"Whaa? That's it?" Cana said, turning around just in time to see Bickslow walk out of the guild. Lisanna sat smiling at the older woman, chuckling under her breath as she flipped Pippi a short distance into the air. The totem let out a high pitched giggle and seemed to enjoy the attention. "That's it Cana. It really doesn't take much to get under Bickslow's skin. What was I supposed to do?" Lisanna said as she brought Pippi into her chest. Cana shrugged her shoulders in disappointment. "I don't know something dramatic, but you suck at getting people back for being jerks to you. That's for sure." Cana then said as she poked her finger into the small totems head. Shaking her head quickly, Lisanna tried to shake off the slight vertigo she was feeling as she traced the design painted on Pippi's face. "Simple and effective. Trust me Cana. Bicks can't stand certain things." the youngest Strauss then said before asking her sister for a glass of water. Lisanna sat quietly afterwards and simply observed what various members of the guild were doing. Any pointless fights between a certain ice mage and dragon slayers seemed to have died off. Gajeel and Levy had evidently moved to a more secluded table along side Jet and Droy. The two men of Shadow Gear seeming unsure on exactly how to act with Gajeel around. The remaining members of the Raijinshu as well as Elfman seemed to be in their own state of conversation. About what, Lisanna would never know. Turning her attention back down to the totem in her hands, Lisanna sighed as the cogs in her head spun around while she formulated the next part of her plan. The only real place Bickslow could possibly have headed, would have been home. She knew there was no way Bickslow would wander around knowing that he'd willingly left a totem behind.


Bickslow walked out of the guild, drawing a few more pairs of eyes on himself as he did so. As soon as the doors behind him shut, he rubbed the back of his head furiously as he tried to rub away the feeling that had drilled the back of his head, nearly leaving the man in a cold sweat. "So she's allowed to stare all she fuckin' wants, but I can't? That's bullshit" he thought to himself as he fastened his mask more securely to his face. It was just past noon, and any possible "fun" the seith mage could possibly have, would have to wait until the cover of darkness. He sighed in annoyance as he walked away from the guild. Even if he hated to admit it, he'd have to run typical errands expected of a bachelor including fixing the state of his home. Between the lack of food, shattered mirror, and a wall needing a patch, he rolled his eyes and headed towards the market square. At least running errands would kill several hours of his time pretty easily.

Walking through the market place, he was easily able to find a do able mirror to place back into his bathroom. It wasn't nearly as large, nor was it anything special, but it would have to do. Handing the vendor the proper amount of jewel, he walked off to find supplies he'd need to patch his wall. Inconveniently enough, that particular vendor wasn't open. The wall would have to wait for another day. As he continued to walk an head towards the food vendors, a man stood in the center of the market gathering a small crowd around him. The man shouted loudly and his exaggerated movements attracted Bickslow's attention. These types were the seith mage's favorite types to deal with. Placing the mirror carefully on his totems he quietly instructed them to take the object back to his home. Without a single objection his totems did as they were instructed. Watching his totems move out of sight, he turned his attention to the man in the market square. Many people surrounding the man beginning to raise their hands up in the air as though in prayer. The sight of such things always made the seith mage laugh. A young girl sat in the back of the crowd tracing lines with her fingers. Her parents seeming totally transfixed in the man as they willingly ignored the young girl. Bickslow bent down next to the young girl. Her hair in complete disarray, something common of small children in their wild nature. His presence initially startled the young girl. Bickslow understood why. Unclipping his mask, he put on the softest expression he had and smiled at the young girl before clipping his mask again. The young girl smiled as she continued to draw imaginary patterns on the ground.

"Do you know what they are talkin' about kiddo?" Bickslow said softly to the little girl.

"No not really...he's scary, like you." the young girl responded.

"Oh? Why am I scary?" Bickslow smiled out.

"You smile too big." the girl responded as she pointed to her mouth.

"Nah. I ain't scary. I just like to smile." Bickslow said before sticking his tongue out at the young girl.

"My mommy said not to do that or monsters will steal your tongue." the girl said giggling worriedly.

"Actually, monsters hate when you DO stick your tongue at them. It'll make 'em go away, so you have to do it a lot." Bickslow then said "Why's that man scary though?"

