Finally got this up.
Bit longer than the last one; was going to be just a singular chapter but it would have just been too long so I decided to split it up into two parts, the second of which should be done soon, already have most of that written, just needs tidying a little. This was a tricky one to write I think, I managed to keep it along the lines of the Lullaby battle, but it does deviate as to me, that fight was ridiculous. The demon escapes from its flute prison and literally just stands around waiting for them to strike at it, and considering how long it takes them to actually start fighting, the whole thing was just farfetched. Which is why I wrote it in a way I thought was more realistic in what a demonic entity that is basically nothing but death, would be like when faced against those that are trying to destroy it.
Anyway, I shall leave it here, hope those that read enjoy, and would like to thank the viewer who commented last time. Hope you managed to catch up on the missed episodes.
All mistakes I apologise for and I don't own Fairy Tail.
Happy reading.
"Are we there yet?"
"For the thirty-fourth time, no."
There was a small amount of silence as the cat gave a nod in understanding, before turning his attention to what was around them; which wasn't much, before looking back to her.
"Ok, are we at least close."
Coming to a halt, the feline heard a loud intake of breath as the redhead strongly fought the urge to throttle the cat at her side. Having started the journey back to town, Erza had been pleasantly surprised to find that the cat had been an amiable companion. Her inner fears that he would be a nuisance had started back when they set off, and so had been bracing herself for a very long trip. But to her delight, he hadn't been anything of the sort.
Of course, that was because he was still eating her food, once the last of the rations had been consumed however, things went downhill.
It had been a long walk towards Clover. Having travelled by the partially out of commission rail track, they had been lucky in the fact that the land was smooth, and she had high hopes that with the rate they kept, they might even make it before teatime… that was of course before the cat had opened his mouth.
For the past hour he had been nothing but vocal in the long line of complaints he clearly had been storing right for this very moment; if she wasn't hanging by the last string keeping her nerves in check, then she would have been impressed by just how much he had to protest about; but as it was, she wasn't in any mood to listen.
"Does it look like we're close to you? Does it look like we're close to anything at the moment."
Admittedly no, they weren't, as his face dropped and he turned towards her,
"But it's soooo hot … and my feet hurt."
A strangled noise threatened to make its way from her throat as she whipped her head to where the cat was.
"You're not even walking!"
Having hitched a ride back in the forest, the small feline had been content on sitting on the perch that was her shoulder and seemed like he was aiming to stay there until they got to town, as he waggled his feet and threw her what she suspiciously believed to be, a look designed for idiots.
"Yes, but the weather is far too hot for my delicate skin. All this fur doesn't help either; it tires me out, so unless you can see a lake where we can rest for a while, I'm afraid you'll just have to keep on carrying me."
If there was a lake about, she'd do more than just let him rest; but there wasn't; it was just them and an endless stretch of hard ground and dust for miles. He was right about the heat though, the sun was unrelenting in its bid in trying to roast them and she had been glad to have forgone a jacket, but it was still too dam hot as she eyed him silently for a moment.
"Where's your hat?"
At the mention of the hat, the small feline grimaced and eyed her back weirdly before reaching for the aforementioned apparel, having hooked it over his tail, held it gingerly between his claws; the garb having been made from leaves and held together with liquified dirt quickly hardened before turning back to look at her.
"This thing."
She nodded, and much to his furthering displeasure, watched as she yanked it from his paws and let out a startled hiss when his vision was suddenly covered. Erza smiled as she fixed the tiny hat on his head, making sure to slip the purposefully created holes over his ears so they didn't bend, pulled back to observe her handiwork, a small smile creeping across her lips.
There were no other words to describe him: he was cute, too cute, but like hell, she was ever going to say that, he looked pissed enough and so job done, she continued walking. But not before giving him what was left of her water and pulling the map from her pocket.
"Alright, we've walked for almost two hours now; granted if the ground remains this flat, we should reach the infinite chasms in another hour or so; from there we'll be heading into Clover through the West gate."
"Do I want to know why it's called that," he asked, as she stowed the map once more inside her pocket before setting off. She shrugged; lips pursed in thought before replying.
"Only if you wish to know that you'll be falling eternally if you so much as take a wrong paw whilst walking across such a precariously lethal divide."
She smiled at his odd silence and cast a furtive glance to find his expression now pinched with deep thought and some unease; clearly wondering why they were taking such a hazardous path, but he didn't say a word, nonetheless.
. . .
'Natsu, Gray, I need you to do me a favour'
. .
'I could really use your help.'
. . .
"A bridge?"
Having persevered through the heat (and partly he had to admit the hat helped, but he wouldn't tell her that) they at last came upon the infinite chasm in the distance, and if he wasn't already nervous about the seemingly never-ending canyon, then what they would be using to cross the deadly ravine, was enough to set his fur on end.
Seeing her nod from the corner of his eye was stuck staring at the narrow rope bridge that was all the safety they had in making it to the other side, as his tiny heart started to pound, he turned back to her.
"Surely there has to be another way,"
Regarding the bridge that was their way over, Erza heard the slight hysteria in his tone and had to agree. She didn't like it any more than he did and on observing the low-slung ropes and wooden slacks that looked worn out; wondered why nobody had ever thought about either getting rid of the clearly unsuitable means of passage or went about building a stronger one.
