The air was crisp, late autumn in Bosco along the southern coast of the Grass Sea was always beautiful, the usually balmy tropical heat giving way to temperatures where you could dress in long or short sleeves depending on your mood more than the weather and there were few storms or even clouds in the sky until after Christmas.

Dovewing was a pivotal small town feel city along the 3760 miles that made up that southern coast of the heart of Bosco. Placed almost in the middle of the long strip of land separating the freshwater Grass Sea from the Straight of Peligos that separated Bosco from Minstrel along her southern border, Dovewing was a trade center.

The city leaders had decided to let White Sea City about 70 miles to their West along the same shoreline be the travel and airship hub, keeping their skies clear and only allowing hovercraft and land based wagons and vehicles haul goods in and out, it allowed the clanspeople of the Grass Sea comfort, because few of the clans trusted the airships and often wouldn't trade in places where the skyports were built.

It made Dovewing the absolute best place to trade with the exotic Clanspeople and Lucy had needed Zens gentle grasp of her arm, tugging her back against his firm body and soft whisper.

"You do not offer to help, you do not acknowledge in any way how they move or the different way their bodies are muscled than ours, their posture, none of it, or you could get a knife in your chest. It is considered honorable and desirable how they are, they are the last who live the way all Boscans started, people of the heart of this Country, still in tune with Boscos soul." Zen whispered.

Wide eyed, Lucy nodded to him, catching Hestors warning look. She had watched an older woman seeming to stagger, her body held at odd angles as she walked in a strange shuffling pace. Clan tattoos even glowed under the skin of her face and half her head was shaved, the other worn in a long dark braid threaded with feathers and gems. Cranes decorated her everywhere…

"She is of Clan Wyress, and an elder...hold your hand so…" Hestor showed her, holding his left hand out to his side, palm forward as he tipped his chin down. The woman acknowledged him, returning the gesture and motioned for him to look at her wares...various bundles of dried plants and feathers.

Smiling, Hestor made a few selections and paid, bowing again like before.

Lucy made the decision to watch Hestor and Zen as they went through the bustling streets of the market and trade center of the city before she finally worked of the courage to try herself when she spotted a trio of Clanspeople selling beautiful hand dipped candles that smelled amazing.

Zen smiled, guided her gently and she was walking alongside him a little bit later clutching a box with several of the beautiful candles.

"I'm loving this, I'm so glad you invited me along." She said. Hestor smiled faintly. While he detested the fact a Celestial summoner had, until this month, had zero formal training and no help at all learning about her magic, forced the sort of...fly by the seat of her ass...at leat that had come to light and he'd been in a position to help...maybe with some minor encouragement from key individuals...but that wasn't her nor there, the bottom line was, he was making sure one of the few Celestial Mages left wasn't roaming the countryside willy nilly contracting any damned key they came across without knowing how to fully research them and make educated decisions.

Maybe Lucy had not been unintelligent about all of her selections...only a minor slip up jumping the gun contracting a dark key that wasn't a good match for her, but...that was why they were out doing this.

He and Zen already had a good raport, and had been key hunting more than few times now. Archangels had a strong sense for Keys, like bloodhounds in a way, could sense them at greater distances than even Hestor and Lucy, two pretty strong Celestial mages in their own rights could.

The trips were always productive, and Hestor had a loose agreement with Zen that they would go every 3-4 months as their schedules allowed.

It was a great arrangement for him, it got Zen and him working together and a chance to push each others magic without Kalebs having any influence. Now, with Lucy in the mix, Zen was distracted by the pull of a second Celestial mages magic working and had to focus more and, Hestor was hoping they found a few keys, at least one or two Lucy could contract.

Then he could walk her through the way he'd been taught and maybe prevent his fellow from rattling another Celestial spirit she wasn't compatible with. Gods knew he certainly wasn't compatible with all of them either, no mage was. It astounded him that Lucy had just...never been taught that, she was honestly very lucky to still be alive. Celestial mages died OFTEN going through key trials or when they tried to contract a spirit too strong or too conflicting with their magic set. There had been a young one in Bellum when Hestor was still young who had contracted a poisonous spirit that had leaked fumes from it's key because her magic hadn't been strong enough to fully keep it's gate stable, the girl had died three days after contracting the spirit, and her parents hadn't been well either, had admitted they'd had no idea what kind of spirit it was, the...key had been pretty….

