Author's Note: Hey y'all.
This year has been exhausting, and we're not even halfway through.
Some of you have stayed with this story since the beginning, when I first posted it over 3.5 years ago. I've posted personal things with this story, and have been touched by the number of people who read it. Writing is a way for me to make sense of the world and try to show that perspective to other people in abstract ways. Fanfics, as of the last few years, have been a way to flesh out my ideas and styles for my books. Almost all of my projects have the end goal of helping people, and making the world a better place by helping people understand each other.
I've heard a lot of disheartening things about my family members this last week. I've learned and have been forced to acknowledge some painful truths. I've been reevaluating a lot of my personal beliefs and who I look up to. Covid-19 has been painful and terrifying for everyone, and in this crisis, people's true colors are coming to light. We've officially reached 100,000 people lost to Covid-19 in the US, and my heart aches for them, their families, and the people in hospitals currently trying desperately to survive the virus.
Please, wash your hands. Wear a mask. Stay home, when possible. Be kind. Despite what people say, Covid-19 is not gone. It is still here. You staying home could literally mean life or death for someone else. I'm going to be posting roughly 100,000 words worth of bnha fanfics, so if you need something to binge read, that'll be available for you.
If you need a mask and can't afford it, message me and I'll handmake you one. I don't have a sewing machine, and my resources are limited, but I'll do my best. RedBubble currently lets you upload your own designs for masks, and they're only around $10.
My sister drove halfway across the country and put our 67 year old mother on a plane to meet her there, for a "mini-vacation". They're going to be road tripping back. She's endangering our cancer surviving mother's life, for a pedicure, and posting pictures of herself smiling at the beach about it. My sister is endangering the lives of hundreds of people, because she needed to "get out" of her literal 2 story dream home that is so beautifully designed, it was featured in a magazine. I was literally at her home before Covid-19 broke out (or at least news of it), listening to her and her friends make plans for the summer, which involves traveling all over the country. They're not canceling. My 93+ yo grandparents live right next door. I found giant group photos of my family during quarantine, smiling at the camera with their arms around my mom, celebrating different holidays. I started this year terrified for my father's health- he had an allergic reaction to Chinese food, and could have gone into anaphylactic shock, which sent him to urgent care, and he's been recovering from a car accident. My cat of 18 years passed away. Based on what I learned about my sister's family, their compound is a ticking time bomb of death.
Please be safe everyone. Stay kind, thoughtful, and compassionate. Wash your hands, respect social distancing, wear a mask, and stay home when you can. Staying home could save someone's life.
Walking Cliché 54
Confusion
Tuesday, May 20th, 1:23 PM
Freed chuckled as he watched his fellow guild members gawk at the sight before them.
He had been given the secret task of keeping them busy for the past three weeks so that the guild master could prepare for the S-Class trials. In order to prepare for it without any of Team Natsu destroying it before the trials, Makarov had asked Freed to keep them busy in that time. It strengthened relations with the Soul Circus, gave both the Thunder Legion and the Soul Circus vacation time, and gave the old man time a few weeks to relax.
While the Thunder Legion had been given unlimited funds, Team Natsu's had been budgeted by Freed. The word mage had been given unrestricted power on this matter since the guild master trusted him, and the green-haired mage made use of his temporary power.
"Why does the guild hall look so different?" Lucy asked incredulously, standing in the doorway with her mouth slightly agape. Streamers, banners, and posters of various powerful mages in their guild were tacked up on the walls. "And I don't remember posing for that."
"Guess he moved up the date." Claire commented, eyeing the largest banner strung up over the bar. 'FAIRY TAIL S-CLASS TRIALS: MAY 25TH AT COLLISEUM.'
"Crap! That's only 5 days away!" Gray exclaimed in panic.
"You guys only have 5 days to train for the exams?!" Happy exclaimed with equal despair.
As soon as his eyes locked with his team leader, Freed stopped paying attention to the group. The past few weeks had been difficult without the strong, powerful, stoic man across the room, and he'd been tempted several times to just run straight home without the others. His one passionate night with the man had been everything he'd dreamed about, even more so, and it took every ounce of self-restraint to not jump him there and then. Every nerve in his body wanted to run over to him, kiss him like he had before, and live out more of his most wonderfully erotic fantasies.
Across the room, Laxus avoided eye contact with the group that entered. He didn't need his heightened hearing to know they had arrived, as the annoying screaming erupting from the guild hall entrance made sure of that, and he didn't need to look up to know that the word mage was staring at him.