"There is, but that would mean us doubling back and taking the forest Southwards, and that would cost us the day we've just spent and more."
He sighed, unhappy at her statement and giving the canyon another wary glance, "Isn't there anything you can do?"
She had been thinking about that, and the answer was no; the length of the gap between where they stood, and the halfway point in the middle, along with the complete lack of nothingness underneath, was far too wide for her to try and create a bridge of her own; of course this didn't make him feel better on hearing the unhappy news, but that didn't mean she was giving up completely.
"There might be one thing I can try," she offered, looking to his spot on her shoulder still as he blinked and turned to her.
"Well then what are you waiting for?" he spoke after a moments silence, "Get to it, I'm hungry."
A low growl escaped her at the demand, before deciding it was simply better to just get on with it, before reaching upwards; the cat let out a small yell at being lifted by the scruff of his neck and placed on the ground, quickly dusting himself off though he had been set on his paws, he turned and sniffed at her.
"Rude."
Ignoring him, she took a few steps back and his momentary discontent was replaced by curiousness and watched as she began to churn the ground beneath them.
Unsettling the tightly packed earth, upturning it from its solid state, he watched with wide eyes as the loose dirt soon shifted from hard to soft; the alteration between forms left a large puddle of softened ground before she spread her palm flat and observed how it began to move.
Slowly like a running puddle, the watery-like substance moved with contrived intent to where the post keeping the bridge aloft stood; crawling up and over before running along the rope and dispersing down to the weathered planks, coating them. Keeping her focus directly on the mud didn't stop until she could sense the entirety of the bridge covered, before finally shifting her hand and pulled.
The mud that had covered every inch of the bridge, followed to her whim; the once dipping ropes tautened instantly, bringing the dangerously low hung boards higher up, and once she seemed satisfied the gooey mud immediately hardened, creating a thick coating that kept the newly levelled bridge aloft.
He took a step closer, leaving her to stand and after deeming the recently altered bridge to be safe, stepped away and looked up to her,
"Why did you have to do that?"
He was talking about her hands now coated with the soft substance; having placed a hand on the post, was left with a sticky mess to deal with as she wiped them the best she could.
"It's wood."
Not sure why that was a problem, he remained silent as she picked up her bag and placed it over her shoulder.
"I can't feel anything through the wood. It's like its own separate entity that doesn't allow for me to sense vibrations. I had to keep my hand in the mud in order to be able to tell when the bridge was covered properly."
"Really?"
She nodded, "It's the one biggest hassle's I have overall." A pause, and a mild frown as though she didn't like to admit her weaknesses, and he had to agree with her. Who gets stymied by a piece of wood?
"Just don't go singing that through the streets; I have a reputation to maintain, and if anyone were to find that I'm—"
"Basically next to useless against a tree; I'd wanna hide that an all." Smiling playfully at the dirty look aimed his way,
"I'm not useless! Just a little … inactive, when it comes to standing next to them; climbing in them, fine … sitting in them, no problem … trying to see through them or get anything off them, no. It's why I learnt not to bother years ago. The only thing I can use is the vines and the leaves that grow on them."
She still wasn't even sure why that was, but her widely well-known strength in other areas, and the ones who had faced that head on could attest, it more than made up for that slight hindrance but was still something she felt didn't need to be advertised.
"Never mind that, come on—and this time you can walk," she gave him a pointed stare to which he pulled a face but complied as they carried on their way, with Erza repeating the action once they made it to the small island in the middle until they had safely crossed to the other side; from there it was only another forty-five minutes-walk until they arrived in Clover.
. . .
'I'm jealous Mackie; your wizards are all full of life, and they're such cutie pies,'
. . .
"Ahh, let those blowhards worry; what do I care, they're just jealous that my wizards are hot!'
. .
Oh, master, it may be the greatest thing in all of Fairy Tail: Ikaruga, Natsu and Gray have all teamed up together… in fact, they may have formed the strongest team the guild has ever seen.'
. .
Not those three… they really could destroy a city,'
. . .
Having finally arrived in Clover, Erza felt the relieved sigh escape her; passing the large sign as they made their way into the town, slowly walked the cobbled streets, the cat taking everything in with awe. Running back and forth peered into windows excitedly and leaving her to watch his joy with mild amusement, but silently as eventually he turned to her, having been staring in through the glass pane.
"Can we go in?"
Glancing to the overhead sign, brows dipped before looking to his hopeful face. "It's a hairdressers,"
"And?"
"No one needs a haircut."
Turning to face her fully, gripped two tufts at the sides of his stomach and pulled, the longish fur stuck between his claws before he looking back up to her as if answer enough and watched as she eyed him shrewdly.
"Are you just saying that? Because to me, you look fine."
Whilst it was true that his type of fur was typically longer than most others, it wasn't meant to be this long; five weeks stuck in a cage would turn even the most well-groomed feline onto a monstrous dust sweeper, and it really was making him itch.
"Please."
