HERE WE GO PEOPLE! I HAVE A HELLA BIG NEWS FOR YOU!
...
..
..
...
I am holding a contest! :D
For details click the link on my profile, which will take you to my journal on DeviantArt.
If you can't go on dA or you're too lazy, details are at the end of the chapter! :)
Joel POV
A whopping sixteen hours later, the group finally made it to Koukon City, which was farther away from Magnolia than they realized. I'd been here once before, actually, when I got off the ship from Kernow. Koukon City delt with overseas business and trading, no surprise.
Upon exiting the train station, everyone stopped and gaped at the view. Everything looked old-fashioned, yet modern. Behind us, once you walked (or drove) through the underground tunnel, was the port where the ships were. Small, red-bricked houses lined several streets around the outer suburbs of the city; towards the middle, several modern shops and high-storey appartment buildings lined the horizon. And bang smack in the centre of the city, a giant mansion that was at least twice the size of Lucy's father's. Where they stood now was between the suburbs and next to one of the tallest buildings in the area, which was a ten-storey hotel.
The Exceeds decided to fly around the perimeter and meet us later at the Mayor's mansion. Meanwhile, our group was looking quite lost.
"Shall we book some rooms here?" Lucy suggested, pointing at the hotel.
"I dunno," Levy replied, looking around nervously. "I think the Mayor planned for the tutors to stay with him, as for the other jobs..."
"We'll just have to go ask then!" Natsu exclaimed, feeling better now that he wasn't on th train anymore.
"How are we going to get there though?" Gajeel pointed out with a sweep of his arm. "This city's fucking huge, it'll take us all day just to get there." He sent a glare out to the bustling, carriage-filled streets.
"You guys don't know your way around a city?" I blurted out, surprised. The two male Dragon Slayers puffed their cheeks in a pout and looked away. Levy and Lucy fidgeted while Wendy continued looking around the area.
"Well, so far none of the cities we've been to haven't been this big." Lucy stated.
"Yeah, I didn't even know a city could get this big," Levy added.
"The air tastes dirty here." Wendy noted thoughtfully, glancing at me from the corner of her eye. Since waking up this morning in my arms, she hasn't looked me in the eye. I guess it makes sense, after all, I was tired too and wasn't really paying attention to what I was doing. It was a little awkward to say the least.
"That's the lacrima." I noticed the confused stares. I elaborated what I knew of cities like these: "Large cities like these have companies that drive people everywhere, correct? Well, not every driver can use magic to power the wagons, so the wagons are powered by oil lacrima."
"Oil lacrima?" Levy gasped. "I thought those were rare?"
"They've been a big market sucess in the past year or so," I shrugged. "Anyway, they're used to power the company wagons here - they're called Automobiles - and the result of usage is faul-smelling smoke. Hence what you taste, Wendy-san."
"If this place is big, I wonder how big Crocus is." Lucy whispered.
"Not that much larger, these two cities are probably on par with each other. At least, that's what it felt like travelling through them." I shrugged again. Stretching, I yawned and grabbed my bag. "Let's get going, I have a general idea where to go."
The others, slightly helplessly, shrugged silently and followed quickly. As I passed Wendy, I picked her backpack up and slung across one shoulder.
"Ano, I can carry-" she began but I cut her off with a smile.
"That wouldn't be very gentlemanly of me if I made you carry your bags yourself, Wendy-san." I told her quietly, struggling not to blush at my cheesy lines.
"A-arigato." she whispered, fiddling with her hands and looking away. Chuckling, I patted her head and headed down the street.
"Hey, what about our bags?" Lucy called out playfully, only to let out a squeak when I levitated her's and Levy's bags with a hand.
"Oi!" Natsu grabbed Lucy's bags and Gajeel grabbed Levy's.
"Don't think you're the only one who can carry a lot of stuff!" Natsu yelled, ruining his (slightly) romantic gesture. Gajeel simply looked anywhere but at the Solid Script Mage who was blushing slightly.
I just clicked my tongue, sighing.
"Whatever." I smirked, leading the way with the girls behind me and the males taking the rear.
Wendy 3rd POV
She couldn't help it, she couldn't stop stealing glances at him as they crossed roads and zig-zigged through the maze of the city.
It surprised her that Joel knew what he was doing. Sure, he did mention travelling a lot, but to simply seize authority and take the lead surprized her too. It made her wonder what kind of backround he had, to change from sweet and subtle Joel to silently taking charge and ruling it Joel. For a moment it reminded her of Erza, who'd usually be in charge if she were here, but she was on a month-long S-Class mission and wouldn't be around for a while.
