Might not update nexts week because traveling for thanksgiving
XXX
People at Fairy Tail were pretty chill about the whole I-just-got-slightly-doused-with-acid-thing.
Gisela had expected comments or something in the days she spent in the guild after her involuntary spritz via sarlic.
Maybe some comments about how she should have been more careful or that she had caused way to much damage because she wasn't a member of Fairy Tail and she needed to find a new way to pay off what she owed them.
But no one even mentioned what she owed them. No one mentioned the cost of seeing Porlyusica again or the hospital that Gisela could vaguely remember staying in right after her team had managed to dig her out of the cliff face.
Something. Some sort of comment or demand or recrimination. Something that she should have done better, that she could have done better.
There was always something like that.
But.
But this time there was not.
There was nothing really. Just people offering her bandages to replace the ones she had wrapped her arms in when they got dirty or getting Mickey to tell the story, even if the mage told it funny. According to her Gisela had purposely jumped in front of Mickey.
Gisle was pretty sure it didn't happen that way but when ever she tried to clarify Mickey would stick a hand over her mouth while Pi-chan chipped "deny, deny, deny" surprisingly loudly for a bird of his size.
So that was out.
And jokes about the face mask, through thankfully that was gone after the first day. Something about magic healing the most risky parts first. Gisela had asked Mickey about it but had just gotten a shrug in return.
"Wendy would've known, she was a smart brat like that".
Gisela thought she remembered Wendy, blue hair and sky dragon magic. She had been a good kid.
Better than I was.
Gisela pushed that thought away. She was going to live. "Was she?". Maybe Wendy had secretly been a gremlin child. Was there even a guarantee that the people who she had read about would be the same in real life?
"She was".
"Sorry". It felt like she would never stop saying that. Gisela knew that she had made her choices and they were the right ones, it wasn't like they could even do anything even if her seventeen, had it really been that long?, years old memories were correct.
"Why?".
"It just sucks when you miss people".
Mickey looked distant for a second before grinning. Gisela did not like that grin, she was pretty sure it did not bode well for her.
"You know what will cheer us up?".
"What?". Now Gisela was definitely afraid. There were far to many teeth in that smile.
"Another mission".
"I'm still a mess from the last one", Gisela said, raising her still bandaged arms as a reminder.
Mickey still for a moment before darting back over to the message board. "Don't worry", she called over her shoulder, "I'll find something easy this time".
"Worry, worry", Pi-chan echoed, yet again giving Gisela a bad feeling.
"Actually I think", a voice faded out for a moment before rising in pitch and speed "I have something", a new voice called out.
"In Magnolia?".
"What do you think", this time the voice was high and clear, sharp as a girl with sleepy eyes and a cat hat pushed herself off one of the side couches.
"Right, what's the job?".
"Geese".
"Geese?".
"Yeah. You have a bird so I figured that we could work together on this, neither of us having standing teams either. Cloud girl can come as well".
"Are you sure?". Gisela was pretty sure that this was the first time she had seen Mickey nervous.
"Yeah. Apparently migration patterns were thrown off by the chaos and are still settling so we have about twice the geese in the square then we normally do. They need someone to go shoue them off so the geese don't come back later". Chico said the whole thing in an odd lilting voice this time. Gisela had the feeling that vocal changes were going to be a thing with this girl.
"Why can't they do it themselves,'' Mickey demanded as she grabbed the paper out of Chico's hands. "Are you sure this is a good job?".
"How hard can it be?", Chico said with a shrug before her speech slowed once more. It was like watching a disaster in slow motion and she couldn't get the courage to speak up and stop it, "it's just birds".
It was not 'just birds'. "Just birds" would have been sparrows flying off when they were nudged. It would have been quick, easy, simple.
Most of it should have been painless. This was not painless.
Gisela regretted everything.
If there had ever been a moment where Gisela had wished that she wasn't right. That the birds would be fine and safe and quick- then this would be the moment.
Unfortunately she had to actually be right for once. Right when she didn't want to be.
Typical.
Gisela curled up in a ball, trying to become as small as possible. Flying was futile, she had already tried that.
She had tried running too.
Neither of them had worked. She had just been a moving target, something for them to chase after. Hiding was the only option.
The ground was cool and soothing on the number of sore, aching spots she had gotten from the vicious pecking that she had just had to endure, a result of her failure to get away.
It was slightly damp too and Gisela could feel the chill leaching through her clothes to make her colder and colder.
It didn't matter, anywhere was safer than the open, just waiting to be attacked.
There was just one thing that stopped her from enjoying the quiet safety from the dangerous animals that had gone at them with wild abandon.
She didn't know where Mickey and Chico were, if they had found a safe place or at this very moment were dying the death of one thousand pecks.
Gisela had known that geese had teeth. That didn't change the fact that she could have happily gone both her lives without experiencing them first hand.