He wasn't above begging, or rather, exploiting the inherent cuteness he had been born with to try and sweeten her over; presenting his most charming mien, there was a brief stare off, before a sigh – one he already started to recognise – as her one of submission, was given and made a dash for the door; leaving her to watch him go, before she could utter a single word. She watched, dumbfounded, as he made a beeline straight for the nearest barber, who looked astonished at being engaged by a talking cat; but after a few minutes of conversing, and one look in her direction which gave her a sense of suspicion, he was being led towards a chair and reclined- a look of contentment etched on his face as the man began to cut his fur.
Frozen in her stupor, it took the redhead a few minutes to become aware of the situation she was seeing and realized the little fleabag had tricked her. Her! The one person whose wits she trusted above all, had been played like a muppet. A swell of indignation rapidly began to fill her chest and without another second, pushed heavily on the door and followed him in.
"There really is nothing better than a good haircut to make you feel like a million jewel."
Emerging from the shop a little over twenty minutes later, he stepped out onto the street, a satisfied sigh leaving his lips and patted the newly cut fur, complete with brush-down as the sound of grumbling had Erza following a moment later.
Not surprising, was the cantankerous scowl on show as she caught up with him, glancing down and catching sight of him preening the newly neat and tidied coat; the barely repressed annoyance roiling under the surface, in her hand, the crumpled bill she had been given.
Even more foreseeable, was the fact she was the one footing the cost; but what had left her feeling bitter, was the amount she had been charged. Clearly the unprecedented experience of conversing with a talking cat wasn't something he would simply keep as a unique memory; oh no, in fact, she was fully convinced the sly fucker had seen it as an opportunity – when he heard it speak - to get one over on her and had billed her an adult amount.
Justifiably outraged, she had every intention of letting barber know how many papercuts one could get with a simple slip of paper when the cat had jumped from its seat, thanked him and proceeded to leave. Once more with her left to watch.
She could have stayed to argue, had wanted too, in fact, but the little sod had vanished and so with nothing left to do, she threw the cashier a withering glare before reluctantly parting with the money she kept for emergencies, which this very much wasn't, before hurrying out and catching up with the feline she was now very much regretting having saved.
With the barber no longer around to be the subject of her ire, she instead turned to the cat now walking with a slight swagger; eyeing his pretentious gait unimpressed, before proceeding to vent her grievances. But much to her furthering dissatisfaction, all her complaints were met with an unflustered smile.
"How can you possibly put a price on looking this good," gesturing to his groomed pelt as a point, which only served to stoke her fury even more, as her darkened scowl deepened and lifted her wrinkled parchment still clutched tightly in her fist.
"You can when it's Forty jewels!"
Granted the place wasn't a pet groomers, and so she could understand where a little of that amount came from, seeing as it was an add-on; but that didn't mean he could try to extort her when it was so obvious, he wasn't even five, and like hell she was taking that bullcrap about cats ageing seven years to a humans one as an excuse.
Come to think of it, an adult price wasn't even that much, glancing at the parchment, she frowned at the services used, now taking more interest of just why was so costly; before her face fell and she turned back to him.
"You got a detangling spritz? When?"
Still admiring his coat, now with extra shine thanks to said spray, he merely shrugged nonchalantly.
"When he asked if I would like to try some detangling spray; my fur gets bristly without it."
"And the pedicure?"
Another shrug, still without looking at her, this time to take in the fantastic work the man had done between his paws, replied with all the indifference a distracted cat could give.
"He said it came as a set." Before finally looking up and unruffled by the barely repressed disgruntlement coming from her direction, lifted his paws as the sharp nail's unsheathed; markedly more smaller and cleaner than before.
"These are weapons of doom, remember. I would have thought you'd want me to tame these fearsome instruments of destruction … if anything, you should be thanking me for such a thoughtful act of consideration."
In all the years of her travelling and taking quests, she could honestly say that never before, had she met anyone so brazen. Truthfully, she wasn't quite sure what to make of it, he wasn't at all anything like Natsu's feline companion; not that she had much to go on, having only ever seen him fleetingly; but the times she had, she assumed him to be a bit of a people pleaser, if not annoyingly talkative, and so to hear something so similar and yet so unabashed, really was something to scratch the head over.
But then again, not everyone was the same, so that probably extended to … whatever these things were, as they were clearly more than just normal cats.
Though right now trying to figure out his personality wasn't the problem. She had a pretty good idea as to what his temperament was, and that was an annoying money drain, and one who was now facing the street, face turning wistful.
"What,"
Because he was after something, he always was and waiting, watched as he slowly turned to her, face wide with that same endearing smile he had given her just before the fur cut.
"I'm hungry."
At this point, there was nothing he could say that would be able to exasperate her anymore, as she simply jerked her head in the direction of the street, earning a joyful grin and he darted off down to pavestone, so strong now was the thought of food that he once again left her to play catch up, as she watched him go, hoping this would be the last thing he wanted and her own thought that he would soon be out of her hair, to spur her on, lifted her bag higher onto her shoulder before following on after him.
. . .
'Lullaby's in Clover? That's where the conference is being held, so this was their plan all along? Targeting the guild masters!'
. . .
'I must have used more magic power than I thought; please, Natsu, please stop Erigor.'
. . .
"What's over there?"