(Gray, also, is away on a mission with Juvia)
It took us quite some time to get to our destination, considering we had to drag Natsu away from every restaurant we walked past. When we go there though, a few servants were waiting for us.
"Greetings, Fairy Tail Mages," a woman with long black hair in a high ponytail pushed up her glasses as she held a clipboard up. She wore a simple pants suit in black with a white blouse that was open up to her ample bosom. "My name is Amanda and I'll be in charge of taking care of you. Am I correct to assume that you're all here for the total of three missions?" She gave us sharp look, though before anyone could reply Joel stepped forward, once again taking the lead.
"Greetings," his voice was level and Wendy wasn't the only one who had noticed the slight change in personality. "Name's Joel and my partner and I will be searching for Sakura-Mio-san; the other four will be taking the other missions." He gave a sharp bow of his head.
Amanda nodded back, seemingly satisfied with his answer. She turned and told her servants, "Take them inside and move their bags to their rooms." To the Mages, she said, "Come, I'll take you to see the Mayor."
As Amanda click-clicked back into the house with her pointy heels, Joel turned and gave everyone a sheepish grin.
"So...looks like we're staying here." he finally muttered, picking up his and Wendy's bags before handing them over to the maids who were going to take them to their rooms.
Lucy and Levy shared a look and shrugged, they were ok with the plan. Gajeel shrugged indifferently and looked around for Pantherlily, who should have joined them by now. Natsu was asking one of the maids if they could bring fish and matches to his room later for when he and Happy needed a midnight snack.
Wendy crept up behind Joel and nudged his arm. "Shall we go in?"
"Sure." With that, he led the way inside.
General POV
The Mayor was not a very likable man up close. His hair was brown and plain, lacking nourishment and dry from the overdose of hairgel keeping it in place. His eyes were a cold shade of blue. He was also tall, though light-framed; not too musclar but definitely no weakling. He carried an air of well-acquainted arrogance that seemed to set the Fairy Tail Mages a little on the edge.
"So," he finally sighed, giving everyone a once over. "these are the Mages who accepted the jobs?" He leaned back in chair and from behind his desk, gave them an amsued look. "Well? Introduce yourselves." he ordered.
A moment of unease between the Mages, before it was once again disrupted by Joel, who took a step forward.
"Joel Williams. My parter, Wendy, and I will be looking for your daughter." Wendy dipped her head a little as her name was mentioned and Joel stepped back to stand beside her again.
Natsu and Lucy stepped forward next.
"I'm Natsu the Great Salamander and I'm here to destroy a bunch of thieves!" he announced, only to be slapped on the back of his head by Lucy.
"I'm Lucy and I'll be making sure that's the only thing he destroys," she sweat-dropped.
As they stepped back Gajeel barked out, "Name's Gajeel, Shortstuff and me are gonna teach your brats how to kick ass-"
"- and how to control their magic." Levy cut him off, irritated. "And my name's Levy." she added.
The man gave a snort.
"Like I could care. I only asked to fill in time." he gave another laugh, then stopped. "Listen, I'll be nice here. You have tonight to settle in, then start tomorrow. Amanda, take the two who will be tutoring the boys and briefly introduce them to each other, then show them to their rooms: 14 and 15. The two who will be getting rid of the bandits, head down the left hallway and up two flights of stairs to my strategy room. My head of security will meet you there and later take you to your rooms:22 and 23. The other two can just go to their rooms:30 and 31."
"Sir, shouldn't we also be going through plans to find your daughter as quick as possible?" Joel spoke up, wondering why they were the only ones who weren't planning straight away.
"Oh please," the Mayor rolled his eyes. "Sakura-Mio doesn't like the dark, she'll probably stay somewhere for the night." He stood up and made a shooing gesture with his hands. "Now go on, off you go."
"But what about dinner? We're starving!" Natsu growled.
"Well, you should have thought about that before; it's too late to have the cooks make something."
"We travelled all day to get here!" Gajeel all but shouted.
"And your point is?"
Natsu and Gajeel frowned, getting ready to start an argument. Luckily Lucy and Levy grabbed them quickly and led them out of the room.
Joel stared at the Mayor for a moment, before sighing and guiding Wendy out of the room with a hand on the small of her back.
Joel POV
"I don't like that man." were the words that immediately left my mouth the moment we were out of hearing range.