She looked at her hand, it was bleeding sluggishly from one particularly deep bite.
Were Mickey and Chico experiencing the same thing?
Did I leave them to face the gaggle alone?
She wanted to chance a glance around. To make sure she was safe from the oncoming threat.
Gisela couldn't risk it.
Instead she listened, trying to see if Mickey or Chico- her other partner for this "quick job", were around.
It was Chico's fault that they were on this job in the first place, even if Gisela knew that she was in no place to blame anyone else for making a mistake.
Not after her cloud walls, their first attempt and corralling the monstrous nightmares had been ripped to pieces by hundreds of unfeeling, vicious pecks.
If she had been able to hold the wall, or remember just how good geese were at flying, then maybe they would have been fine.
As it was all they had left was the power of positive thoughts.
I'm going to be okay.
A honk rang out.
She didn't even look back as she rolled, trying to get away from the beasts forcely beating wings and hissing calls.
All Gisela could do was keep moving as it charged at her, again and again.
They're herding us! It hit her as she saw Mickey and Chico moving as well, their clothes covered in rips, a framillar light of fear in their eyes as they met.
They were going to be surrounded. Surrounded by the greatest terrors that Gisela had even seen, Before Earthland or not.
Geese.
Magical ones.
How else could Gisela explain the horrifying light of intelligence in the gaggle leaders eyes as she got ever closer to her job partners. This had been planned.
Geese were evil.
Not that she didn't already know that. Before they had always chased her, it didn't matter where she was or what time of day it was.
It could have been noon like it was currently.
It didn't matter, anywhere that Gisela and a goose were, the goose would attack.
They were honking in unison now as they marched closer, the waddles that should have been funny were actually terrifying.
This was not something Gisela had ever dreamed she would experience. It was somehow worse than when she had been pulled into the sarlic- at least she had not had the time to think then.
Now the geese were giving them that time, savoring the fear with every step they took forward, the slightly frosted grass crackling beneath them.
Gisela could see people looking out their windows and peeking out their doors. She hoped they weren't traumatised by what they were about to see.
"Any plans".
"Can you talk to them Mickey?", Chico asked, voice somehow low and desperate at the same time.
"I already tried".
"And?". Gisela needed to know. Fast.
"You don't want to know what they said".
Mickey was probably right about that, it didn't matter because Gisela had the feeling that she would be finding out just what they would do first hand.
Her magic sparked beneath her skin.
They were even closer.
"Do we fight back", Chico asked, tensely.
"Are you ready too?", Mickey asked, glancing over.
Randomly it hit Gisela that she actually didn't know what Chico's magic was. It was like everyone had taken it for granted that Gisela would know so no one told her.
It didn't matter through, there was nothing that could save them.
Should I tell them that? Gisela wasn't sure if showing any more weakness was a good thing, maybe they could bluff their way out?
The geese just came closer.
Gisela braced for impact.
Then the wisps arrived. They flowed up from the ground to fight back against the oncoming hoard.
They were grey and foggy and sent chills up Gisela's back.
They looked like ghost. Real ones, not like she had heard of in horror stories or rumors.
They are protecting us. Gisela reminded herself.
It still didn't look like it was quite enough, the geese were struggling viciously against the spirit holds, Gisela was pretty sure she saw some of them flinching away from the beasts.
Not that she blamed them. Whatever magic these geese had on top of their normal gooselyness was dangerous.
She kept her muscles tense, waiting for the first goose to break free of the spirits.
Then wood started to burst from the trees, rising out and grabbing hold, a cacophony of honks filling the air.
Gisela glanced at Chico, trying to figure out which magic was she was using. Or what the magic even was.
We are safe from the geese.
That was the important part.
"Heard you guys were experimenting with a new type of tourture", a women with purple hair shouted as she walked out from between the trees.
"Thanks for the save Laki", Chico called.
"What took you so long with the souls", Laki, called back.
Gisela felt a shiver going down her back at the word. Nothing had happened to her.
The idea of souls still made her uneasy.
"I stepped out of the city,'' Chico said bluntly, yawning.
"Right".
"Okay. Okay". Pi-chan choursued.
The geese were still struggling, Gisela could hear the wood creaking. "Um, guys", Gisela said.
"Right", Laki said, "Wood make: cages,'' she announced. "There no spikes in them".
"I think thats animal cruelty", Mickey pointed out.
"Point. Well if you've finished playing with them we should get to work dragging the wood".
That part at least was easy, all they did was load up the goose boxes onto one of Gisela's clouds and direct it out.
The only bad part was that Gisela had to be near them. That and the honking.
If Gisela ever had to hear another honk it would be to soon. Way to soon.
Gisela kept herself still as she watched Mickey haggled with the thin, weeding old person who had given them the job, pointing out that the threat level of the geese had been way under leveled.
