Heya! Another chapter, this time with some news. Starting from january, I will be uploading another Fairy Tail fanfiction, which means I have a bit less time to work on this one. I will still be updating this story, but instead of every week it will be every other week, which means this is the final upload for 2019!

Thank you if you are still reading this story! It has been a lot of fun getting back into fanfiction and diving back into this story. It has become a kind of free writing exercise for me, which helps me work on other stuff too. I hope you will continue to read this messy story in 2020.

Happy Holidays and see you next year!

Enjoy! ;)

Chapter 55: Eating Clouds

Four years after the events surrounding "The Squid"

Name: Greg Blazer

Age: 19

Occupation: Mage of Sabertooth

We've split up to gather more info about the town. I don't like splitting up, that's what gets you killed in horror movies.

Floyd has gone off with Tilly, the two seemed to have a fight again. They sometimes act like a married couple, even though I'm pretty sure Tilly is not interested in my brother at all. It's kind of sad if you really think about it; most of our classmates are still single. Caroline is marrying some guy, Rose and Martin seem pretty tight, and I kind of have an idea of what Kai and Jake are doing, but other than that...we're lonely.

I've teamed up with Ary, for once. We were never really friends in school, I just made fun of her a lot, but I guess that's different now. I think.

'So,' I say, as I walk next to her. I'm almost twice her height, I swear. 'How have you been? Are you with a guild, or anything?'

Ary looks at me sideways, her mouth twitches. 'We do not have to talk if you force it like that.'

Before I can stutter an apology, or anything, she extends her arm and gestures. I bent my knees a little and she immediately grabs my face and pulls it to hers.

Not to kiss me of course, you perv. She looks at the scar that slashes across one side of my face, from my forehead to my chin.

'Did you get an infection?' Ary asks. She narrows her eyes at the scar tissue.

'Not as of late, no.' I pull my face back, but she resist, strangely with a lot of force for a girl her height. Some people passing by frown at us, but still wish us a good morning. 'But it's healed now, right?'

'If by healed, you mean the wound is closed, then sure.' She lets go. 'But it would have looked a lot better if you took care of it.' She turn around and continues to walk down the street as if nothing has happened. Before I can follow, she glances over her shoulder and says: 'would have helped you with the ladies as well.'

If I had a drink, I would've spat it out. 'Eh…what?'

It takes me only a few steps to catch up to her, but she pretends not to notice. 'That's why you teamed up with me, right?'

I feel caught.

The street we walk in ends at a small square, a different one then with the clocktower in the centre. The square is also surrounded by a few little shops and a café. Ary stops, looks, and then heads straight for the café.

'Mind you that us dating would be illegal, since I am still underage,' she says, which nearly gives me a heart attack, 'but I do not mind it right now. In fact, it could be convenient. Let us pretend we are a newlywed couple.'

'As in...married?'

Before we enter, she turns to look at me. 'Yes. I expect it will be quite difficult for you, but try not to act your age.' She pushes the door open.

The café turns out to be a tea shop. Where people drink tea. Apparently.

The walls are painted pink and there are picture frames with cats in them. All tables and chairs are white and seem to me the embodiment of a bad princess movie.

At the left there is a counter with a sign 'Tea Station'. Ary goes over, but before she can speak the guy who stands there walks up to me with a big smile.

'Table for two?' he asks, completely ignoring Ary. I try to lock eyes with her, but she's just as stunned as I am.

'Uh, yes.'

The guy leads us to a table right by the front window, looking out over the square. He hands us two menus and after a quick scan I see they only serve tea and cake. And at the bottom, I read waffles.

'Two waffles for me, please,' I tell the waiter, and then turn to Ary. 'What would you like, honey?'

Ary presses her fingers in the sides of the menu, grabbing it tightly, but when she looks up she smiles. 'Just rosemary tea, thank you.'

When the waiter is gone, I lean over the table. 'He just walked right past you. What do you think it means?'

Ary looks out the window, in a way I expect her to sigh as well. 'Just as I thought. Nothing.'

'Nothing?'

She nods. 'I will not bother explaining it to you. When the waiter comes back, just ask him about the history of the town. And ask if he knows anyone named 'Doki'.'

I want to ask more about the waiter, but she thinks I'm too dumb to understand anyway. 'Who's that? A friend of yours?'

She rolls her eyes. Wow, we are a married couple. 'No, it is the first name of Kubo. Did you not know? Were you too busy eating sugary dough to pay attention to the world around you?'

I'm slowly regretting teaming up with her. She's not how I remember at all.

'What have you been doing these past four years?' I ask, and I try not to sound forced. She looks away from the window, wary.

'I've become the apprentice of a healing mage,' she says slowly. 'Porlyusica Grandine.'

I faintly remember hearing about her. Old woman, naggy. That explains a lot. Ary has turned into her master for sure.

'And you joined a guild, no?' she asks then, and sounds a lot nicer. 'Sabertooth?'

I nod. 'Yes, with Floyd and Tilly. We're a team.'

