Author's note:
Hello once again! We begin Fenris and Kalea's job today and, with that, some really important progression in their story arcs. I will warn people that, near the end of this chapter, there are some inappropriate language not really suited for the T rating of this story. Not enough to change the rating, but I just wanted to give everyone forewarning.
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. That privilege belongs to Hiro Mashima
As Fenris exited the train, he gazed around at the small village. Even though Balsam Village was only a few hours away from Magnolia, he had never been there before. There were no large buildings like Magnolia had, rather many smaller buildings, most of which seemed like businesses. There were numerous restaurants, the biggest of which was the Super Express Restaurant. Natsu had told him about this place, being one of Natsu's favorite restaurants.
There was a massage parlor, a salon, a magical card shop, and countless other places. Fenris couldn't believe they could fit everything in such a small area. They were all situated on a river that split the town in two, with businesses on one side and what appeared to be houses on the other. As Fenris continued staring around, he noticed Kalea had already started walking towards where he assumed their hotel was.
"Hey Kalea wait up!" he shouted after her. He hurriedly caught up with her, Faelen bounding after them once he was done sniffing around the river bank.
"Do you know where the hotel is?" he asked her, slowing down to match her stride.
"Yes," she said, rather curtly.
Caught off guard by her tone, he asked, "I-what's wrong?"
"Nothing," she said.
Recognizing the signs, Fenris realized she was starting to shut herself off again. But why? They were getting along fine just moments before. What changed between the train ride and now? Knowing what she most needed was time, Fenris decided to let it go for now. He'd broach the topic again in the morning if she was still acting this way.
The walk to the hotel was spent in silence after that, the only noise coming from Faelen, who was still sniffing everything he could around the river. The town was strangely silent, even though it was still early evening. Fenris found it strange that all the businesses seemed to be closed already, it wasn't even dark out yet. His sense of uneasiness only worsened as they made their way deeper into town. He sensed something was off.
When they finally reached the hotel, they were greeted by the front desk clerk and checked in. Fenris could tell he was on edge as they exchanged pleasantries, almost seeming relieved as he handed the keys and they walked away. Kalea didn't say a word during their exchange, letting Fenris do all the talking.
As they entered their room, she immediately went to the bathroom and closed the door, the lock clicking moments later. Sighing, Fenris threw his bag onto the floor and went through it, taking Faelen's travel bowl out and filling it with water. Once Faelen was situated, he plopped down onto the couch. Before they had arrived, he was excited to get something to eat. Now he didn't think he could stomach anything.
When Faelen was finished, he jumped up onto the couch, knocking the breath out of Fenris, who was deep in thought. Groaning, he stroked Faelen's head as he drifted off, whining a little as he began dreaming. Slightly jealous of how easy his friend could fall asleep, Fenris continued stroking his fur, worried about what was to come tomorrow.
He heard the bathroom door open and glanced over, seeing Kalea silently get into bed and roll onto her side, facing away from Fenris towards the window. He still had no idea what he said to push Kalea away again, he just hoped it wouldn't last too long. Things were going so well between them lately, he couldn't understand how she had gotten like this again.
She can be so damn temperamental,he thought, before immediately shaking his head. He shouldn't think like that. He knew why she was like this. Her parents had broken her. They had tortured her. A child shouldn't need to go through what she did.
But…you went through a tragedy and you aren't like this…someone in the back of his mind said quietly. He had come out stronger for it. Sure, he still thought about his parents and friends from the past, but he didn't let it shut him down.
Maybe…she is weak…came the voice again. Fenris put his hands on his head, shaking it violently. What was going on? He never thought this way about her. He was just tired, he told himself. A good night's sleep would solve everything. Fenris slowly calmed his mind, drifting into one of his meditative trances.
Screaming.
Crying.
Someone calling out his name.
A nest of light brunette hair…splattered in blood.
Waking with a start, Fenris gasped and jerked up, startling Faelen awake. The big wolf gently licked his face as Fenris stared absentmindedly at the floor. He touched his face and felt a layer of sweat coat his cheek. What had that dream been about? The more he tried remembering it, the less he could remember. All he knew was that he had heard someone screaming his name. He also remembered a figure laying on the ground with blood all over it.
Glancing over to the bed, he saw Kalea was still asleep facing the window. Dragging Faelen off him, Fenris got up and went to the bathroom to splash his face. Despite the warm water rolling down his face, he felt cold all over. His hands wouldn't stop shaking and he could feel his heart beating uncontrollably. Trying to compose himself, Fenris began brushing his teeth. When he went to rinse his mouth out, he accidentally swallowed some water and coughed violently.