Gisela totally agreed, she ached all over, not to mention that various rips to her clothes from the bites and claws.
She was mostly surprised that she hadn't broken her nose or something like that. It would have fit her track record for recent missions.
"-did it", Mickey was saying as she held out her hand. The old person, Gisela probably should have asked their name or something, huffed and slapped a card down.
"Do I get the jewels?", Laki asked as the exited, Mickey grinning from ear to ear.
"Yeah. How'd you know to come?", Mickey demanded.
"I was in the area".
"How did seeing your family go?", Mickey asked. "I know you haven't been able to make it back for a bit".
Laki was quiet for a moment before grinning, "Aki and Aiko are trying to learn magic now, apparently they were inspired by this cloud mage that came through a couple years ago"
"Aki and Aiko?", Gisela had to ask, "are they part of the Oaken Paths Caravan?".
"Yeah", Laki said, turning to face Gisela as they walked, "how'd you know?".
"I'm Gisela", she said tripping over her words. "About two years ago I worked as a caravan guard with the Oaken Paths Caravan".
Laki's whole face seemed to brighten for a moment, "you taught them to meditate?".
Gisela felt her palms growing sweaty, did I do something wrong? "Sort of. I told them the basics and then the job was over".
"They stuck with it. I gave them some pointers as well, they might be pretty close".
"Is that okay?", Gisela hoped that she kept the worry from her tone, the last thing that she wanted to do was mess up more kids like she had been messed up.
"My aunt and uncle are chill with it, told me they'd send them down for practice with me if need be".
"They're not mad?". She needed to know. They had been so nice and Gisela knew that not all parents wanted their kids learning magic and she didn't want to mess things up or intud she had just wanted the kids to not bother her and it was what she could think of and-
"Why would they be? We have other family who can take over the caravan if they choose to work with a guild and magic is awesome".
"Oh", that was good. Not being mad was good. Gisela looked at the paving beneath her feet, then she looked back at Laki.
It was on the tip of her tongue.
Should I?
She wanted to know. "Do you think they will make it down?". Aki and Aiko had been sweet, terrifying in the way that young children were, but sweet.
She had wanted them to be okay.
"It'd be nice".
They were back in the guild hall.
"Heard you took the goose job", one member whose name Gisela did know called out.
"Yeah". There was definitely wariness in Mickey's tone. Gisela could tell that at least, it made something in her stomach clench.
"How'd it go. Did old whats-their-name pay up?".
"He did actually".
"Oh really".
Apparently that was enough for Mickey to engage in a flying tackle hurtling into the random guy.
Gisela and tried not to rub her aching shoulder. She knew all too well how that felt.
Someone was poking her. It was all Gisela could do not to jump in surprise.
"Come on", Laki said with an easy grin, "move those feet and let's put our butts in the chairs".
"Okay", Gisela agreed, trying to keep the hesitance out of her voice.
"You do want to hear more about Aki and Aiko, right?".
"Yeah". Gisela had been playing with heading back up to see them, it was really just luck and time that had had her working at Fairy Tail for the time being, for some reason that gave her an odd wistful feeling.
She shook it off, shruging at the curious look Laki gave her.
"So I do have one question, I know you fought but there was one other girl as well, Kagura, is she okay?".
Gisela felt her tongue lock up, a leaden weight dragging her body down. I made the right choice.
"Is she".
Oh. Oh.
That was bad too, very bad. "No", Gisela blurted out, letting her mouth just run for once, "Kagura is fine, she just joined Mermaid Heel instead and I didn't like it there so I wanted to leave and then we got into a fight and I realized some things and I just sort of kept going and now I'm here and-", and she should stop talking.
Laki had an awkward look on her face that just contributed to the pit in Gisela's stomach. "Sorry", Gisela muttered as she looked back down at the scarred wooden table.
"You've got a story, that's nothing new here", Laki said with an easy shrug, "we all have something we are running from or an itch in our veins. It's our magic, our choices in the future that matter".
Something tugged in her chest. The world felt too heavy for a second, "so about Aki and Aiko, do you have any funny stories about them".
She needed something to lighten the mood, it had gotten to be just a little too much.
Laki grinned, the expression lighting up her face as she described the various mishaps that the twins had gotten into.
It felt nice, like the events and Gisela hadn't permanently traumatised them.
The conversation had just turned back to wondering if the twins would make their way down, Gisela trying not to be wistful because she didn't know how long she was going to be working with Fairy Tail for, when a voice interrupted.
"Why would anyone even want to come here?".
Gisela looked, seeing the girl from a bit ago as she grasped wildly for her name.
Mio. It was Mio.
Was Mio insulting Fairy Tail?
Gisela felt frozen. What was she supposed to do about that?