"He talks about going away and stuff. He said no one will be here forever and if we don't want to die, we need to follow him, otherwise we'll hurt and be alone forever."

"Now why would he say somethin' like that." Bickslow asked.

"He said because his god loves us, but doesn't love us if we're bad and don't listen." the young girl then answered.

"His god sounds like a nasty person." Bickslow said as he tried to level with the young girl.

"He said his god is mean because he loves us so much." The young girl then said placing both her hands on her knees.

"Don't listen to that man. If that god loves you so much, he'd never hurt you. That god would should still love you even if you don't listen or are bad." Bickslow said as he bit back his annoyance in such talk.

"Kind of like mommy?" the young girl responded.

"Just like your mommy." Bickslow smiled out, patting the girl's completely deshelved hair "Don't let people like that scare you. If they do, stick your tongue out at them."

Standing back upright, Bickslow squeezed his way through the crowd more towards the center in order to get closer to the man. He crossed his arms across his chest as he listened to the nonsense spill out of the man's mouth. Based on the man's robes and gold chain and cross, he was likely a man of faith, a clergyman, using the words he'd been taught to twist and manipulate the faithless into giving him money in exchange for saving their souls. Something no human could do with any sort of monetary compensation. An assistant to the clergyman began walking around as he spewed a sermon of fear and hate, pointing to multiple people in the crowd. The assistant held out a small bronze vase that was supposedly purified and for a small fee, the clergyman could save their souls. Bickslow watched as several people dropped their jewel into the vase and right on cue, the clergyman walked over and as the people dropped to their knees he chanted out a generic prayer before splashing water on them and kissing them all on the forehead. The people the clergyman had "blessed" left the crowd seeming as though they had been renewed entirely. The assistant being sure to hand each of the newly blessed people a small flyer, likely the address to where ever this clergyman congregated. Bickslow focused his eyes on each and every one of them carefully. All seemed to have had their souls disconnected from them entirely despite that 'soul saving blessing'. Their roots trying desperately to bring their souls back into place in vane. Bickslow closed his eyes and laughed at the lunacy.

"This man for instance. He laughs at the powers God grants to those of faith" the Clergyman shouted as he pointed to Bickslow.

"Actually, I tend to laugh at stupid shit." Bickslow then said as he shrugged.

"Such is the way of those who are lost in mind and body. Soul and spirit. Non-believers."

"Pretty easy to say while you line yer pockets right?" Bickslow said casually flipping a single piece of jewel in the air "tell me Father, would you still give the same spiel if you had no jewel?"

"The people who gather here know, that a willing sacrifice must be made for the church." the clergyman said calmly.

"And conveniently enough that sacrifice just happens to be jewel." Bickslow said as he smiled widely.

Without another word, the clergyman grabbed Bickslow by the arm, dragging him towards the center of the crowd and circle the seith mage no differently than a shark. "Suppression makes a weight that strips the life of everything." the clergyman then said as he, and many others now had their eyes on the seith mage. His arms crossed over his chest, Bickslow glared down at the far shorter man. "This man, is nothing but a hollow shell of what he could be! His life is empty. His soul sits at complete unrest, yet he refuses the solution. He refuses God, the one who can save him from himself. He lives masked for eternity in darkness. The devil works inside the hearts of men like this. The proof lies clear as day as you all see. He wears a smile, yet spews nothing but hate. He lives for nothing but himself. Selfishness." the clergyman said as he raised his hands in Bickslow's face and began praying loudly. Several others in the crowd soon joining the man. Bickslow rolled his eyes at the scene. As far as lost souls goes, this place was truly ripe for the picking. His ridiculous prayer over, the clergyman turned back to the crowd. "We have prayed over this man. His evil will be contained to only himself. But as you see, men like him still walk around you, disguised even if poorly. A donation to the church is all that is needed and we shall overcome these evils that run rampant." Bickslow focused his eyes on the clergyman, completely unsurprised to see what he did. Nothing more than an empty shell, consumed by one of the many figures he'd become so familiar with seeing. The hairless creature manipulating the clergyman's body like a puppeteer as it smiled at the crowd. It turned around quickly as though it knew it had eyes on it, turning the clergyman with it as it did. Laughing lowly, Bickslow lightly grabbed hold of the large gold cross that sat across the clergyman's neck. Leaning in towards the clergyman's ear, Bickslow whispered, "A bit ironic, dontcha think?" before flicking the heavy object upwards and walking away. Bickslow walked over to the assistant and grabbed hold of one of the many small fliers the young man was holding and placed it in his pocket, being sure to stare at the clergyman as he walked away.