'Good for you.'

The waiter comes back with our orders.

'That was fast,' I say. The waiter gives me a strange look, but continues to smile.

'Really? We've got some new lacrimas installed recently, works like a charm for boiling water.' He puts the plate with my waffles in front of me. I see there's warmth coming off of them, but I can't smell it. Then I remember this is just a dream.

Damn. Perhaps I am that stupid. It's literally the last warning of the mask guy.

'Pardon me,' the waiter says, 'but may I ask where you folks are from?'

I glance at Ary, but she just blows in her full teacup, ignoring me. I'm on my own.

'Not from around here, obviously,' I say. Underneath the table, Ary gives me a kick. It surprises me she can even reach that far. It also doesn't hurt, but the message is clear.

'We are actually just married,' I say, gesturing to my fake wife. For the first time, the waiter actually looks at Ary.

'Oh, that's nice. Congratulations.'

Ary smiles. 'Thank you. We are very happy. Honey, ask him what I asked you.'

She actually means Ask him what I asked you to ask him. I don't even get the time to eat. Soon they'll be cold-

This is a dream. Remember, this is a dream.

'Yes,' I say, looking at the waiter, 'we were just wondering if you could tell us about, you know...the town, and stuff.'

Ary kicks me again, harder. I may have sounded like an idiot, but I did what she wanted.

The waiter doesn't notice. He places one hand under his chin, like when a cartoon character tries to think.

'You know, I never really thought of there being 'a history',' he says after a while. 'Everyone here just kind of...lives in the moment, you know?' He then starts laughing as if that's the best joke he ever told. I nervously laugh with him. What the hell is this guy saying?

'Honey,' Ary says, 'ask him the other thing. About the boy.'

The waiter seems to, for the first time, actually hear what she's saying. 'A boy? Are you looking for a boy?'

'Uh,' I say, and I swear my brain hasn't worked this hard in four years, 'yeah, just a story we heard...do you know someone named Doki?'

The waiter's laugh dims down, but becomes faker somehow. 'Doki? I think he comes around here sometimes. He mostly hangs around the bookshop in Sopperstreet. Why do you ask?'

I look at Ary, but she's still leaving me on my own. 'Oh, we, uh...we're related.'

The waiter blinks a few times, but doesn't change his expression. It's almost robotic. 'Really?'

Ary kicks me again, and this time it hurts. I bite my lower lip and nod. 'Uhu.'

The waiter lifts one eyebrow. 'So are you his uncle, or…?'

'Something like that.' Think, Greg, think. 'We've lost touch over the years-'

'Honey!' Ary says. 'I'd like some more tea.'

She places an empty teacup on her plate. I then notice there's a plant behind her, she probably ditched her drink in there.

'You heard the lady- I mean, my lovely wife,' I say to the waiter. He nods and leaves, back to the tea station. As soon as he has his back turned, Ary stands up.

'Where are you going?' I whisper, but she's already halfway out the door. The waiter then turns around.

'Everything alright, sir?'

I clear my throat. 'Yes, you know...the misses, she's...can we get that tea to go, please?'

I then realise I don't have any money, not dream money. I search in the pocket of my pants and find a wallet that is definitely not mine. But I still take some money out.

'Sir,' the waiter says, as I put it on the counter, 'that is way too much-'

'Keep the change,' I say, and I leave the stupid tea house, just in time to see Ary disappear in an alleyway. How the hell does she know where to go- oh, it says Sopperstreet just around the corner.

Just as I'm about to run, I realize this is still a dream town and I will look weird. So I awkwardly fast walk after Ary. Around the corner, there is the bookshop the waiter was talking about. At least, that's where Ary is standing in front of.

'Why did you keep kicking me?' I ask when I reach her. She doesn't respond, but enters the shop.

'Good day!' says a passerby, and I feel like giving him a kick. I follow Ary into the store. There is a loud bell hanging next to the door, which rings as soon as I enter. Everywhere I look there are piles with books. I haven't seen the insides of many book stores, but I know that usually there's more than one copy of the same book. Here, every pile is at least compiled of thirty different books. Imagine having to read all that.

'This is a nightmare,' I mumble.

'This is a dream,' Ary says, and I'm not sure if it's a response to what I said or not.

'You know what,' I say, 'I think we should see other people.'

There's some rumbling behind what I assume is the cash register, and behind it an old man with a bald spot in the middle of his head and a big mustache that covers his mouth and chin. He just skipped having a beard.

'Ah, good day!' he says, and he reminds me of a gnome. I then notice he's talking to Ary, not to me. It was just the waiter, then.

'Good day!' Ary says, very innocent. 'Do you perhaps have a copy of Eating Clouds?'

The man also has thick eyebrows, which he raises when he hears the title. I mean, I feel the same. I have never heard of that book. 'That old thing? You must be a collector.'

The old man walks around the counter, further back into the shop, where there are bookcases stacked to the ceiling. The man has to get a ladder to get to the top shelves.

