(Sorry for the delay but several issues came up in my personal life.)
The four mages entered the small village and took a break for some food. Natsu was famished and at rice buns like they were potato chips. Gray simply ignored the flying rice as Cevan and Naton watched in shock, having not seen the display at breakfast that morning. The small things Natsu did always seemed to pile up into a giant wave of chaos. This thought managed to get a smile across Gray's face. If they thought Natsu was chaotic now, just wait for him to fight someone.
"So you two, what type of magic do you use?" asked Gray, who tried to get some sort of friendship started between them all. Naton seemed reluctant to speak at all but Cevan, whose hair resisted the wind and remained completely straight, seemed to open up to the idea.
"How about you tell us what you do first," said Cevan. Gray didn't seem to mind so he let Natsu eat.
"I am a user of Ice Make." Gray saw this spread a smile across both of their faces. He wasn't sure what to think about it.
"What a coincidence," laughed Naton, "We are both Make users ourselves."
"Really?" asked Gray, "What kind do you use?"
"I am Rock Make," said Naton.
"I am Wood Make," said Cevan. Gray looked at the two of them and wondered how well he could handle one or both of them. Naton certainly seemed very serious about how he portrayed himself and what others thought of his power but Cevan seemed to be much looser.
"Well what are you?"
"I am Ice Make," said Gray. This seemed to intrigue both of them.
"Is he a Fire Make?" Gray shook his head.
"No. He's just a Fire Dragon Slayer." Both Naton and Cevan's eyes went wide as they looked at Natsu. He certainly wasn't giving off the impression of an all powerful Dragon killing mage. Gray tried to get off of that subject as quickly as possible, "Are you two always a team when doing missions?"
"Well on most missions it's just us two but we occasionally do get to have the third member of our team." Natsu finally emerged from his ravished state and looked up at them.
"Who is the third member of your team, and why isn't he here?"
"Josef," replied Naton, "and he typically doesn't do missions. He much prefers staying out of the public eye. However, if we do get to do a mission with him, we are unstoppable."
"Really?" asked Natsu, "You guys certainly don't show your strength much."
"We only do it when we need to," said Cevan.
"What can you tell us about Josef?" asked Natsu, "He seems very strong but what exactly does he do?"
"He's solid script," said Cevan, "He's probably one of the best I've ever seen use such magic."
"Natsu, you couldn't see the words he was forming when we fought him?" asked Gray in shock.
"I'll be sure to check out how the water that was used to drown us was formed the next time it happens," Natsu said grumpily.
"How many different types of spells can he use?" asked Gray.
"Even we don't know that. I've seen him do things I didn't think were possible for a Script user."
"So he's basically a long range mage," said Natsu.
"Trust me; you don't want to get in close with him unless you are magically enhanced." Gray could still feel the soreness in his joints and knew that they were telling the truth, "However he does have several glaring weaknesses."
"Such as?" asked Gray.
"His endurance is terrible. He can cast a ton of spells, even high powered ones, but physically he just can't keep up even with normal people."
"He looked physically fit," said Gray.
"Yeah but once you ask him to run, he just says no and walks."
"Was there any reason why he did not come on this mission?"
"He was too tired he said," said Naton.
"So I'm guessing he doesn't want a piece of the payment."
"He never accepts payment and typically just gives his share either back to the person or to one of us."
"Speaking of payment, what exactly are we doing again?" asked Natsu. Gray knew it was a matter of time before Natsu decided to learn what it actually was that they were doing.
"We are defending a family heirloom during a party," said Naton, "and hopefully we won't have to make a mess of things."
"Are there any known enemies of this person?" asked Gray.
"Not that we know of. We just know he's a simple farmer and unlikely to have any enemies."
"Well, then let's go!" shouted Natsu and began to run down the street from where they sat. Naton moved to tell him it was the wrong direction but Gray stopped him.
"He'll come back when he realized we aren't following him. Give him about five minutes and we can head out." This managed to get a smile out of the stern Naton and they waited as they continued to eat. Finally, Natsu came back with a look of embarrassment on his face but he refused to let it get him down.
Within twenty minutes after leaving the restaurant, the four mages arrived at the villa. It was a beautiful house with a red roof and beautiful white walls. There were cherry blossom trees which surrounded the front door and a wonderful scent seemed to encompass them as they entered the building. The inside was even more beautifully decorated than the outside with lavish red furniture and a gorgeous crystal chandelier which hung from the ceiling. Everyone took in the sights but only had a few minutes before they heard a booming voice. Looking towards the voice, they saw a tall and lanky man with an obvious toupee and a tuxedo on.
"Welcome my friends!" the man announced in an incredibly booming voice, "I take it you are the mages I requested from Innocentius?"
"We are," said Naton, "We would like to thank you for giving us such a mission."
"Oh, my friends, I am always happy to help those who need it most." This seemed to sting the Innocentius mages and both Gray and Natsu could see why, "Let me show you to your rooms. The party is not until tomorrow night so you may rest up and I will have absolutely fabulous clothing prepared for all of you. We will just need your measurements taken tonight." All of the mages looked at each other, unsure of what to think of the whole situation, but agreed.
"Of course, Mr…"
"Oh how rude of me! I am Mr. Tuddles!"
"The owner of the house?"
"Who else but me of course?" said Mr. Tuddles. With that, Mr. Tuddles showed everyone to their room and practically pranced away from them to go back about his business. The door closed and everyone's smiles instantly faded.
"Oh god I thought he'd never shut up," said Cevan. It was clear Cevan and Natsu had had similar thoughts.
"Phew," gasped Natsu, "I'm going to take a nice long nap before…" before Natsu could finish his sentence the door to their room was kicked open and slammed against the wall.
"TIME FOR MEASUREMENTS!" shouted Mr. Tuddles, measuring tape wrapped around his arms and body.
(I do apologize once again for the lack of updates lately and the seemingly slow tone of the story. I am doing the best I can with my schedule. Please review and give suggestions if you see it fit.)