Wendy gave me a look and a slight nod of agreement. "I'm surprised how relaxed he was even though his daughter's been missing for a week," she mused quietly.
We walked together side by side to our rooms, which we were told would be right next to each other. After the meeting the group split up to go find their rooms, which were all somewhere on the third floor, at the front side of the mansion.
When we got to our rooms (labelled 30 and 31) I opened Wendy's door for her and let her in. I couldn't help it, it felt nice to be a gentleman. She smiled and stepped inside, gasping in amazement.
The room was beautifully designed; cream walls, wooden floorboards and pale lilac accessories: pillows, curtains, bedsheets. It was furnished with light-coloured wooden furniture and soft rugs. I walked over to the window where I could see the view which was particularly breath-taking - we could see half the city from here!
"Pretty..." whispered Wendy, stepping lightly around the room in a daze. I couldn't stop staring at Wendy though. The way the light gleamed on her silky hair and how she was silhouetted against the sun setting in the background.
"Yeah...you are." I added quietly.
Unknown to me, Wendy's dragon senses had picked up the end of that sentence and so she remained facing away from me until her blush faded.
"I'll be next door if you need anything," I told her. She turned and smiled, making her way over to me again.
"Are you sure you want to go? It's barely nine, and Charle's not back yet." Looking closely, I noticed that though she smiled a lot, she was clearly missing her feline best friend.
"Then how about I stay until she's back?" Wendy nodded and I took that as my sign to stay.
I watched Wendy crouch down beside her travel bag and I decided not to be awkward and went to sit on the bed. It barely made a noise and the sheets felt very soft.
"A-ano..."
"Wendy?" I turned to look at her. She stood there slightly awkwardly, clutching a nightgown in her hands.
"I..um..I don't want to go look for a bathroom, and it's just-"
"Ah, it's ok, I'll go outside."
"No!" Wendy jumped in front of me as I got up to leave. She blushed heavily. "I, um, ano..." she blushed some more and looked at some point over my shoulder. "Just don't peak, please?"
I blushed. She really didn't mind me being in the same room as her as she got changed?
She'll be naked right behind me.
No clothes.
She completely trusts me not to peak on her.
I am so friend-zoned.
Or am I?
"Er, o-okay." I stammered, trying to remain calm. She relaxed a little and moved behind me, leaving me to gaze determinedly out of the window.
Dammit Joel! Since when have you ever been tempted by these perverted urges? Be a gentleman, baka!
I closed my eyes and drew a deep, calming breath. Don't get me wrong, I am a normal teenage male like every other, I've gone through puberty and all the hormones. Though to be honest I've never such a strong urge to view to female body before...
"Joel-kun?"
I spun around, and stared. The nightgown was long-sleeved(past her hands long) and slightly lacey-see-through, and made of white material. It barely reached her mid-thigh. She'd taken her hair out of it's ponytail and it draped like a silky blue curtain over her shoulders.
"Cute..." Joel whispered, grinning.
Wendy blushed, pouting a little when she caught herself yawning.
"Go to sleep if you want, I'll still be here until Charle returns." I told her quietly.
She smiled softly and nodded, yawning again. She giggled and jumped into bed, sighing blissfully as she dove under the soft sheets. I wandered over to her, watching her drift off surprisingly quickly.
"Joel?"
Startled, I blinked rapidly to make it not look like I was watching her in a creepy way.
"Yeah?" I whispered.
"Maybe I'm wrong, but did you sing to me while we were on the train?" Despite being hald-asleep, Wendy blushed a little.
I sat down carefully on the edge of her bed.
"Yeah. It's just something that my sister used to do to help me get to sleep when I was a kid. I thought it might work for you too." I muttered.
"Could you sing something for me again?"
I just blinked at her, shocked. She liked my singing?
"Please?" She popped open one eye to look at me hopefully, and that was all it took.
"Don't go telling people that I sing for you, okay?" I sighed, and she nodded eagerly. I smirked. "Good, 'cause I will only ever sing for you, got that?"
Wendy blushed.
Smiling, I began with another soft tune I knew.
"There I was again tonight
Forcing laughter, faking smiles
Same old tired lonely place
Walls of insincerity,
Shifting eyes and vacancy
Vanished when I saw your face
All I can say is it was enchanting to meet you
Your eyes whispered, "Have we met?"
Across the room your silhouette
Starts to make its way to me
The playful conversation starts
Counter all your quick remarks
Like passing notes in secrecy
And it was enchanting to meet you
All I can say is I was enchanted to meet you"
I paused, hearing her breathe deeply, a signal that she was already asleep. I chuckled and carried on anyway, brushing a strand of hair away from her face as I did.