Purchases weighing them down, since Zens family had given him a pretty decent list of requests of things they wanted him to look for, Hestor had Corvus deliver everything, the Raven finding the task humorous and giving Lucy a wink before he disapeared heavily laden with bags and boxes and they rested that night at the Inn before leaving in the early morning. Since Lucy had a horse, Hestor rented one from the stable in Dovewing, surprising the Blonde with actually being pretty decent in the saddle.

"Arman has horses and where I grew up they kept them so we could move quickly up and down the beaches in case it was decided a dive area was not safe to use." He explained and as they rode, Zen flew out ahead of them scouting for keys and...Lucy got to talk with Hestor.

Astride a horse, with guiding the animal along and the beautiful weather and breeze off the Sea seeming to really relax the usually somewhat tense man, Hestor was actually, pleasant company.

He was articulate, observant, intuitive and, shared her love for their magic, the stars, celestial spirits...for the first time since she'd met the man, she could actually see why Kaleb loved him so much and it wasn't magic compulsion, she got a little view of the Hestor without the prickly, tart tongued defensiveness. She knew now from time with Bickslow that having "The One" just...freed you. She could talk about anything, when Bickslow asked her how something felt to her or what she thought or just how her day was, she could open up, even about her spirits, talk to him about everything and there was no little snap from her magic to shut her up and observe Celestial rules about keeping confidences and such.

"The sex is better too." Hestor said suddenly and Lucy made a strangled sound in surprise getting an arched silver brow and smirk from Hestor. He smiled, a real one too, looking ahead and watching his horses head bob as it walked.

""You have to have noticed, the bond of the One, it enhances everything you feel, I mean, I can't speak for your mating bond, Bickslow isn't and Archangel mage so I'm sure the feedback through that bond may not be totally what I get...but...I can make Kaleb move…" He smirked, his look purely lust and predator that had Lucy gaping.

"M...move huh?"

"There are the big dramatic pulls of course, I can move him to my side, or to an enemy or away from one, but...I can also use more precise magical pushes to get what I want in bed too, everything already feels better than it did with other lovers before him and since plus...I have more...input in how he reacts and responds…" He purred and Lucy blinked.

"I...well...I haven't been with many people...Vander was my first then Bickslow...that's...it. The first time with Bickslow...the first time we were together we mated and...it's been amazing better than Vander but I couldn't say...too much…" She blushed, not believing she was having this conversation, especially with Hestor.

Hestor chuckled, waving a hand. "Vander was a prodigy of the Sudehpah order, to say he's skilled in bed would be an understatement, the man's creative, intuitive, responsive and has stamina for fucking days so the comparison might have a lesser gap for you, but I can tell you...for me? It's much better...and I've had Vander…" He chuckled.

Lucy smirked "I think everyone I've met has had him…"

"At least once in some way" Hestor smiled.

They kept talking, Hestors eyes lifting sometimes and she would look up to try and see if Zen were there and each time she could far in the distance see the black wings.

"We may not find anything for a couple of days, Kaleb and I went up this way after the Market festival last spring." Hestor observed and Lucy shrugged, smiling.

"I'm in no hurry." She said brightly and Hestor nodded.

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Erza sat picking at the fluffy pink frosting wrapped around what was, honestly? A delectable piece of cake, masterful even to her discerning palate. Evergreen smiled sympathetically and patted the redheads shoulder as she walked past her out onto the large wooden deck on the back of the Pradesh home, headin for the beach. She felt for Erza, she did, but it was gorgeous outside and some of the mages from White Sea had come over for a barbeque and beach volleyball and she really, badly, needed to rest on a lounge chair with the cocktail in her hand and feast her eyes.

Freed was standing beside the lounge he'd planned to sit in, frozen staring and she smirked, taking pity on him and smacking him with her fan to jumpstart him before anyone noticed him gawking to the point he was nearly drooling.

He jumped and gave her a wide eyed look before blushing.

"Thank you…" He said quietly, sitting and Evergreen was going to make some sort of comment but first made the mistake of looking at the impromptu Volleyball area set up in the shallows right along the shore., just as Presca was jumping to spike the ball, coming out of the water, his chocolate colored hair sticking to his tanned skin, muscle flexing as his body arched then hammered the ball.