Having finally found a place he had deemed acceptable, as the other three restaurants weren't quite up to his standard, he came across the last place that suited him just fine. A quaint little hole in the wall that she was happy to find, did take out, and so with food in hand (his case, paws), they set off back out to see the rest of the town.
Half listening, she shrugged, mainly focused on the cubes of Beef that was, much to her astonishment, exceptionally well cooked and not realizing just how hungry she herself had been, not until she recalled him having eaten her rations, had been occupied with the carton in her hands, too much to notice where he was actually leading them.
It wasn't until the faint sounds of somebody speaking, did he look away from his meal.
"Id oo ear tat?"
Mouth trying to get around the chunks of meat, he glanced to find her not paying attention, and picked up a pebble before throwing it at her, ignoring the scowl when it connected with her arm.
"You know; you're really starting to get on my nerves, little cat."
Waving his paw, he motioned for her to listen, as she rolled her eyes but complied and stood still, waiting, ears honed as the sounds of the birds tweeting filled their ears, before pointedly staring at him.
"If that was a ploy to distract me for my food, I have to say, it wasn't a very good one." This time earning a scowl of her own and he went to reply but found himself on the receiving end of a finger; as she lifted her head, having caught the traces of something. Watching as she carefully listened to the sounds carried on the mild evening air, found himself becoming curious by her reaction, as her face morphed from concentration to hesitant disbelief, and starting to walk in the direction the noises came from.
"Where are you going?"
She never replied as he watched her steadily move further into the trees, before rushing to catch up with her. He wasn't about to hang about when who knew what was lurking and so ran as fast as his tiny legs could – taking care to hold the carton closed – until he managed to match her stride.
"What is it? Is it a monster? Are you going to fight it?"
Still failing to reply to his question, they ambled through the winding trees and shrubs; with each step, the noises getting louder and though he was a cat full of courage, he couldn't help but feel the tiniest bit wary of the sounds growing louder the more they moved closer.
At long last the final set of trees that shielded whatever it was came upon them, and a quick glance in her direction telling him she wasn't worried or even was the slightest bit alarmed by the ghostly sounding drones that could be heard; in fact, if anything, she looked rather bemused and so mustering up the bravery he was well known for, crouched low and jumped through the shrubs.
"AH-HA—wait,"
With more confidence she knew now what the noises were, Erza moved through the trees and paused at the sight that lay before her.
"Mackie, it's been three hours. Don't you think you ought to take a break?"
Amber eyes fell upon the small man who was stood at the edge of the lawn, before to the pair sat in camping chairs, apparently having been keeping a watchful eye on the older man who didn't seem to hear a word his fellow guild master had said, still lost in a world of his own. Both newcomers observed the older man as he slowly danced: legs bending in a squatting motion, bobbed two and fro in an odd repetitive pattern that left the redhead unable to make sense of what she was seeing, as she reached up and rubbed her eyes, before looking back up and frowned when the picture remained the same and still gave away nothing to ease her bafflement. Though if the overpowering aroma of alcohol was enough to go by, then she had a pretty good starting point.
"Well hello there."
A pat on her leg slowly had her dragging her gaze from the Fairy Tail master, as she glanced to find the cat pointing and followed his line before her eyes widened slightly as she realized they had been discovered.
"And just who might you be?"
She turned her head to the one speaking, and barely held back the look of stunned amazement at the man (at least she thought it was) sitting in a chair a few feet from her. He smiled cheerfully, not noticing the way her expression shifted slightly, or if he did took no notice and instead waved as she hesitantly made her way over. It was obvious to her now, that they must have stumbled across something important; for the life of her she couldn't recall what, but if Makarov was here then it had to have been of some sort of official capacity, giving the older man a furtive glance to find him still away with whatever had taken hold of his brain, she neared the small group and gave them a small bow in respect.
"I apologise for intruding; I didn't realize we had walked this far, please forgive us,"
When she heard nothing from the side of her, kicked out lightly and a small hiss followed, before silence and then…
"Sorry,"
It seemed the presence of a talking cat was apology accepted enough for the effeminate man, who gasped in delight and before he could run away, the small feline found himself snagged from the ground and trapped within the large arms of the bald-headed guild master.
She grinned in spite of herself, upon spying the look of terror etched deep into his eyes, before he caught hers and silently screamed at her to help; but when she made no move to do anything, they narrowed, betrayal mixing with the dread before he was encased further, where he was to stay as Erza slowly turned to the next man reclined almost indolently his chair, giving her a lazy smirk and tipped his hat in greeting.
"Not too worry, the meeting finished ages ago, so if you were here to spy on our secrets, you came too late I'm afraid."
His joke fell flat as he took in her look of blank puzzlement, before chuckling more to himself and set about moving the conversation forward.
"The names Goldmine: guild master of Quatro Cerberus," he watched as her face lit up partially in recognition, before indicating to the man still squeezing the poor cat in an indomitable hug.
"This cuddly fool is Master Bob of the Blue Pegasus, and that old geezer over there is—"
"Master Makarov," he paused when he heard her speak and turned back to find her smiling lightly if a little fondly and though she couldn't see it, behind his sunglasses his eyes narrowed with thought.
"You know him?"
He watched her nod and was about to reply as to how, when the passable background humming that had been coming from the man in question, came to a halt by the shouting of her name; not that they knew it, as the trio turned to find him now facing their way, a huge smiled plastered to his moustached face.