A few hours had passed, giving Lisanna plenty of time to sober herself up. The guild had become far less active now as many of the fellow guild members had taken themselves home or left for any jobs that required them to leave town. She waved to both Mira and Elfman as she held on tightly to Pippi and walked out of the guild. The evening air feeling like a much needed refresher from the busy air she'd been sitting in since the late morning. Magnolia's streets weren't nearly as busy as they could have been as Lisanna walked towards Bickslow's home. It was a strange feeling for her to be walking around in outside in the dark. She'd become accustomed to having to hide away for the past couple of weeks or having to immediately be on guard, that having to do nothing was feeling almost odd. Pippi urged itself forward, seeming as though it desperately wanted to get somewhere. Lisanna let the small totem go and without looking back, Pippi took off over the rooftops, disappearing from her sight. The youngest Strauss was certain that the small totem was heading back to Bickslow. There was simply no way that Pippi wasn't missing the seith mage by now. She was fairly certain that Bickslow's totems had never been away from the man for more than half an hour at any given time.

A bit of paranoia set in as Lisanna flinched and became almost defensive as she walked past shadows that were cast on the ground by various objects. A few times she swore she saw them beginning to whip around and form figures, only to discover that her eyes were merely playing tricks on her. Any area of Magnolia that wasn't well lit, became a source of discomfort for her to walk by. Even the trees looked as though they harbored faces and glares in the dark. As Bickslow's home came into her view, she could see that it was dark inside. She'd full well expected him to be home. She quietly moved up towards the home and placed an ear on the front door. The door shifting ever so slightly as she did. She didn't hear any noise in the home at all. She noticed a mirror placed carefully on the ground next to her and avoided looking into it at all costs. She could feel eyes on her and was almost certain it was from the mirror. Walking around Bickslow's home, she peered through the windows as best as she could, not seeing anyone or anything inside moving at all. What ever plans she had, completely backfired as there was no one home. She sat herself heavily on the back patio, combing through the grass with her fingers.

Lisanna stared up into the night sky. The stars seeming to glitter and flash as though they were bored. She laughed for a moment thinking back on what Loki had told them about seeing and hearing just about everything. Perhaps the bored flashes she was seeing was nothing more then casual conversation between the celestial spirits. She sighed and rose to her feet, making her way towards Bickslow's bedroom window. She looked around momentarily to make sure no one was looking at her before she tried to open the window. It was locked. She began looking around the ground for anything she could use to pry the window open. "You normally try and break into people's homes?" Bickslow said as he stare down at her from his rooftop, immediately averting his eyes when she looked up at him. Lisanna's hand immediately shot over her heart as it pounded heavily in her chest.

"No. Not normally. How long have you been up there?" Lisanna asked.

"About thirty seconds...what are you doing here?" Bickslow asked as he hopped off of the roof, landing on the patio.

"I had some plans, but they got screwed up." Lisanna said as she let a light smile cross her face.

"Hmm." Bickslow said as he walked back towards the front of the house, followed closely by Lisanna.

"How did you know I was here?" Lisanna then asked.

"Just a feeling, and ya aren't exactly sneaky about things." Bickslow said as he unlocked the door and lifted a small bag of groceries and the mirror off of the ground.

"Do you mind if I come in?" Lisanna said, unsure if she could simply walk in.

"Do what ever you want." Bickslow said as he began placing the items he purchased in his kitchen.

Lisanna walked in carefully and closed the door behind her. The door seeming completely unsteady on it's hinges. She immediately noticed a new hole that was situated in the wall, as well as several pattern like burns that were on the floor. Bickslow walked passed her towards the book shelf and placed a heavy gold cross attached to a necklace on it. Lisanna could only assume how it was that Bickslow acquired this new little trinket. The seith mage sighed as he stood there before addressing Lisanna. "Look. Is there any actual reason you're here, 'cause this shits awkward for me." he said as he busied himself slightly. Lisanna shook her head, "No. Not really. Just came here to talk now I guess."