The last few weeks she seemed to be running into him a lot. With Vander out on the island, he was electing to stay in Pelerno so he could keep up with what was happening with his best friend. Every time everyone got together for the weekly Corvus update, he was there, and he'd been at the guild, playing chess and cards, training and relaxing at the guild bath house.

He had other friends, including all of Vanders brothers and Kalebs team, but he still seemed a little at loose ends without Vander there. Right then though...all he was...was mouthwatering.

As he came back down into the water she watched the water splash over him, running over the deeply tanned skin, curving through the well cut indentations around hard bulges of muscle and his white teeth gleaming as he grinned, steel eyes predatory and competitive as the mages moved the ball back and forth over the net.

4 on 4, Farron, King Nuryev, Rowan and Emzadi versus Cristoff, Beck, Arman and Presca. Admittedly, it wa a little odd having a King playing beach vollyball maybe in most peoples back yards, but in Armans? Well, a Dragon had lived there, why wouldn't a King play beach sports there?

The cutest thing was "The two Thanes" Kalebs aid and Nuryevs had both blinked at each other upon learning they had the same name, just spelled a little different, and while his King was playing vollyball, Thain was sitting learning the intricacies of Thanes l-tablet scheduling system that Kaleb had designed for him to keep up with the busy Guildmaster. And while Kaleb certainly didn't have the obligations of the King of Seven? Thanes L-tablet put the Kings aids current system to shame.

Since Kaleb had...neatly, sidestepped meeting the King so far, this time by leaving with Bickslow to go join up with Hestor, Lucy and Zen on their key hunting trip, he'd given King Nuryev the brand new prototype of his L-tablet system decked out with the software Thane used. The King hadn't been entirely amused, but, with the promise they would return in a week and meetings and a conference to attend, Nuryev was right now just grateful Farron had slipped him a note after the session today with a brief message. "If you would like some less conventional relaxation, go to my aid."

Having no idea what it might mean, but, considering the last time Farron had relaxed him it had more than been worth his time he'd found the aid and been escorted to a waiting car that had brought him to the )Pradesh family home. Arman had greeted him and he'd frankly been stunned seeing the man in swim shorts instead of a suit.

All in all, it had been one of the best days, after the sessions were over, that he'd had in a long time. Laughing, drinking, eating home made food swimming in the Grass Sea, and now playing volleyball, he was smiling and relaxed and very glad he'd gone. Especially right now...watching 6 feet worth of curvaceous blonde in a tiny red bikini jumping around in the water…

Emzadi Pradesh was...stunning.

"You two! Get off those lounges and come out here!" Arman called. Evergreen and Freed both blinked owl eyed.

Arman narrowed his eyes, Cristoff and Presca coming alongside him.

"I mean it, come out here and play! I'm not offering terms, I expect obedience... Don't make us come get you…" He added the last with a smile that sent a chill through both mages and they all sat motionless, Evergreen felt Freed tense, and though no look was exchanged...she knew immediately what they were going to do…

Emzadi purred, tensing, and when Freed and Evergreen broke and ran for it, Presca, Emzadi, Cristoff and Beck raced out of the water after them, the rest laughing and cheering and heading for the large cooler for drinks.

The game of "hide and seek" that ensued turned into a longer affair than any had expected, Cristoff emerging from trees hefting a petrified statue that...was Beck, laughing as he set it down on the deck where Rowan circled it and started putting flower vines all over it. "I want to see his face when he comes out of this spell.." The green mage snorted.

"Come to think of it...Rowan…" Cristoff said, rising to his full height and narrowing his eyes on the mage.

"You haven't gotten wet yet…"

"Cristoff...I was talking to Mr. Elan about recipes with Strawberries…" the green mage said, edging away and narrowing his emerald eyes.

The slayer crouched, stalking toward him "Yeah...not good enough…"

Vines shot off Becks statue and tangled the slayers legs as Rowan shot off the deck at high speed. Cristoff snarled, clawing the vines away and raced after him as Arman and Nuryev laughed.

It was edging into evening, and the sun had reached a low point where now it colored the sky more than lighting it. Evergreen slipped around some trees, smiling, in a few minutes she'd decided she would use her wings and fly back to the house, dodging anyone stalking the forested area she'd run off into.