"ERZA!"
Definitely drunk, though she had gathered that by the stench of ale rolling off him and waited silently as he ceased his solitary dancing before toddling his way over to her. The sight of a grown man shuffling like a child was one enough to make her laugh, but refrained out of politeness and respect for him, even if he was three sheets to the wind and wouldn't have been able to realize it; the others, however, had no such compunction and sniggered at his lack of coordination.
"Oh, Mackie. When will you ever learn,"
He waved his hands messily at the flamboyant man, still struggling he finally tottered over to where the redhead was stood, still smiling widely but now with a pleased accomplishment at having successfully reached her.
"Oh Erzy, Erzy, Erzy," she winced at the god-awful nickname as he breathed out, a slightly dazed expression replacing his smile before he turned to the others and with a windmill of his arms to keep himself upright, nodding once he was sure his stance was safe, proceeded to resume talking.
"This here is one of my more sexier wizards that I was talking about; one of the shiniest, most fabulous mages to ever grace the guild good doors, Erzy Bel—Bel—"
"It's Erza Belserion," she finished for him, turning once again to introduce herself, albeit a little quiet as master Bob giving her a little finger wave, still keeping a hold of the cat whilst Goldmine pursed his lips.
"Belserion, ey? That's a bit of an unusual name," she shrugged, unsure as to what to say, as they fell silent leaving Makarov to mumble to himself, as a few seconds later, a hand came down and slapped against her arse. Hard.
With nearly imperceptible reflexes, her arm shot out as her fist collided with Makarov's face; the drunken man flying backwards, and his friends watched as he went sailing through the air, coming to land heavily in some bushes on the other side. Erza froze at her actions, eyes widened with the shock at having just punched her Master, all eyes fell immediately to where the inebriated man was now trying his best to roll over and cursed herself before hurrying to go and help him, then beg forgiveness; she paused when he managed to roll over to his hands and knees.
"See what I mean? The feistiest mages in all of Fiore!" she frowned at his boisterous yelling and stood taller as he staggered to his feet and with a brush down of the loose leaves sticking to him, wobbled back over to her.
"Erzy, my dear. You haven't seen Natsu, Gray or Ikaruga by any chance, have you?"
Was this just part of his drunken ramblings, a little thrown by the sudden arbitrary change in conversation, she frowned and shook her head.
"No… should I have?"
It seemed like he hadn't heard, having fallen silent, he stared at the ground, hard; before she blinked when he started to chuckle. Now more concerned, she slowly turned and made her way back to the others; occasionally checking to make sure he hadn't moved, but it seemed he had slipped back into his own private bubble and was now just laughing at the air.
"What's wrong with him?"
The Quatro's master cut his gaze back to the lonesome figure still tittering to nobody and no one before inhaling deeply and bobbed his head for a moment, finally turning on his heel slightly to look at her.
"That guildmate of yours, Mirajane?" the redhead nodded, unsure what she had to do with anything but waited as he continued as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"She sent him a little bit of bad news … or good; depending on how you interpret it,"
"How so?"
"Well those three he mentioned, they've happened to have formed a team together, and according to Makarov over there, that's the end of the world as he knows it … cried for ten minutes straight when he got the news."
Pondering on the information for a moment, she glanced back to where the older man was still stood, face dropping as she took in his now wallowing form. Evidently, he had overheard Goldmine and the thought of the approaching doom in the form of the trio was enough to break him from whatever jovial mood he was in, as he now shed tears of self-pity.
"They're going to ruin me!" he wailed, the ground around him watered with his melancholy, was enough to have her face wrinkling with disgust at how childish he was acting. A disgrace if she had to put a word to it and wondered just how long it would take for him to sober up.
She didn't get why he was so worked up. So they formed a team together, so what? It's not like they were overly strong, to begin with; the only one out of the three who even had an ounce of talent was Natsu, and that was her being generous. The rest, well, one she didn't have much of an opinion of, and the other, she didn't even consider to be special at all.
The famed 'Titania' she truly could not understand just why everyone seemed to be scared of her. She used armour as a means of fighting; in what way did that make her powerful, if anything, that would give more cause to doubt her strength; if she had to rely on flimsy pieces of plastic and metal to help her win her fights, then she wasn't worth the effort.
As for Gray, from what she had heard as passing hearsay, and from the scant times she had seen, if he spent less energy stripping and put that in to working on his magic, then he'd be a far more capable wizard. Shaking her head at the exaggeration people put into her guild 'associates' she went to ask just how long had he been drinking for when the sound of Master Bob had that question dying on her lips.
"Looks like Mackie's moseyed off again."
Spinning around, her jaw dropped at the suddenly vacant space where the older man had been, as she looked around quickly to try and spot any sight of him but came up empty.
"What the hell,"
A gruff chuckle had her turning to find Goldmine merely looking amused, "Don't worry about it; he'll be back."
Her brow arched at the knowing tone he held. "Are you so confident."
To answer her question, the other man simply eased himself back into his chair, a sigh of relief once he had sat back fully, leaving him before reaching for the ale that was sitting at the side and lifted it to them in salute. Seeing this, Bob followed suit and soon she was faced with two at ease masters who didn't seem to at all be worried for their intoxicated friend.
