Cresselum
Chapter 10
Fairy Tail Guild:
Normal POV:
The guild was rowdy and noisy, as it always was. People were scattered about the hall, chattering about the mission Team Nastu was sent on. Others simply sat around, having fun, or doing nothing.
Mirajane watched this all with her motherly smile, cleaning the beer mugs located behind her, enjoying the laughter that rang throughout the guild hall. Her younger sister, Lisanna was cooking in the kitchen on her right.
The Master sat on the counter, sipping his mug of beer. Instead of laughing with the guild and enjoying the noise, he stared down at his mug with a frown.
Mira noticed this. "Something wrong Master?" she asked politely. She put down the mug she was cleaning, and put the cleaning cloth next to it.
Makarov sighed. "I'm hoping that those brats are okay."
"Master, you should have more faith in them." Mira scolded him. "They're bound to be successful in this mission."
Makarov sighed again. "I know." He took a long lingering sip of his beer.
Mira purses her lips into a straight line. Master wasn't saying anything, but he was clearly focused on something else. "Master, I know that something else is bothering you." she said seriously, her blue eyes darkening.
The Master chuckled a bit. "That's true," he admitted. "I'm not comfortable with the new guild that those brats have to work with. Macao did say that they haven't heard of them before."
Mira sighs. That was what he was so worried about. She herself was concerned as well, but she trusted that this guild wouldn't turn on them immediately. Yet. "We can have Laki research about it." she offers.
He shook his head. "I'll ask Erza for details after they return from the mission. Then, if it's serious, I'll discuss this with the Council." Mira was surprised. The Master rarely goes to see the Council unless it was a big problem that couldn't be ignored. This statement meant that he wasn't joking. He was serious. Another rare thing.
Mira glanced at the cheerful guild. She watched her younger brother, Elfman have an arm wrestling contest with Nab. Her blue eyes flickered to her right. She watched her younger sister Lisanna stir the pot of soup she was making, humming to herself happily, oblivious to their conversation. It seems that nobody noticed their conversation at all.
After their parents died, Mira wanted her siblings to be happy and safe. She swore that she would protect them from anything, so that they wouldn't feel that same pain they all felt when their parents died. But, when she thought Lisanna died, she felt her like her heart was being ripped out, over and over again, making the pain fresh, new and raw. Life in the guild changed drastically after her 'death'. The Strauss team disbanded. She lost the will to fight, and changed her personality. Elfman began to take solo missions to support the two of them. When Lisanna returned two years later, the joy was overwhelming. She had never felt so happy in her life. Mira felt that her family had a second chance to be together again. They had always dealt with things that were thrown at them. Like the disaster at Tenrou Island. They had always pulled through in the end. Now, if this new guild was an enemy, they could ruin that happiness.
'Would this new guild be a threat to this family?' Mira wondered.
It looks like Mira would have to prepare herself.
At the Clearing:
Normal POV:
The darkness settled naturally over the once bright blue sky, coaxing the stars to come out as well. It was peaceful.
Quinn watched the sky turn black, her silver eye sweeping over the perimeter of the clearing. Just a few minutes ago, she volunteered herself for night watch. The others were in their temporary make-shift shelter. She didn't want to continue that awkward conversation that the group had moments before.
Quinn sighed and leaned against a tree trunk. Her bangs fell down her hair to cover her right eye. It didn't matter to her. After all, it was covered by that eye patch. Quinn let out a deep breath. She let the moon's light bathe her in a soft white glow. The wind fanned against her face gently, her hair flying sideways.
For some reason, she always felt more relaxed during the night. It felt . . . right. And, after all, due to the nature of her magic, it was natural.
When she was child, before they started the tests, they would sometimes put the slaves into the night shift. She hadn't minded. Even then. The night made everything outside seem different, and it fascinated her. It was everything from the daytime went to sleep and was replaced by darker versions of themselves. And after Artemis found her, she became completely immune to the darkness.
Her friends and guild mates thought that this was strange. It was as if the night was poison to them. The Master often gave her warnings to be careful at night. 'You never know what will be waiting for you in the shadows.' she always warned. Quinn simply reassured her that the night couldn't hurt her. The Master would always respond by giving her a worried face. Curiosity spiked up in her whenever that happened. The Master was always concerned about her safety. But, to her surprise, when she and Caramel volunteered for this mission, she complied without complaint. She didn't even send anyone else from the guild to spy on her! Of course, when Quinn went to visit the outside world on her only free day, the Master would give her some privacy. After all, where she went to, it was a special place that only she knew about. Not even Caramel knew it. Quinn would always trust Caramel, but deep in her heart, she knew that if she told Caramel about everything that happened to her, Caramel would be truly horrified. She would be scarred. Her entire view of herself would change. She didn't want that. So she stayed quiet and swore that she wouldn't let that happen to Caramel.
That oath seemed to cause a rift between their friendship. She and Caramel weren't as close as before, and it made Quinn sad.
Quinn continued to watch the forest for any dangers or threats. Quinn wondered why Rogue asked her if they met before. Sure, he felt familiar, but that didn't mean she knew him. After all, she couldn't remember her first past.
Quinn shook her head. She wasn't supposed to think about this now. She was supposed to focus on the mission!
Quinn was mentally scolding herself for lack of attention when she froze. Something was wrong. She was sure she heard something. She strained her ears to listen. There! To her right. It was a low rustle in the forest. Most likely an enemy. Quinn considered her options. The make-shift shelter was north of her. Even if she sprinted to there, the enemy would still intercept her. It was too far. She would never warn them in time.
That left her with one option. Take on the enemy herself.
It was time to put her training to use.
'Stay calm.' she told herself. 'Don't let them sneak up and attack the others.' She let her muscles relax and her only good eye closed. Her stomach rose and fell with each breath she took. She hoped that it looked like she was at ease and that she was completely vulnerable. Deception was one of the skills she learned in the guild, and one that she was excellent at.
Carefully she shifted slowly and silently into a defensive stance so that the person approaching her wouldn't notice her change in position.
Her ears detected that the footsteps were getting closer, crunching softly on the grass of the clearing.
'Now!'
Her eye flew open, and with a battle cry, she launched herself at the attacker.
The person cried out "Wait!" before she crashed into his body. She could tell it was a boy because of his voice.
They tumbled down the clearing, ending up on a dirt path. The moon was in clear sight, but she could no longer see the clearing.
Quinn back flipped away from the assailant, and got into an attack stance. She held up her fists, her left eye narrowing. The person groaned, muttering a curse as he got up. Quinn still couldn't see his face yet because he was in the view of the shadows.
"Who are you?" she asks harshly. She glares at the enemy, waiting for him to attack her. Her muscles were tense with adrenaline, anticipating the action of the fight that was going to happen.
"I'm not here to hurt you," The person held up his hands. "I just want to talk."
"I don't believe you," Quinn spat. "Come into the light where I can see you."
The person began to protest, but Quinn cut him off. "You're not in a position to argue," she warns. She unsheathes her scythe, and points it at him threateningly. "I'm not repeating this again. Come into the light where I can see you!"
The person hesitated. Quinn glowered at him. She never released her grip on her scythe.
The person finally decided to step out into the moonlight. As his body emerged, Quinn gasped and dropped her scythe in shock. She took a step back from the person.
It was Jack.
Was it good? I tried to change things a little bit, to make it more intense. Hopefully if worked.
Don't forget the reviews!
~kani-leek-lover