Reaching up, he felt his neck. Although there was nothing noticeable on his skin, it felt like it was bruised and swollen. When he tried swallowing again, he felt a small resistance as the water went down his throat. Worried, he massaged his throat, trying to ease the pain he suddenly felt.
What the hell happened last night…he thought.
A few minutes later, Fenris came out of the bathroom, trying to keep calm as if everything was normal. Kalea was finally up, although she was staring out the window rather than facing him.
"We should get ready to go," Fenris said, his voice sounding as if he hadn't used it in months. Kalea turned around and gave him a questioning look but he ignored her. He found he wasn't in the mood to deal with her silent treatment. Wanting to focus on the mission, Fenris got dressed in the bathroom and went down to the lobby of the hotel, waiting for Kalea to get ready.
When Kalea finally came down, they walked out of the hotel in silence and made their way to their client. They were to meet the mayor of Balsam Village at his estate near the center of the village. Upon reaching his mansion, they were greeted by a number of different people, all of whom worked under the mayor. When they finally entered his main office, they found the mayor lounging upon a couch, reading some paper scattered across a table in front of him.
"Welcome, welcome!" he greeted them pleasantly. Fenris and Kalea exchanged greetings, although neither's smile was very genuine. The mayor didn't seem to catch this, rather wanting to get straight to the point.
Apparently, every day a group of mages would attack the village, harassing people and damaging property. He told them the group were all from the same guild because they all had a guild mark on their left shoulders that showed what looked like a picture of shining light in a silvery color.
The attacks were never at the same time either. They were having a difficult time catching the mages because there was no pattern to follow. So, after hearing his story, they decided to split up to search the town for clues. Fenris went off by himself because he insisted Faelen go with Kalea. She hadn't really protested so now, a few hours after their meeting, Fenris was walking along the streets by himself.
As he walked through the town, he found himself getting annoyed at every little thing around him. From the people walking in his way to the vendors shouting about their wares. Why couldn't they just shut up? He needed to concentrate to find these mages. He was trying to protect their town so why couldn't they be more cooperative?
Passing yet another restaurant, he paused, his nose catching the scent of a familiar dish. When he was younger, his mother would always cook him a special dish on his birthday. His father would go out the day before to hunt the biggest deer he could find in the forest. Occasionally, he would even bring Fenris along if there were no other chores to be done. When he returned, he would prepare the deer for his mother to cook, which took an entire day.
Although he didn't know exactly what she cooked it with, the end product was all that mattered to him. Accompanied with a side of greens and potatoes, the meat was so tender it almost melted in his mouth with every bite. It was his absolute favorite dish and always reminded him of his mother.
The familiar scent in an unfamiliar town brought a sense of confusion to Fenris that he was in no mood for. His mind drifted off to thoughts of his parents, who were no longer with him. Why were they gone? Why did they have to leave him? It was unfair. All of it. His entire life was taken away from him and he still had no idea why. The thought was making him even more angry and he knew he had to get as far away from that restaurant as possible.
But before he could take another step, a couple walked out of the restaurant, hand in hand, the woman laughing at something the man had just said. Seeing them, Fenris felt something familiar tighten in his chest. He thought of Kalea. But thinking of Kalea only made him remember she wasn't speaking to him.
He stomped away from the couple, wishing spiteful things that he knew he shouldn't. The rest of the day was filled with nothing but hateful thoughts and no new leads to their dark guild search. When the sun began to set, Fenris finally gave up and made his way back to the hotel. Kalea and Faelen were already in the room, Faelen resting on the couch while Kalea was out on the porch. Faelen's ears perked up as Fenris entered the room, getting up from the couch and lazily walking into Fenris' legs. Fenris laid a hand on his head, scratching the top of his nose, watching Kalea from where he stood.
He knew she had heard the door open and close, but she hadn't reacted to his entering the room. Scoffing under his breath, Fenris got ready for bed, hoping his dreams would distract him from his terrible mood.
The following morning, Fenris woke up and felt like he had been hit by a truck. Although he hadn't had any nightmares, he felt worse than the day before physically. Beginning to wish he could just drop this job altogether, he groaned and got up, pushing Faelen off him. Kalea was still asleep when he entered the bathroom, but by the time he was out, she had woken up and was sitting in bed, facing him.
Seeing her finally look at him didn't make him happy as he thought it would. Instead, it made him frustrated and wanting to get away from her. He put on his shoes as quickly as he could and stepped towards the door when he heard her voice.