"And what exactly is it that you wanna talk about?" Bickslow said as he went to hang the mirror up

"I didn't really think that far ahead to be honest." Lisanna said as she moved herself towards the shelf.

"Uh-huh. So again, why are you here? As far as I'm concerned, ya gave me a pretty clear message to fuck off sweet cheeks so..."

Lisanna cringed slightly at the words. Bickslow wasn't wrong. Even if she hadn't said it quite so directly, she did imply it. "Did you mean everything you said Bickslow? Lying excluded. Did you really mean everything?" she said quietly as the seith mage appeared back in the living room. Unclipping his mask and dropping it casually on the back of the couch, Bickslow nodded his head as he pulled the head covering off of himself followed closely by his cape and shirt. "Every word of it." he responded as he shook his hairs loose with his hands. Lisanna giggled at the sight of him deshelving his own hair and walked over and attempted to fix it slightly. The seith mage standing still as he avoided eye contact and let the youngest Strauss have her way with fixing his hair up. Lisanna noticed the new bruising that seemed to cover part of his face, something she knew wasn't there when she had left early that morning.

"What happened to your face?" she asked as she glided her fingers over the black and blue mark.

"Ya know, not all of us are born lookin' quite as good as you. No need to point that out." Bickslow joked, appreciating the small amount of attention he was getting from Lisanna.

"You know what I mean Bicks." Lisanna said as she rolled her eyes.

"Laxus." is all the seith mage said as he straightened up his posture.

"Did you guys spar or something?" Lisanna then asked.

"Mmm more like he was gonna kill my ass." Bickslow said as his eyes shifted around the floor.

"Okay, you don't actually have to not look at me Bicks. Seriously. It's annoying." Lisanna said as she grabbed his face and forced it in the direction of her face.

"Well don't say shit like that then. Believe it or not, I'll take it seriously." the seith mage then said letting his eyes slide to her direction.

For a moment, Lisanna could have sworn that the seith mage lacked any real bit of insanity as he stood staring at her. His eyes seemed almost null and void of their usual spark and zest. He genuinely looked hurt by what Lisanna had said to him earlier that day. Despite him being the one who lied about what can only be described as a completely serious ordeal, Lisanna felt as though she were the one who needed to apologize. It truly was an odd feeling.

"Look...Bicks. I really do appreciate you helping me. Genuinely. But please, don't ever lie to me again. Especially about something so serious." she said in a forgiving tone.

"Yes ma'am." the seith mage said almost sarcastically as a smile cracked its way across his face "Do me a favor though if ya ever decide to walk out permanently."

"And what favor would that be?"

"Kill me first. That shit hurt even my twisted soul to hear and see. And by the way. Fuck you for that shit you pulled at the guild."

"Don't act like you didn't deserve it Bicks. You know you did."

"That ain't even the point sweet cheeks. You wanna have a starin' contest NOW? 'Cause you'll lose again. I ain't gonna play nice about it either this time."

Lisanna stood with her finger on her chin for a moment trying to decide exactly what she could say or do next. That slight spark she'd become too familiar with seeing the in the seith mage's eyes seeming to light up almost instantly at the ideal of getting into a staring contest with Lisanna again. She watched the man carefully as his eyes stayed glued to her as though making up for almost one day of lost time. He didn't take a single second to blink as they stood there quietly. Lisanna furrowed her eyebrows as she smirked up at Bickslow. "You know what? Yeah. I do!" the youngest Strauss said. Bickslow grin immediately widened and covered the span of his face. His eyes shifted from Lisanna to the wall that separated the kitchen from the rest of his home before shifting back to her. The two of them sat there staring at each other for several seconds before Lisanna started to laugh at the ridiculousness of it. Bickslow did no more than grin as he already knew he was going to win this little contest with Lisanna. The second she blinked, Bickslow quickly pressed her into the unoccupied wall and savored the sweet, albeit known, victory.

"...I win..."

Song reference: Premonition of a Hex- Circa Survive