She had stopped Cristoff from catching her by petrfying Beck, and knew Rowan had been stirring up all sorts of hell, she'd seen Cristoff and Freed both running from some sapling trees that had pulled up roots and were running them down whipping them.

She had also been sure Freed got caught...saplings dragging the cursing mage into some dense foliage where she saw Rowan go a few minutes before some throaty moans started. Rowan was always up for fun, and he'd been eying Freed a lot since Hestor, once one of his favorite playmates, had mated with Kaleb and all but completely stopped going to him for sessions.

Emzadi had filled her in on all the juicy stories about the green mage and White Seas celestial mage, though Rowan seemed to have several regular lovers. Freed though...as much as he loved men, the man was slow to unwind and that was one of the reasons he was still single, as far as Evergreen was concerned anyway.

No, she would fly back, leave Freed to his...she smirked, seeing Cristoff make his way into that dense cluster of foliage...oh Freed was going to be SO tired she thought, chuckling silently. She was happy for him though, maybe with Rowans help he'd relax enough to enjoy the two Boscans, Gods knew Freed had a weakness for big burly men, and Cristoff? He checked off everything Evergreen knew was on Freeds list of things that made the rune mage forget his rules.

"You boys lay my friend good." She whispered with a smile, starting to retreat to where she could get a clear shot at the sky and fly back.

"And what about you?" The deep voice made her gap and whirl, eyes flaring with magic but she saw the retreat of her finder behind a tree before her magic could catch him.

"Nuh uh, don't think so...I've taken on a few fairy mages..no turnin me to stone Evergreen" He chuckled, and stepped out, the light off the sea rippled over him so if the voice didn't give him away, the softly blowing dark hair and steel colored eyes did.

"Presca...it's been two hours, you can't mean to drag me to the beach for volleyball still. She said.

"No, I won't drag you to play volleyball...caught you fair and square and you were the last one hiding…" He smiled.

Something about the statement struck her, the sad story of the kid hiding and never getting found, all the other kids giving up and leaving them because they hid too well...it was damn near the story of her own fucking life…

At her expression Prescas grin fell, he wasn't witty like Vander when it came to talking to people, often had no idea what to say at times and tended to fall back on silence when that happened, but he didn't think he'd said anything bad...yet she was frowning looking almost sad…

This was why he let Vander do the talking and distraction work for the most part while he broke locks and stole things or slit the correct throats. It wasn't that he wasn't sharp, he was, he just...wasn't great at saying the right things, wasn't smooth, too blunt and straight forward.

Evergreen made him nervous too, beautiful, sharp and clearly cunning, he'd heard Bickslow tell stories about her that made it clear she was a strong and willfully opinionated woman who knew who she was. She was feminin, something often lacking in working mages, but she carried it better than most who made the effort, far better. His Gwen had been a soft woman, feminin, always in dresses, always took time for her hair and nails, she was weak for mage, used a very watered down version of Rowans green magic, able to help plants stay healthy and bear nice flowers fruits and vegetables in their little garden.

He'd not cared she lacked power, he loved her because she was smart, bright, knew what she liked and wanted and he'd been so happy one of the things she'd always wanted most..was him. His parents and hers had tried to talk them out of marrying so young, but in the end had supported their choices, their fathers spending time helping Presca fix up the run down cottage he'd managed to buy by working his ass off.

Hi efforts to make a home for them had ultimately been their undoing, taking mage work outside of Cellis had brought him onto the steel councils radar and well...now here he was...a widower and father to a dead child and he wa only 24.

Vander had kept him from ending it, the Pradesh family as a whole had brought him back to life, helped him smile and laugh again, though he still had moments when he missed his wife and daughter so much he couldn't breathe.

Gwen would have wanted him to move on...she wouldn't have wanted him to spend his life grieving her. He loved Bosco, but the freedom sometimes chafed a little. He was spoiled, he knew it, he'd been in love with Gwen before they had slept together...now it was early in that, and he'd long since inducted before her, and she had before him, but...both had only been with their induction partners before they were with each other, neither had done what alot of youths did and gone a little wild for while.

It was why Gwen hadn't been on birth control, she'd not been active so her parents didn't force it...so..at 16...she'd had their daughter...2 months after they were married. Young yes, but the love had been real, he'd meant to be a good husband and father and wanted to believe he would have been, had the steel council not taken him the following year.

He'd lost them, his precious young family, to Grendace and the Bloodhunters.