"Don't frown, my dear, you have such beautiful skin; it'd be a crime to mar it with lines,"
Erza dropped her mild scowl but didn't seem to approach the situation with the same laidback attitude they so clearly did, masters or not, and so was about to go and search for him when the outstretched arm had her looking and blinked when Goldmine presented her with a drink.
"You look old enough," he smiled, before leaning in and show whispered conspiratorially, "Don't worry, I won't tell Makarov, or the old coot will only accuse me of trying to corrupt his wizards… once he remembers that is. You do drink, don't you?"
Not normally on jobs, and she certainly didn't sit around with others pretending to be old friends; but something, she wasn't overly sure what made her reach out and accept it, with the man nodding and resting back in his chair, brought his own to his lips as she stared at the can and the implications it brought.
Was she really going to be sitting – with a bunch of guild masters no less – drinking as though she were one of them? Taking in the pair still lounging sedately; Master Bob still enraptured with the cat locked in his grip and Goldmine simply smiling to himself; they didn't seem to mind she had effectively crashed their convention (however unintended) and without a dismissal in sight, decided to take the offer. She was a bit tired, and a rest was a rest wherever it was.
The duo glanced at the newly erected rock seat that sprung up next to the side of Master Bob. The ever-peppy man 'oohing' at the sight of her magic before resuming his efforts on the feline still trapped within his grip; a nod of acknowledgement was all she got from the mostly silent Master of Cerberus and after a fleeting thought as to why she was even attempting such a feat of social endeavour, dropped her bag and sank into her seat, giving the ale a sceptical glance but went with the flow of things as they fell back into enjoying the nights air in peace.
A little while later, and she found herself relaxed. Makarov still hadn't been found, but according to the questionably dressed man at her side, that wasn't unusual as he tended to wander off for walks and always returned when he felt like it.
"Rather like a cat, really," he laughed bringing the small animal up to the moons light; it was safe to say that the fur cut he had been so proud of before, was now well and truly gone, having been reduced the standard ally cat look that populated the streets of any town one visited. She eyed his newly mussed appearance with a smile and returned to her drink but looked when the man stood.
"If you'll excuse me, I just have to go to the little boys room, I shan't be long," setting off at a prance back to the manor, but not before the cat finally breaking free of the chokehold, he had been stuck in half the night, fled back to where she sat.
"Never do that to me again."
His sharp words were met with a questioned brow from the remaining guild master, having been one of the many who had never come across a talking cat before, eyed the feline with an inquisitive gaze, as the ruffled cat turned towards her, still traumatized by his experience under Master Bob's loving hands clambered into her lap; having nowhere else to go and not wishing to get within reaching distance of the flashy man's chair for fear of risk of another cuddling. Erza looked down, slightly taken back by his forward actions, but made no move to shift him nor tell him to leave, instead, she returned to her previous hobby of counting the different types of birds that flew past; noting the varied species that went by.
She was enjoying herself; which itself sounded absurd as she never enjoyed being around others; the master aside, she barely tolerated being in the presence of another but yet here she was, of her own volition, sitting next to one who she had never given a single thought too before, yet was finding him to be of an agreeable company all the same.
It seemed he was just as much a fan of silence as she; for not once did he try engaging her in small talk which would have just been terrible, or did he do anything to fill the void left by the resident chatterbox; instead he seemed content to just sit and appreciate the peace that came from sitting out in the open air and the scenery of the gardens in front of them.
Eventually, though he finally spoke.
"Bob sure is taking his time," she tilted her head to see him still gazing forwards, but held a slight frown on his thin lips, can still held loosely in his hand.
"Chances are he's harassing those busboys again … man just doesn't know when to quit."
Unsure of how to respond to that, particularly the 'boys' part, and not wishing to indirectly insult a Master, no matter how weird she found them to be, she instead offered him a tight smile that had him laughing before he pushed to his feet, body shuddering at the sudden bite that had set in.
"Well, I guess there nothing for it, but to go find him before he earns himself a restraining order," and turned to head back up to the large mansion, stopping briefly to glance over his shoulder.
"You coming? I reckon you'd wanna get that cat of yours out of the cold," she looked down to where said cat was sprawled over her lap. Having settled and grown sleepy, was dozing peacefully and went to tell him that he wasn't 'her' anything, but was side-tracked by the loud explosion that erupted to their left.
Throwing herself to her feet, forgot that she wasn't holding the cat and so found a set of claws digging into her skin when he awoke to the sensation of falling, panicked and dug into stop his descent, before gathering him quickly and held him securely. He yawned; tired eyes unfocused as he glanced around from his place in her arms.
"Wh—what was that?"
Good question, as both cast their attention to the massive seal that had formed without warning; taking a step closer, watched the large tendril of dark energy slowly weaving its way from the magical circle, promptly accompanied by the sparks of lightning.
"I CAN NO LONGER HOLD BACK!"
The disembodied voice was as loud as it was insidious and she wasn't surprised when the cat (now wide awake) clung to her tighter; the energy pressure alone was full of malevolence that threatened to crush them, the voice just fuelled the wickedness of whatever this thing was.
