Aaannnd I'm late again. I stayed up to watch Wolverine so I kinda forgot to upload.
Criticism welcome! Unless it is pointless hate that really isn't getting anywhere.
Lisanna p.o.v.
I left the Guild without my sister; such was my excitement to be going on a mission with the rest of River Blade, thinking that perhaps it would be an opportunity for us to finally test ourselves. Though thinking now it could only have been the spite I felt towards my sister, as I knew it would kill her not to tell anyone about the swords or of the legend itself. It was to be our first mission as a Team, and there was a sense in me that something was going to happen. That next morning I was sure not to leave the house without my sister, and when I arrived I slid into the seat by Happy, his face scrunched around a fish. No one said a word, but I knew they were watching the black cat that lay sprawled against the door, resting in the morning light. Of course, Mirajane could not have helped the fact she blurted out that Geni and that cat were one and the same, so perhaps it was admiration I saw in Laxus' eyes as he looked at the cat.
I called a greeting to Juvia, and Lucy, as they peered at the request board – which was, oddly, vacant of Nab Lasaro. "Mornin', Lisanna." Happy draped himself in my arms, arching his back against my stomach and paws fisting my skirt as Geni's voice muttered in our minds, faint and almost as though not there. "They'd better pick a good job."
While Happy had my attention, that annoying brat, somehow it had escaped me that Makarov had descended the stairs to speak with the others of my Team, both looking a little irritated as they read the paper he had left in their hands when he began moving away. They did not spend much time looking at this sheet, but it seemed that that was all that was needed, their brows raised when Mirajane began uttering her nonsenses when she was approached for a stamp. "Old Man Makarov's given us a job." Said Lucy, rolling the sleeves of her woollen shirt as she walked towards the door. "Round 'um up boys." Following after her, hand held out for the Magic that would deposit my bag, I called a cheery farewell to the Guild as I passed through the door.
Lucy herself scooped Mary-Lou into her hands, the cat somehow managing to tie the woman's hair into a plait, a red bow used to tie the hair, as the creature skulked over her shoulder. "Juvia says they read as we walk." I was distracted by the clicking of the woman's pumps against the damp stones, eyes patterning birds that darted the sky. "It's a month long mission, we suppose that the Guild will be relieved we're gone." There was a fullness to Juvia as she spoke, and I loved how it made me feel to know that she was fine. "Training will be easier."
Glancing over the sheet I had been passed, I read aloud what was written there as we walked the path of Fairy Hills. "'Group of experienced Mages needed to destroy the Scáthach* group.'" That was something I wished I never read, no matter how many years passed it was always something I regretted. "'They are a band of Dark Guilds whom operate under Tartarus, and have banded together to cause a lot of problems.'" Moving my finger to read the reward, my lips curled and glee burst forth in a short burst of laughter. "Oh my, 700,000,000Jewels?" Folding the page I tucked it into the bag Happy was carrying, lips wetted as I grinned. "That's quite the price. If we's remembers correctly," Knowledge flooded me, things I never honestly wished to know. "Then Scáthach worship old sagas and mythologies. How many Guilds are in it now?"
Mary-Lou gave a hearty sigh, something even my voice could not rival, though it was tried. "There are many. A minimum of fifty if I guessed correctly." There was an almost danger to the way she looked at us, as though there was something she knew that we were not privy to. "They're scattered over the many lands around Fiore." Mary-Lou slumped against the doorway of Fairy Hills, eyes reaching up. "I'll wait here, warn you if anyone comes." As Mary-Lou lay in sun, sleek fur shimmering and a purr rumbling as she flicked her tail. There were often times when I felt that Mary-Lou knew things, and then there were other when I knew she did. I am not sure if that time was the former or the latter.
It never really matter.
We took little time in packing other things that we would need, no time at all. There was no carrying to do with Loke and Saturn on hand. When we arrived at the front gate, Wendy was tickling at Mary-Lou's chin without a care in the world, Carla looking a little less than impressed. "C'mere Mary-Lou, time to be leaving." Lucy bent over Wendy, resting a hand on the girl's shoulder when she jumped. Mary-Lou left down the path, no words spoken but paper between her jaws. "We'll see you both later, okay?" We left quickly after that for the client's home, the trek one of the long.
According to the request sheet, she was an ex-council member.
Happy p.o.v.
Underfoot a twig snapped as we stood on the foresty grounds outside of our employers residency, the old woman who was shuffling over the deep purple anemone's scattered at the base of statice and king protea, slowly turning, back stiff, though she did smile happily and defrosted upon sighting us. I do not quite remember how long it was that we had stood there, but Lucy at least had her Guild Mark visible. "Goodness, you did frighten me." Her voice was crooked, out of shock or lack of breath I was never dwelling upon. "Well Fairies, tell me your names." The woman was plump in her old age, brown hair fading and kindly violet eyes. "I am Úna de Valla."