'What the hell is that book?' I whisper to Ary.

'Just some forgotten draft of a nobody,' she says, 'it's just to keep him busy so we can look for Doki.'

She walks over to a table with piles of books and looks under it. I walk around the labyrinth of books, careful not to push anything over. It's difficult.

'I've got it right here, young lady!' the man says from his ladder. Ary and I quickly go back to the counter, as if nothing happened. The man carries a thick blue book with him, and as he walks he blows the dust off the cover. 'First print, original copy.' He places it on the counter and opens it to the first page. 'Oh no.'

We look at the first few pages. They're filled, or rather covered with children's drawings. I recognize a stick figure that's supposed to be a human and a brown blob that looks like a bear.

'I am very sorry,' the old man says, rubbing his bald spot. 'I have one regular costumer who enjoys books...but quite differently than they were meant to be enjoyed. I can take a look in the back-'

'Oh, it's fine,' says Ary, and places a hand on the book, 'I'll take it. I like it this way, it's different than the others.'

The man blinks a few times, struggling to believe it. 'Alright then. But only for half the price, otherwise I would feel bad.'

Ary smiles, and she almost looks pretty. 'I accept that.' Then she turns to look at me. 'Would you…?'

I pat my pockets for the wallet and then hand it to her.

A minute later we stand outside the shop again. Ary opens the book and looks intensely at the first few pages, the ones with the kid drawings.

'Is it interesting?' I ask. She closes the book.

'The story sounds exciting, the execution is bland and not very good, but I could forgive it. It was an allright read.'

She starts walking away. She keeps doing that.

'No, I mean the drawings,' I say when I walk next to her. We ignore the townsfolk who keep telling us to have a good day.

'Haven't you realized by now?' she asks, not in a very asking way. 'This is Kubo's dream, and in this dream he is a kid. This town is more like a memory, which is why the waiter doesn't know of any history. I think this book,' and she holds it up for a second, 'will help us find him.'

I stay quiet for a few seconds and let it all sink in. Ary sounds more like a teacher than a classmate of mine. There is so much I don't know about her.

'But is you asking for this book a coincidence, then?' I ask after a while. She stops walking and looks at me, frowning almost.

'Wow,' she says, 'I did not think you would figure that out. But no, it is not. I once saw the title in Kubo's office. It was on his desk, and looked pretty old. I assumed it was that way because he read it a lot and treasured it.'

'Good assumption, then.'

We continue walking down another alleyway, and I notice we're moving away from the town. But by now I realise that if I just let Ary do her thing, we'll be OK.

'They also had four copies of it in the library at school,' she says, 'and they did not have four of anything else.' She opens the book again, to the page with the brown blob. 'Just so you know, this is not a code or anything.'

She looks up and smiles at me.

'Don't tell me,' I say, 'that was an actual joke? From you?'

She turns back to the page. 'Maybe. You did not laugh, so perhaps not.'

'You tried.'

We arrive at the edge of the town, where the forest begins. Ary continues to walk, every now and then looking at the page. She's reading it as a map.

'Are we getting close?' I whisper. For some reason, it feels as if it should be nighttime, but it's still afternoon. I wonder if time passes differently around here.

Ary stops and looks at a tree in front of her. 'Depends on what you mean. Getting close to what?'

She turns a few pages, until she has found the drawing of the tree. We then continue. I try to look over her shoulder what the next point of reference will be, but it still looks like scribbles to me.

'How do you know what's what?' I ask. In her Ary-way, she kind of ignores me, but answers right when I'm about to repeat my question.

'I have a brother who likes to draw.'

I glance at the 'map' again. 'What, like a little brother?'

'No, he is twentyseven,' she says, 'but he has the mind of an eight-year-old.'

I stop. 'Oh. I didn't know that.'

'You never asked.' Ary looks up from the book, scans the area. 'We're here.'

'We're where?'

She points. At the end of the path we followed there is a pile of rocks, which forms a hill on its own, but definitely man-made. I guess a child could do it as well.

'Let's hide,' Ary says, and she grabs my hand. We crouch between some bushes. There is a hole leading into a dark space between the rocks, almost like a cave.

'Do you think this is where he lives?' I ask softly. Ary opens the book again and places it in her lap. She points at one drawing, of the brown blob and the stick figure and something that kind of resembles the cave.

'I think this is where the bear lives,' she says, 'which is why we should be careful.'

Right as she says it, we hear footsteps, and humming. We push ourselves against the ground, completely hidden from sight. I push some branches and leafs out of the way and take a look.

There is a little boy, whom I think is Kubo. Or Doki. He's wearing short pants and a blouse, almost like a school uniform. His hair is black and he looks oh so innocent.

He's humming a song and bobbing his head along with it. He's so caught up in it that he passes us. He goes straight for the cave, but doesn't enter.

Instead, he sits down on a rock not far from the entrance. He stops humming, places two pinky finger in the corner of his mouth and whistles.

There's rumbling coming from the cave.