"I SHALL COME FORTH TO DEVOUR YOU MYSELF!"
"You coming?"
She turned to find the other Master waiting on her, clearly, with the purpose of getting closer, she felt the tiny cat tremble against her and without thinking, gave him a comforting squeeze before nodding.
"I'll look after you," she muttered lowly, hurrying off after him as they made their way to the cliff where the magic was gathering; but barely halfway came to a resounding halt as the ground underneath began to violently shake. Bracing her feet as to not go tumbling, she looked to the top as the pressure grew to insurmountable heights and that was when the seal expanded. The intangible voice doing as promised, emerged from the dark circle to stand in the form of a hideous beast, its massive frame towering the building before it slowly lowered its head to gaze at them.
"What the hell is that thing!"
Another good question, and could only stare in horror at the sight of the rancorous looking creature; it's gnarled body littered with holes, loomed over them, the sturdy legs planted either side of the building were thicker than any of the tower blocks, its sickle-shaped claws flexed with a menacing elegance and perhaps the most unnerving of all, were the ominous glowing tri-eyes that shone in the night, burning with malevolent intent.
In short, it was unlike anything she had ever seen before; and it was baring down ready to attack.
"Must be a demon from the book of Zeref."
She turned to look at the Cerberus Master who was eyeing the creature, his expression grim.
"What?"
"A demon, straight out of the tomes of the black wizard himself. An unnatural creation comprised of dark magic … living magic … Zeref's speciality, and that, his lasting legacy."
"Living magic … Zeref," turning to take in the gargantuan monster hovering like a black cloud; just who had this wizard been, and how powerful had he grown if he could create something of this magnitude? Unfortunately, she didn't have time to contemplate for a roar shook the silence and with a tremendous burst of power, the mountain sitting in the distance blew apart. The devastated mountain now raining down devastation to whatever lay below as she stared in disturbed awe at the damage the thing had caused; vaguely up ahead, she heard the frantic pounding of feet as unbeknownst to her, the Fiore army were running as fast as they could away from the scene, leaving those from the hall to face the beast alone, as well as the newly formed Team Natsu that had come to save the masters from certain death, as the unholy creature roared again, sending shockwaves across all over.
"NONE SHALL BE SPARED! I SHALL FEAST ON YOUR SOULS AND GROW STRONGER!"
Down below, the three that had elected to take on the monster were about to charge but froze at the beasts next actions; watching in silent dread, it turned and with a sweep of its clawed hand, took off the top of the closest mountain. The broken chunks scattering in all directions and forcing them to take cover as it rampaged in their absence; spying the two large masses of stone hurtling towards them, Erza slammed her foot down and a dome quickly covered the trio, no sooner has it done so did the massive pieces smash into them. Wincing at the force of the blows, concentrated on fortifying the cover until finally, the trembles finally died down.
Upon feeling no more vibrations, she felt safe enough to let go of the shield, with Goldmine observing the fractured ground around them.
"That was a close one,"
"You think."
The acerbic remark came from the cat in her grip, still clutching her shirt tight, she instantly turned back to the demon, now fully alert for any more signs of another attack as up at the top and just as cautious; team Natsu eyed the demon more carefully. Having been blindsided by its abrupt attack and so soon after coming from stasis, was enough to render any assumptions on their part about its lack of speed moot.
Behind them a few feet away, the newest member turned to Makarov fearfully. "Master, can those three really defeat Lullaby on their own? That thing… it's quick."
He pondered her words gravely; that had been a thought for him as well; it seemed to be far more agile than any had expected and whilst he had every faith in the three, he was still understandably nervous, but it seemed Lucy even more, if her shiny eyes were anything to go by, and so offered her a reassuring smile.
"I do believe they have what it takes to destroy this monster, and I also believe they know the dangers enough to exercise caution,"
Whilst not enough to soothe all her fears, his words did seem to bring a slight calm to her, as she turned back to face the trio. They would win, she just knew it; she had also seen Natsu fight before and so had confidence in his abilities now. Ahead and just under the line of demons sight, Ikaruga idly glanced to the boys at either side of her.
"Ready."
In return, both gave her grins of eager anticipation, itching to fight the creature as she smiled at their enthusiasm in spite of the threat, before turning to face the demon and inhaled.
"Then let's go!"
The stillness of the night was once more ripped by the thunderous roars that shook all in its trajectory; having been watching the demon and its movements, the threesome observed the flashes of different colours that had surrounded the demonic creature and was now attacking from all angles; after another round of tremors the redhead noted the deep orangey-red that was viciously striking and knew that particular brand from anywhere.
So Natsu was here, was that what the master meant when he inquired after them before, and catching sight of the sheer white, Gray too was fighting and that last clearly had to be Ikaruga. Did they really think they could go up against this thing? It had already proven to be swift, having smashed through the ice that had covered its feet, meant it was also crafty and so if they wished to defeat this thing, they had to be smarter.
Another bout of ice piercing its knotted body caused it to scream in anger, swinging out and smashing into the side of yet another mountain; why did this place have so many bloody mountains? And a small yelp joined the night as she tossed the cat to the older man before slicing her arm sideways, creating a subdividing wall which split the next round of tumbling debris away from their location.