"Fenris…I-" her voice was cut off as he slammed the door behind him.
He left the hotel and went off, thinking about nothing but getting away from her. He wandered the streets for about a half hour before he remembered why they were there in the first place. Frowning, he set off and opened his mind, searching for any sign of the dark guild.
Despite her seeming to want to talk, Fenris found he was still annoyed at Kalea. Why couldn't she just be normal for once? Why did she always have to box him out of her life when he was only ever trying to help. The more he thought about their situation, the angrier he found he became. And as he became angrier, he also became more frustrated. At her for acting the way she did sometimes. At himself for allowing his anger to take control. But he was finding he couldn't stop it.
"GAH!" Fenris shouted, suddenly finding himself lying face down on the ground. He looked up and saw a sign outside of a restaurant lying before him, having run straight into it while he was in his own thoughts. His anger taking control, Fenris got up and was about to tear the sign apart when a scream ripped through the air.
"THIEVESS!"
Looking down the street for the source of the noise, Fenris saw a group of large figures break through a window of a shop and tumble through the street. They crashed into a group of onlookers and, not paying attention to the group they knocked down, began sprinting down the street away from the shop.
Realizing these could be the mages he was after, Fenris jumped up and ran after them. He enhanced his speed with his powers, catching up quickly to the largest of the group, who wasn't very quick. He tackled the figure to the ground while the other mages were running away. It didn't seem like they even noticed their guild mate had been captured. The man, based on his heavy grunts, struggled underneath him but Fenris punched him twice in the stomach and he keeled over in pain. He wasn't very strong despite his bulk so Fenris was able to hold him to the ground and began questioning him.
"Who the hell are you?!" he asked, more aggressively than he meant to. "What guild are you from? Why are you attacking this city? Answer me damn it!" He punched the man again.
"I wouldn't tell you even if you threatened to kill me you bastard," the man said, spitting in his face. "You light guild idiots think you're so damn tough. But you'll soon learn. This is just the beginning. Soon, the real fun will begin hehehehe."
Fenris punched him in the face but the man kept laughing. So Fenris punched him again.
And again.
And again.
"Wha-wait! WAIT! I'll tell you! P-pl-please stop!" The man screamed, but Fenris ignored him. He kept punching, his mind going blank. As he pulled his hand back again someone grabbed it and yanked him off the man on the ground. He fell to the ground and looked up. Kalea was staring at him with Faelen growling next to her.
"What are you doing?!" she yelled at him. "You could have killed him Fenris! What is wrong with you?!"
Despite the anger in her voice, he could see fear in her eyes as she yelled. Fenris looked at the man lying there. His face was a bloody mess. Both eyes were swollen shut and his nose was broken. Fenris looked down at his hand and saw his knuckles were bruised and bloodied. He didn't know what came over him.
"I-I… don't know. I-I just…" he couldn't answer her.
She looked down at the man and kneeled next to him. "I'm sorry. My partnerwent too far. We'll take you to a hospital," she said. She pulled the man on top of Faelen and the two walked away, leaving Fenris lying on the ground still wondering what came over him.
An hour later Fenris finally found them at one of the medical centers in Balsam Village. They were in a back room where the mage was lying in a bed, half his face covered in bandages. As Fenris walked in, Kalea turned around and saw him. She quickly looked back down at the man she was talking to.
"Is that the only reason you've been doing this?" she asked him.
"Ye-yes," he stuttered. "We were just told to by the higher ups. We really don't know why. I-I'm sorry. I honestly didn't want to join this guild. But… I had no choice. They've been recruiting people everywhere they can. They threaten our families if we don't join them."
"It's alright," she assured him. "Get some rest now. We'll be back later to check up on you. And don't worry, we'll take care of your guild."
The trio left the room and Fenris followed Kalea as she walked out of the hospital. They continued in silence, walking all the way back to their hotel and into their room. When Fenris closed the door, he turned around and was greeted by a stern looking Kalea. Faelen jumped onto the bed, looking at them both with wary eyes.
"Well? I'm waiting for an answer as to why you decided to try and kill someone," she said.
"I-I told you… I don't know what happened," said Fenris. "It's like… everything that's been happening lately just… came out. The guy was going on about how the real fun would begin soon and all this junk. I'm… sorry. I didn't mean to do it."
"That is notgood enough Fenris," she yelled at him. "You went insane! I have neverseen you like that. There is no excusefor you. I'm so angry I could just scream at you for hours and not be satisfied. But I'm not going to. We have more important things to discuss and you need to get your head straight nowand focus. Hear me?"
