, "Ooooh! Biscuits! I was right! These new people came here with new biscuits!" She began chasing the biscuit, though she ended up trampling on Shô accidentally.
"YEOW!" Shô cringed, before Millianna got off him. "I just had a big exercise today!" She then glared at Millianna, "Alright, that's it! You're gonna get another butt bite!"
Millianna cheered, "Yay! Another cat-and-dog chase game! Let's play!" She then ran away from Shô, who was barking wildly after her. But the two were unaware that they were running towards Jellal's horse. Not good!
"My biscuits! My boss at the bakery is gonna kill me!" Bora cried, seeing the biscuits falling out of his large sack.
"You can't catch me! You can't catch me!" Millianna taunted singy-songy.
"Yes, I can! Just hold still! I want to bite your butt! Just one bite!" Shô shouted.
The cat-and-dog chase cultivated underneath the horse, and it caused the creature to neigh in fright. The chase came to an end when Shô and Millianna screamed and held each other frightfully, as the horse attempted to stomp at them.
"Down, boy!" Jellal tried to calm down the horse. "Down! Down! Down!"
"Hey!" Wally shouted, flying in front of the horse. "Leave my pals alone! Go stomp your big feet on someone else!" However, the horse neighed uncontrollably ran off, throwing Jellal off its saddle.
"RUNAWAY HORSE!" Shô screamed frantically.
The horse went on a rampage, nearly becoming a living weapon of trampling capabilities. Small marketplaces had been effortlessly totaled, barrels had been broken and torn apart, and the civilians quickly scampered out of harm's way. Just as the horse was about to run Bora over, Erza anticipated this and tackled him out of the way in time.
Unfortunately, although Erza saved Bora, a deadly, murderous glare was her only thanks. "Filthy SAVAGE!" He raised his fist, about to attack Erza.
The Fairyndians quickly perceived this as a threat and emerged from the trees with their magic and weapons at the ready, preparing to defend the daughter of Chief Makarov if need be. In response, the Fiore soldiers readied magic and weapons of their own. Indistinct shouts and fierce battle cries engulfed the noise and took over at an instant. Turmoil and mass decent into chaos was about to ensue…
"No, wait!" Erza yelled, standing up and signaling her fellow Fairyndians to stop. She didn't want a war to happen, the same way it almost started six months ago. But both sides look like they don't want to listen at all. One side's patience with the other had begun to run thin. "Wait!"
"Stand down!" Jellal ordered. "All of you!" His loud, echoing voice caused the Fairyndians and the Fiore soldiers to relent. That was the way the previous war had ended; Erza convinced both sides that starting a war would create casualties on both sides. A path of peace was created between them… but it was not the easiest one. In the end, the Fairyndians put their magic and weapons down, as did the settlers.
"Phew, that was a close one," Wally sighed in relief as he, Shô, and Millianna regrouped with Erza. "You okay, dollface?"
Erza confirmed, "I'm fine, Wally. Thanks."
Shô added, "That horse almost stuck his hooves on that guy's face, and yours!"
"What's a horse?" Erza questioned.
Shô answered, "You know, it's a four-legged animal that gives you rides and stuff…"
"It's all right now," Jellal said to Erza with an assuring nod, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I've taken care of it."
"The settlers need to know if they can trust us to do the right thing," Erza sternly stated, brushing off Jellal's hand. She walked off, "You shouldn't have interfered."
"I beg your pardon?" Jellal asked incredulously.
"Alright, you can have it," Erza nodded.
"Oh, boy. This is not so promising," Shô groaned. "Doesn't Erza realize who she's talking to?"
Millianna asked, "Who? You know this guy?"
Shô answered, "He's Jellal Fernandez. He's the youngest official representing the Royal Court of Fiore."
Millianna's eyes widened, "Fiore? You mean Sting's village?"
Shô nodded, "Yep. He's a legend, just like Sting. He's a diplomat who's made successful negotiations with four countries all over the world in seven whole days!"
Wally asked, "But why would Jelly Man argue with Erza over something that's just plain dumb?"
Shô shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe that guy doesn't like Fairyndians."
Meanwhile, Jellal tried to explain to Erza, "Come on, I was just trying to help."
Erza frowned, "I didn't ask for your help."
"Well, you didn't say 'thank you,' either," Jellal pointed out. "Whatever happened to manners and etiquette?"
"They got thrown out the window when that guy tried to hit her," Wally explained to Jellal.
Jellal scratched his head in confusion, "I have no idea a hummingbird can talk."
Millianna shrugged, "Animals can talk if they trust you enough."
Jellal chuckled awkwardly, "Oh, and a cat can talk, too."
Wally flew in front of Bora, buzzing around his face. He shouted, "Hey, you! Yeah, you. The fancy guy in the cape. Apologize to our red-haired friend, right now!"
"No way!" Bora refused. "I won't apologize to a savage! And why the heck should I take orders from a hummingbird?" He yelped in pain when Shô bit him on the butt with his sharp teeth. "YEOW! Okay, okay! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Get this mangy mutt off me!"
Shô released his mouth and nodded proudly, "Yeah, that's right. Don't mess with our sister." Bora nodded nervously and ran off, not wanting to deal anymore problems with a Fairyndian.
Wally smiled, "Thanks, Shô. You're a big help."
Shô smiled back, "Don't mention it."
Erza smiled at Jellal, "You must be Jellal, right? Well, since you're new here, I don't expect you to have manners or etiquette just yet." Jellal was offended as the crimson-haired girl left for the woods.
"Women," Jellal groaned. He went to pick up his belongings that had fallen off from his horse's rampage.
As the three animals followed Erza, Wally commented, "Look at it this way; Gajeel Redfox and Levy McGarden used to be on bad terms with each other, before they became friends."
Erza grinned, "Really? Is that so, Wally? We'll have to wait and see if he's friendly or not."
"Hey, Shô. You want a biscuit?" Millianna asked. "Here!" She then forcefully shoved the biscuit into the dog's mouth.
"Hey!" Shô muffled with his mouth full.
Millianna giggled, "Aww, I thought you liked biscuits."
Shô shook his head, "Not when they're shoved in my mouth!" With that, Erza and the animal trio disappeared into the woods.
"Oh, no. This isn't good," a young girl named Meredy worried. "The Fairyndians may wage war on us if this keeps up."
"Don't be silly, Meredy," a woman named Ultear Malkovich assured. "Erza Scarlet would never allow that."
Jellal overheard the conversation. He asked in surprise, "Erza Scarlet? That's probably the name of the Chief."
"Mr. Fernandez?" Jellal's informant, Mattan Ginger, arrived with his horse, which had calmed down. "Your horse, sir."
"Ah, thank you," Jellal nodded, and he got back onto his horse. He then smiled to himself, "It's time I met this Chief Erza Scarlet." He rode off to the woods, hoping to offer terms of peace with the Chief (mistaken to be Erza) and the Fairyndians.
Jellal's heart filled with anticipation. What could possibly go wrong?
A retrieval of the Chief was all it took.