"This night is sparkling, don't you let it go
I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home
I'll spend forever wondering if you knew
I was enchanted to meet you
The lingering question kept me up
2 AM, who do you love?
I wonder 'til I'm wide awake
And now I'm pacing back and forth
Wishing you were at my door
I'd open up and you would say, "Hey,
It was enchanting to meet you,
All I know is I was enchanted to meet you.""
I frowned, realising that those lyrics described my... predicament, involving this cute little Dragon Slayer and my feelings. I shrugged mentally and decided to skip to the last few lines.
"This night is sparkling, don't you let it go
I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home
I'll spend forever wondering if you knew
This night is flawless, don't you let it go
I'm wonderstruck, dancing around all alone
I'll spend forever wondering if you knew
I was enchanted to meet you
Please don't be in love with someone else
Please don't have somebody waiting on you"
And before I knew what I was doing, I'd bent over and kissed her forehead. What am I doing? I'm getting out of control here! I struggled to keep a worried frown off of my face. I sighed and started to get up when I small cough startled me.
Charle!
"C-Charle-san," I murmured, surprised and slightly embarrassed. How long had the exceed been there?
Even more surprising, Charle wasn't frowning at me as usual. Instead, her features were soft and relaxed, maybe even with a small smile as she floated in the doorway. I expected some sort of lecture about being alone in a bedroom with Wendy with no supervision where anything could have happen but she just sighed tiredly and gave me a weak smile.
"Thank you for taking care of her today, Joel-kun."
What?
What what?
No lecture?
"Y-Your welcome," I stammered, blushing. I brushed off my jeans and left the room. Just before the door shut Charle caught it and mewed, "Don't stay up late, I expect to see you up at 7am the latest."
There was the Charle we knew. "Yes M'am." I grinned. She chuckled softly and shut the door.
Manly as it is, I can safely say I totally did not skip that small distance to my room next door. At all.
Song was "Enchanted" by Taylor Swift, but for the male version search Austin Nivarel on youtube :)
NOTE: Austin's voice is kind of how I'd imagine Joel's voice to be, so if you want to know then search it :P
CONTEST!
Mission:
design a character (preferably male) and I'll pick a few to be characters. You can submit more than one but not too many please - I'd like a few evil ones too! i need some of them. I already have a Dark Guild, so if you draw a character just write where it'd be, cause I can't say what it is yet Dx
Details:
I'm looking for:
#1 = 2-3 evil males with small roles.
#2 =1 very evil female with a small(ish) role, she'll be mentioned a lot and should be of great importance.
~
#3 = an evil male with a middle-ish role
~
#4 = any kind of extra characters for small roles (good or bad), about 3-5 of them
Winner's will receive:
#1 = a sketch of their character and a shout out in my story (if all/some of the characters are from one person I'll sketch them together)
#2 = a coloured sketch and a shout out in my story; possibly a one-shot if they have an interesting story
#3 =a coloured sketch and a shout out in my story; possibly a one-shot if they have an interesting story
#4 = a shout out in my story and a group sketch of them all together
I've already had offers on #2 and #4 so please hurry!
HOW TO ENTER:
If you can't/won't go on dA, please PM me with this filled out:
Name:
Gender:
Species/Race:
Age/Date of Birth:
Height:
Hair Colour:
Eye Colour:
General Appearance (hairstyle, shape/build, scars/tattoos/piercings):
Signature Clothing:
Accessories:
Affiliation: This should be blank cause I can't tell you the Guild's name yet :)
Depending on your affiliation, where is your mark [ie. on the upper arm, stomach, etc.]?:
Special Techniques/Powers:
Weapon(s):
Personality:
Likes:
Dislikes:
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Bio: a short summary of your oc :)
Please private message me if you want to enter, don't leave it in a review if you can help it! :)
(if you do, I don't mind, just remember to actually review and tell me what you think of my fanfic so far)
Wow, this was a long AN. I've been writing in pitch black for like an hour, with no light other than my screen =.= It's not even 10pm here...
ANYWAYS. Lol I'mma go now. Enjoy.
(Also, go check out my art. I've been drawing recently. Link on profile.)
EDIT EDIT EDIT: Poll has been decided: I'll be writing one more NatsuXLucy one-shot and a WendyXJoel one-shot :) NaLu is halfway done and JoWe has been plotted! :D Poll is now closed and another will be up soon!