The life he had now was a good one though. His cousin was away in Minstrel, the last of his family, the council had killed everyone else keeping Presca under their heel. He worked, pent time with Vander and his family, and, more and more...hoped to find someone again. He wanted what he had started with Gwen again.

Evergreen reminded him of that, he wa starting, after weeks in her company, to realise why. She wasn't like Gwen in big ways, decidedly her own person, but the dresses, nails, her refusal to be anything but graceful. While she would throw down and kick ass like the mage she was, when she didn't have to be doing that, she wanted to be treated like a lady, wanted to act like one, shop and pout and she seemed to seek pampering, though her teammates really didn't give it to her, he'd seen the eyerolls and gentle teasing...and not so gentle teasing. Freed was the most indulgent of her, Laxus and Bickslow he had seen just snort and laugh at some of her little efforts, like giving them chances to hold doors for her and such.

She took it in stride though, didn't get mad...no...she got even. Bickslow had spent weeks in hell with Erza chasing him around and Freed? Well...because Freed was kinder, he'd seen Evergreen send the little burst of magic that had clued Rowan in on where Freed was, had seen her do the same to Cristoff. So the wicked threesome going on a little ways off was her doing.

He shuddered to think how she got Laxus, but he was sure she did.

"Walk you back?" He offered then and she blinked at him but after a moment she smiled and nodded, and they made their way from the woods to the beach to make the walk easier. They had actually come out pretty far onto the Pradesh property, the far side of the swimming lagoon the family sometimes retreated to.

They walked quietly for a bit then Presca drew a breath. "That was a nice thing you did, I've seen Freed watching everyone, seems too shy to ask." He said.

Evergreen had been walking along trying not to ogle the man beside her, he was still in nothing but swimshorts and the lights off the Sea played over his skin adding to what was already a really appealing picture. Emzadi and Xally both went on about how much they wanted him, though it seemed to have become more of a question of who got him first than actually having the man himself in their beds.

She didn't care about competitions, if she'd wanted a stunning man she'd never have dated Elfman, he was sweet and certainly had a hell of a body, but Elfman wasn't the king of man who made women trip and run into things. Presca could be, but he leaned toward modest clothes, subtle colors and didn't wear a lot of jewelry, that was something she did like about Boscan men, they did wear jewelry and not just chains or rings.

Arm bands, bracelets, necklaces of all types, intricate earrings attached to beautiful hair pieces because a lot of the men wore their hair traditionally long so the country had a wealth of well designed hair accessories for both men and women in most markets.

That thought had taken her to contemplating the silver artfully crafted wire piece that held Prescas hair. She'd seen Kaleb wearing something similar, and Hestor...Gods, that man had style, he had one that threaded into his hair when he braided it and held the braid even in water or high winds and it had tiny shells and deep purple amethysts woven into the delicate metal and he'd woven Kalebs long hair into a gorgeous ponytail wrap Evergreen had almost asked about.

Evergreen blinked realizing he'd said something and tipped her chin up "Yes, well, Freed is like a brother and I've seen him suffer for his preferences, I kind liked how that turned out though, he'll be happy." She said and Presca chuckled.

"Rowan and Cristoff won't let him be anything but."

"I hope so, Freed goes...ages, between his little romances, and just hasn't had any luck on a long time." She said, having no idea why she was telling Presca this, but talking about Freed was easy and distracted her from staring at the energy mage. She needed to hook up with another guy about as much as she needed to take a cheese grater to her perfectly manicured nails, no...Elfman was still...fresh...and she just lacked whatever sense she needed to pick a guy that would treat her the way she needed to be treated.

"He comes every year for a vacation, I've seen him at the house, he does use the bath house Arman prefers too, Vander has friends from the Sudehpah who moonlight at that one, it's very good." Presca was saying.

"Oh? Go there often?" Evergreen asked and Presca shrugged

"Not as often as others I suppose, but I do go there, I have a couple of prefered attendants I like." He said lightly. One thing Evergreen had come to enjoy, the frank zero modesty way Boscans discussed sex and relationships.

They walked to the house, Presca stepping ahead and opening the sliding door for her...something that brought pink to her cheeks...usually with her team she was lucky if they didn't slam the door in her face for shits and giggles...when she thought about it, she couldn't even remember the last time a man had opened a door for her...she liked it though.