"….yes," he responded quietly. He wanted to respond in an equally abrasive tone, but he wasn't used to hearing this sort of thing from Kalea. He'd never seen her so angry.
"Good," she continued. "Now then. I was able to get all the information we needed out of that man unlike you. Turns out he's from a guild called the Silverlight guild. They're a small dark guild under the Balam Alliance. BUT, it turns out there's a fourth guild with the Balam Alliance. They're a new dark guild that apparently came from nowhere and rose up very quickly. Supposedly they are powerful enough to join the Alliance right from the start, which means they're dangerous. They're called the Armifera Fatum Guild. It translates to Bearer of Fate, whatever that's supposed to mean. The Armifera Fatum controls this Silverlight guild and it sounds like the Silverlight group are basically just a nobody guild who gathers supplies for the higher ups. The Armifera Fatum guild has been highly active lately and has been requesting all of their small guilds to gather supplies for them and recruit members like crazy. That's how that guy got roped in. He was just an independent mage until he was captured and threatened to join Silverlight. That's why they've been attacking the village, to gather supplies. As for attacking people, they were told to sow chaos into Fiore for whatever reason. He said something's about to happen. Something big. I think once we get back to the guild we need to tell Master about everything we've learned because the Magic Council needs to know about this new dark guild. But before that, we need to investigate this Silverlight group. He told me where they were located. It's in the forest on the outskirts of town. They only have about 20 or so members and they stay in some cave in the middle of the forest. If we catch them by surprise, we can easily take them out so we're leaving now to go get them. Let's go."
Before he could respond, Kalea walked out the door, Faelen bounding after her. He watched her leave, wondering how he got into this situation. Nobody ever made Kalea talk like this, especially Fenris. He got up and ran after them, catching up a few blocks away. Kalea was marching towards the outskirts of the town, going to where Fenris assumed the hideout of Silverlight was.
"Kalea, do you even know where you're going?" he asked.
"Yes, of course I do. Because like I said, I was actually able to get information from the guy. Unlike you," she said, not looking at him.
Fenris looked down at his feet, not knowing what to say. He felt ashamed of himself. It was as if a veil had come up around him after she pulled him off that mage. He still didn't understand what had come over him, but he knew something was wrong with him. They eventually reached the forest, Kalea stopping to admire the vastness in front of them. The tree were so thick he couldn't see more than a few feet in any direction. Silently, they entered the forest, engulfed by the darkness within a few seconds. Fenris tried sensing for anyone else but he felt nothing as they continued walking.
Fenris couldn't have said how long they were meandering around the forest, but he was close to giving up for the day when Faelen stiffened, making Kalea and Fenris stop in their tracks. He began sniffing the air for a few moments and then took off running. Fenris ran after him with Kalea close behind. He ran after Faelen until he saw the large wolf stop abruptly. As he caught up to him, he saw Faelen had stopped in front of a large cave that seemed to come out of nowhere. The wolf's eyes were obviously much keener than his in this darkness.
Kalea ran up beside him just a few seconds later. "I guess this must be the place. It seems to fit the description. Good boy Faelen! You're the best!" she said.
Faelen barked happily at her and continued into the cave. Kalea followed him in, Fenris trailing after her and they were soon pitched into even deeper darkness than the forest.
Kalea's hand lit up with fire magic a few moments later and the cave was illuminated by light. It was a rather large cave and the walls seemed much too smooth to be natural. The trio began walking slowly through the cave, following the light of Kalea's magic.
"How far back do you think this goes," Fenris whispered to Kalea.
"I don't know," she whispered back. "I don't think it goes too far back though. If Silverlight is here, then we'll probably find them sooner rather than later."
After walking through the cave for another few minutes, Fenris paused. He thought he heard voices so he indicated to Kalea and Faelen to stop walking. He listened intently and then, moments later, he heard them. There was a large group ahead of them. He didn't know how far but they were definitely getting close.
"Someone's up ahead. I only hear one voice but it could be them," he whispered.
"Alright. Let's try getting closer than," said Kalea as she extinguished the flames on her hand.
They slowly continued walking and found themselves near a turn up ahead. Fenris stopped Kalea and Faelen and crept over to the turn. He peered around it and saw figures up ahead. The cave expanded around the turn and stretched even further across. He couldn't tell for sure but he figured there had to be about 20 people all standing around a large fire. There were tents all over the place and he had a suspicion these had to be the members of Silverlight.
He turned back to Kalea and whispered, "There are people up ahead. It has to be them right?"