Perhaps it was a bit prudent of me when I jumped forward to clutch at her leg, "I'm Happy!" being shot from my lips as I breathed in the odd scent that rolled from her skin. Perhaps I only wanted to terrify her some more. Lisanna spoke her name whilst she dropped the edge of her pleated skirt to pick me into her arms. I snuggled my head back into her shirt, careful not to draw my claws through the fabric.
Lucy's hand cupped my ear as she stepped forward to greet the woman, smile bright and false. "Lucy Heartphilia." Snow crunched on the ground, Juvia moving forward to shake hands with Úna, body turning away to watch the larks. "That... Is Juvia Lockster." Lucy spoke in a kindly tone, lips smiling and tone almost exasperated as she watched our fallen friend walk the ground.
A voice spoke from below us, pitched and almost harsh. The cat was bent on its front paws, jaws widened in a yawn as its tail lay flat over the round of her bottom. On the stretching shoulder of this creature the Guild Mark sang with the colours of a rook, eyes daunting and blue, and laughing as though a magpie. "Geni Lockster." Magic sweltered the plants for a moment, the old woman watching as Geni appeared from the dazzle, waved blue hair dragged into a bun, and eyes a laughing apple green. "It is easier to travel as a cat." Chin pitched forward, lips smiling before she dragged the old woman into a hug. "Neion?"
Úna's smile was flustered, almost trusting though she stepped back, milky violet eyes narrowing as though she knew what horrors lurked within. "Oh of course dear, now come on in, all of you." I dropped from Lisanna's arms, wings almost there but not as I opened the door to let the others in. "Oh aren't you the gentlemen." My cheeks hurt with the force of my faux-smile, eyes patterning the layout of the cosy cottage home. A kettle black with smeared soot bubbled over the fire, cushions speckled with burns littered the floor and Úna sat upon the only stool, bent over her hearth. "There are a handful of Scáthach Guilds in the area, three or four at my guess." She hissed, hand flying back as a spark sprung from the fire. "The Council seems to be having trouble with the groups, and has asked me to file a request." There was almost something predatory about the woman as she laughed, shaking her hand before lifting the kettle, clothe wrapped around her hand. "Their money, my knowledge, your power."
I chose to sit pretty on the stone that sat uselessly by the fire, its surface warmed and almost glowing red with the heat. It was relaxing, and the flicker of the flame was calling as though it were alive. As though it had a story to tell. "What does it entail?" Lisanna spoke, licking her fingers before gingerly lifting one of the dumplings from the hot pan that was passed around.
Úna tugged a folded monstrosity of paper from the top of her apron, opening it to show a map. "The request is multi-Guild, though it does not require you to work with the other Guild." The woman handed Lucy the map, my Guild Mate barely looking at it before passing it on, eyes trained on the old woman's back as she made tea. "You will still be paid several hundred thousand Jewels for your participation, but you will only be required to destroy the Scáthach groups on this side of Fiore." When Juvia tossed the map to me, nails digging through the cheap material before I saw the blinking red dots that shivered as though made of a sheen of Magic. "The other Guild came by a few days ago, should have already done a few of the Guilds at this point." Some patches of the map lay bare, one disappearing before my eyes in what was only to be assumed as the other Guild making their move. "Come back here when you've finished all of them." Úna lifted the tray of tea, turning and setting it on the stool. "Oh, and on that map once a Guild is defeated then the mark with disappear."
Lucy stood from her cushion, smiling almost sadly at the woman. "We must decline the offer of tea." Úna's face did not move, but her lips almost twitched. "We would really rather leave straight away, with the GMG coming up we really need some training." Lucy indicated her hand towards the door, the rest of us leaving. "It was wonderful to meet you, Miss De Valla. We'll arrive back sometime in the next month." Lucy joined us, snatching the map from my hand and clicking at the paper. "There are five groups that it seems the other Guild failed to take out on their way out, I suggest we each hit one up." Shaking her head back, Lucy shook the hair from her face sniffing at something in the air. "We can meet up-" Her finger wondered around the page, settling on a point to the west. "-Here. In two days. Think we can handle it?"
There was something wicked about the way Lucy looked, something we responded to with respect. "There's never a doubt." We set out in different directions, Lucy keeping us right on the path if we went wrong at any point. It was amusing to speak to someone who was not there, but I felt a fire swell as I approached my town.