"That's some real handy magic you have there," he was joking, but the underlying relief could be heard clearly, as she nodded but refrained from relaxing just yet. There was something bothering her.
"What is it?"
Both turned to find her face tight with concentration, focused on the sounds, she strained to listen but the constant roars and quakes made it almost impossible; but then… there it was; faint at first, so ever faint, but she pushed every other sound down and focused slowly on that one noise that to her, might have been the quietest, but if what her gut was trying to yell at her, meant the worst thing of all.
The tiniest of cracks, might not have seemed important in the current situation, but as she listened to it grow louder the more it ran along the stone, abject dread welled up inside her when a groan followed and instantly her head shot up to where it was sourced.
From the peak of the second highest mountain, (she had to thank whatever that it wasn't the first) the growing line that had been created by the result of the demon's first collision, but now as it blundered and stomped about, hitting it again, the formation couldn't handle the second and it was with that it had started to break away.
Watching as the peak splinted and began to crumble, it was slow at first, but the conclusion was what she had feared.
"Landslide," she muttered, still staring at the peak as Goldmine's eyes widened from behind his glasses, "Are you sure?"
She was never more so, and nodded before turning to the fight as it resumed without anyone being the wiser, "The constant shakes and tremors of that things movements have forced the rock to shift and rub against each other; its created an unstable fixture and very soon this place is going to be buried under what looks like ninety tonnes of limestone and they're right in its path!"
She gestured to where the small group stood, just underneath the collapsing peak and oblivious to the second threat that was heading their way, as she inhaled deeply, trying to figure out what to do.
"The conference hall as well?"
She sent him a look that confirmed his fears, as he swore loudly, his own panic rising. "I don't even think the town's going to be safe,"
"How long do we have?"
Crouching to her knees, placed a hand on the dirt floor and focused on the underground rumbles that were increasing by the second, and shook her head.
"Not long"
He fell silent at her estimation, his face tight with thought as she got back to her feet. "Alright, here's what we do; I'll go alert the others … I'm assuming that magic of yours is earth based?"
She nodded.
"How good at it are you?"
If it were any other situation, she would have shown him how good she was, and kicked his arse again just for the audacity of asking; but as it was life or death, she had no other choice, and so nodded again leaving him to smile.
"That's good … well, I hate to be the one to put so much on you, but—"
She cut him off with another nod, as the cat glanced from one to the other, not quite understanding but sensing the seriousness judging by how tense things had gone, watching as he gave her an encouraging clap on her shoulder, before rushing up the side of the path that hadn't been caved in, leaving her recoil at the touch.
"Hey … snap out of it!"
A swipe on her arm brought her back to the moment and pushing down the fact he didn't know she hated being touched, focused back on the task at hand and turned to view the landscape as best she could. The entire fight was taking place on a sloped hill, that meant the fall could potentially be a translational landslide … or a rotational, either one wouldn't be good news and didn't make her job any easier, as she desperately tried to think of a way to save the manor and those, she could feel inside who had stayed out of fear of the demon.
The height and steepness were against her as well; and given just how much rubble was lying around, once it started it was clear it was going to be heavy. Closing her eyes, she felt the first stirrings of doubt swell. A feeling she hadn't felt in years, though she had confidence in her own capabilities, the fact was she had never faired against a landslide before; and with this being a fundamental feat of nature, even if it was forced, she wasn't sure what would happen, as a paw on her arm had her looking to find him staring at her.
Returning his gaze questioningly, she watched as his lips curled and blinked when he flashed his toothy smile at her.
"You saved me from a couple of kids, remember. They're the worst monsters of all. If you can do that, then you can do this."
How did he know what she was thinking? She couldn't have been that transparent, and as far as encouragement went, it was, by far, the least conventional she had ever heard, but somehow it made her feel lighter inside, as another few seconds went by and she let go of the breathy chuckle, nodding to herself and inhaling. Deep.
She could do this.
Before she made to return back to the manor, only getting a few steps before she paused when she felt him at her side. Turning, she was surprised to see him hovering close to her head. His wings must have been strong enough to use now.
"What are you doing? I told you, get back; I have no interest in seeing you hurt."
"We're a team, remember,"
That stunned her, as a brow arched infinitesimally at his statement. "Oh?" he nodded, still flashing his toothy little grin and flapped his wings harder,
"Yep, and team's don't split up."
She regarded him quizzically for a few seconds before finally, "You do realize that I've never been part of a team before… that I'm not exactly a group player?"
He shrugged, still unconcerned at her attempts to push him back. "That's because you didn't meet the right person yet… or in this case, me,"
Despite the situation, she couldn't help be amused by his words. "And you think you're what I need to reconsider my stance about partners?"
He nodded. "Absolutely." More silence, before she snorted indelicatly but didn't make any further moves to try to get him to leave, her face falling as she looked back at him.
"You sure?"
His tiny paws clenched with resolution as he gave a single, solid nod in response. Determined to stick with her, she exhaled a second later; the sound not one of annoyance, but of fond resignation, as her lip quirked and she offered him a similar fang filled smirk before nudging her head in the direction of the mansion.
"Well then. Let's go stop a demon induced rockslide, shall we?"