"I don't see who else it could be," she whispered back.
"Alright, well now that we found them maybe we sho-" before he could finish his sentence a large hand came up from behind him and closed around his mouth.
He saw two figures come up behind Kalea and Faelen and subdue them at the same time. Fenris struggled against the man and almost got his body free before two other figures grabbed him.
He, along with Kalea and Faelen, were dragged over to where the rest of the people were. Fenris continued struggling against his captives but there were too many holding on to him, he couldn't break free. They were brought over to the fire and forced to stand in front of a large man holding a staff. He sneered down at them.
"Well! It appears we have guests! Welcome to our lovely abode my young friends," the man looked down at each of them in turn, his eyes lingering on Kalea.
His sneer got even wider. "My, my! What a lovelyyoung lady we have here don't we boys," he said out loud to the other members of the guild. Everyone began wolf whistling and coming closer to get a look at Kalea. Fenris' emotions were beginning to boil over again.
"My name is Cruz Hartford young lady. And what might yours be?" he asked Kalea. As he talked, he placed one hand on her cheek. Faelen snarled.
"GET THE HELL OFF HER," Fenris yelled as his captor's hands loosened around his mouth.
Cruz looked over at him. "And why would I do that? Your friend is just the thing I've been looking for. It's been awfully… dullhere lately. She'll make for some fine entertainment," he said, a look of longing in his eyes.
As his hand moved towards her lips, Kalea jerked her head away and spit in his face. The cave instantly went silent. A few moments there was a loud slap sound as the man backhanded Kalea on the cheek. Her head went limp instantly.
Fenris' rage boiled over quicker than he intended. "YOU BASTARD! I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!" he screamed at the top of his lungs.
Cruz just laughed. "I don't think so. Boys, tie our guest over there. I think we'll have some fun with this one for a while."
The men holding him began to pull him towards the wall. They also dragged Faelen over to a cage as the large wolf fought back. But Fenris was angry. Angrier then he had ever been. And as his anger grew, he felt his magical energy build up. Cruz dragged Kalea over to a group of men. The sight made him even more angry.
Eventually, he felt as though he couldn't contain his magic any longer. He was just so angry, he felt like he would explode if he didn't release the magic. The frustration, the anger, it was all too much for him. As the magic came to a boiling point in his body, he let it go, no thought as to where it was going.
The men holding him were blown away by the blast of Force magic emanating from his body. They flew backwards across the cave and slammed into the far wall. The men holding Faelen let go and backed away from the force of his magic.
Fenris stood up, although his body seemed to be moving without conscious thought. The pure magical energy that had come out of him almost making him lose consciousness. The only thing he could think of… was to make them suffer. As members of the dark guild got over their initial shock, they began to run at him. Fenris used his Force Impact and knocked them all aside without any effort. Men continued running at him but, with a flick of his hand, they were sent flying into walls.
One man managed to get through his magic and, as he got closer, released a ball of blue fire at Fenris. Fenris managed to pirouette around the ball of fire, feeling the heat from the magic blister the back of his neck. Coming out of his turn, he used Force Push to shove the man into a wall, knocking him unconscious.
While he was distracted, another group came up from behind him, almost catching him off guard. However, his senses seemed unusually heightened with his rage, allowing him to sense their presence moments before they caught him. He leaped up, using his powers to jump higher than usual, and backflipped around the group. He Force Pulled one towards him, striking his neck at a pressure point. With him dispatched, his focus turned towards the other two.
They were upon him in moments, not allowing him to use any of his powers before he could react. One of them struck at his left side but he blocked that one both hands, grasping the man's arm and, using the momentum of his own swing, flung him into the other man.
Now there were only a few members left before he reached Cruz. As he battled on, his anger continued rising, making his strikes even more violent. He kicked one man in the leg, feeling the bones break under his swing. He exchanged blows with another man, their fists colliding at one point and the man's entire hand shattered under his punch. Soon, there was only Cruz left, cowering as far back as he could with no means of escape.
As Fenris approached him, his anger rising ever more, he started to see black dots near the edge of his vision. Moments later, his head began to feel fuzzy and his vision began to blur. Still, he did not lose stride, as if his body was moving without his permission.
As his vision continued to fade and he began to lose consciousness, the last thing he remembered was lifting his hand…and the look of pure horror on Cruz's face.
Author's note:
And there we are! Please feel free to give some critics on the fighting aspects of this chapter. I'm still not really great at describing them so I apologize if they weren't up to scratch. Next time we continue with the mission so see you then!