Flying through the doors of whatever Guild I had been charged, I stamped the eviction notice to the doors. I took a little time to watched the members, all staring blankly at one another in complete silence, the man in large black cloak (sitting on a monstrosity of a throne) who curled over as though broken. "Hello, I'm the Fairy Tail Mage who's been hired to ki-destroy your Guild." I removed Fire Whip from his pocket, stroking lovingly at his blade as I traced the pattern on the walls. "It is not likely that any of you will survive." One by one they turned to face me, one by one their faces turned grotesque as they laughed at me with bulging eyes. "You would dare to mock me?" Something in me flickered, fire surging through my veins as though fear pulsed. One of the convicts I met of years late said it seemed as though my body had flickered, seemingly there but parts missing as I hung in space. I remembered nothing past that point, only that I stood heaving over the desecrated bodies flung about the floor, a faint charring smell prevailing in my nostrils. "Do any of you have you wits about you still?" There had been a little desperation, at that time I had not quite liked the idea of killing a person, but it bothers me less these days. A moan was my answer. "If you dare to tell a soul of what you saw, even though you will find it hard to leave, you will regret opening your filthy little animal mouths." The words were thick in my throat, as though lava grew there, tears reddening my cheeks. "Quite simply I will slaughter you." Floating slowly from the Guild doors, pained moans of compliance filtering behind me, I could not help the smirk that came.
I did not want it.
The village was not far from the dump of a Guild, I abandoned the Guild Master - that crumpled old bag of bones - with the local Rune Knights. I wondered about town for a time, only stopping when I heard a bell toll. The clock tower read some time in the early afternoon, and with that I knew I had half that day and the day after to waste away before we were to meet. The decision was made that I would hang around the town, see if there was anything I could pick up that would be of use. And to make sure that the Dark Guild stayed down, because over the years that I had been active, I have never once known a Dark Guild to stay down when they were put down by a competent Mage, though something that time was bound to be different. I settled on an area of the forest, a clearing circled around me, trees pooling the light and birds settling in to watch. I had 'confiscated' a weapon from one of the Dark Mages, a large strapping man of dark skin and eyes with more depth than Saturn. The man had called it 'Vajra', from what memory that came I did not know. Over the years I came to call it 'The Thunderbolt Diamond'. It seemed capable of taking many forms, though I only ever used a bow and sword.
It was a neat trinket, the handle big enough for the human man's hand, though seemed large in my paw. Later it seemed small once more. At either end of this contraption was a cage bent of hardened silver, a diamond embedded in the crest and pillars of shining stones encrusting the strips of silver. On one side of the handle I read a script, one I was not familiar with and never became. Though I did not really care.
In my outstretched paw the weapon seemed almost weak, small and delicate against my hand. And whilst I say this I felt a presence buzzing in my paw, like the object itself knew what was to come. In truth I would like to say that on my first try I managed to utilise the weapon, all I did was destroy some of the trees. I practice all that day and night, hoping for something to work as I did not know how to complete it. A guttural voice, perhaps my own ired conscience was what I had wrongly thought, spoke to suggest that I channel my Magic into it as I did with the sword and Lucy with her Keys. In the rising morning light I raised the bolted diamond stick, and when I began to drain Magic from my arms, a tidal wave of power leaving my core, bowing yellow bolts flickering into the air, sparks of red Magic tingeing the green grass. With body flickering indecisively under the weight of my own power, I pressed my other paw on top of the outstretched on, curling it into a claw. Pulling that arm back an arrow made of Magic formed in the air, sparking silver and hissing as I had never seen it. Shivering from anticipation, I remember blacking out though when I rose to conciousness again the trees around me stood destroyed. "Curious." Chocked from my lips, paw raised to scratch at my throat as I looked to one tree, 'help' carved into its charring bark.
I never asked what that meant. I never told anybody. But it scared me so very much to see it, and I was never sure why. Saturn knew. But then again that creature always did.
My Magic had been depleted, and though I knew I had been unconscious for my own attack I still retained some memory of how it was that a person would me able to manipulated Vajra to create a sword or a bow. They were lessons I happily learnt.
*Scáthach - pronounced 'sca-ch-tch'. Sometimes referred to as Sgàthach an Eilean Sgitheanach or Sgathaich. Scáthach is a Scottish warrior woman and a martial arts teacher who appears in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology to teach the legendary warrior Cú Chullain feats of arms, after he had been assigned to her by Domnall, another warrior in Scotland (or 'Alpae'). Many versions of the tale have Scáthach give Cú Chullain her famous boar spear - "Gáe Bulg".
In the story Scáthach is said to promise her daughter, Uathach's, to Cú Chullain because he kills Cochar Criobhe, Uathach's lover (due to a misunderstanding about Cú Chullain's affair with her and the reason why he 'accidentally' broke Uathach's fingers) and assumes the man's duties around their household.
Scáthach is sometimes referred to as "the Shadow" and/or "Warrior Maid" in reference to her profession and to her home on the Isle of Skye, at Dún Scáith/Dun Sgathaich, "the Fortress of Shadows".