He had thought about asking his sister for advice, but he knew what she'd say. That he was a dumbass, and then he would wholeheartedly agree with her, but that wouldn't help his current predicament.
Four weeks and he still didn't know what to do. Freed running off with Bickslow like that had been a godsend, and hunting down his brother off the coast gave him the perfect excuse to stay behind. His family drama was his perfect scapegoat for the shit storm of a situation he'd gotten himself into.
"I thought you'd be happy to see your sister again." Mirajane commented as she refilled his drink, and he grunted in response. "That was the longest you two have been apart for the last year, hasn't it?"
"No." He grumbled, but then paused, thinking about it. Shit, is she right?
"How do you think she'll react to you-know-what?" The takeover mage questioned as she lowered her voice. Laxus glared at her, trying to figure out what she meant for a moment, and then rolled her eyes.
"She'll probably accuse you both of being idiots." He told her, and took a sip of his drink. He'd honestly forgotten all about that little tidbit, and unlike his colleagues, didn't consider it a big deal or care. Laxus had enough drama in his own life without getting caught up in Carol's.
"You're going to be an uncle in 9 months. Can't you at least act more excited?"
"Nope."
"We're going to tell Claire after her appointment with Porlyusica. I hope she doesn't get too upset." She commented thoughtfully, her delicate pointer finger pressing against her chin. "Maybe they'll finally be able to get over their differences for the baby."
"Fat chance. Does Carol know that you two were going to wait until after her doc appointment before talking to her?"
"Yes, why?"
"I think she changed the plan." He commented, smirking into the crowd of mages and visitors. With the trials coming up the mess hall had been busier than usual, but even in the chaos, his dragonslayer hearing picked up his older sister across the room.
He had to admit that he was slightly amused by the model's reaction. Mirajane nearly dropped the tray in her hand as her eyes locked with her partner, gasping audibly at the sight unfolding. Last time those two were alone, Claire beat the shit out of the water mage; after the recent hell she'd been through, it was unknown whether the fire mage would be able to hold back her temper this time.
"Carol, sweetie!" Mira called out, running quickly to the woman.
By the time she got there, the deed was done. She had just finished telling her sister about their recent plans, and at the moment, the blond simply stared at her with a blank expression.
"Claire, I know this seems sudden, but please try to stay calm."
"As long as you don't kill another baby, I don't care what you do with your life. You two can be as gay and pregnant all you want." Claire told them, showing zero emotion on the matter.
"You're not… mad?" Carol asked, surprised.
"You're my dumbass sister. So long as no one gets hurt, I really don't care what you do. Have kids, get married, whatever." She said with a final shrug, and walked past them into the mess hall. Mira and Carol turned to each other, blinking in confusion, and unsure what to make of that interaction.
"So you're pregnant? Again?" Erza asked as she stepped up to them, hands on her hips.
"5 weeks." Carol replied quietly.
"Who's the father?"
"It doesn't matter. We're raising the child together." Mirajane told her, and put her arm around the pregnant water mage, pulling her closer. "We're getting married in two months."
"Congratulations."
As the Thunder Legion approached Laxus, he nodded briefly to them. His team took their respective seats around him, plus Michael, and they all looked happy to see the lightning mage.
1.
Tuesday, May 20th, 2:08 PM
Claire forgot how much she loved the scrutinizing, cold, hateful gaze of the pink-haired healer.
Everyone, for some reason, had made a big deal about her visiting the healer as soon as she got to the guild hall. Her lack of forthcoming over the events that took place with her brother probably influenced this, combined with her uncharacteristically happy demeanor the past few weeks made them more determined to have her checked. Apparently being in a good mood was 'suspicious' and 'weird'.
Her older brother died in her arms, and in his final moments, he cast a protection spell on her. It healed her wounds and made her invulnerable to some of the most terrifying magic she had ever encountered.
So, she had tried to honor his death by being a good person. Over the past several weeks she was determined to be a good person, to make the lives of those around her better, and to overall be as positive as possible. She wanted to make him proud of her.
"And you haven't experienced any other… symptoms? Headaches? Nausea?" Porlyusica asked her.
"Nope. I'm pain-free, stronger than ever, and loving life." My sister is the dumbest person alive, but who doesn't have an annoying relative?
"And you had an expert look at this?"
"Yep." Claire responded, watching the old woman take yet another blood sample from her arm. She'd done this several times now: take a sample of blood, go to another room, grumble under her breath, and come back to repeat the process. "Is there anything wrong?"
The older woman set the small sample of blood on a nearby flat surface, her posture shifting slightly. A silence enveloped the room for a moment, and suddenly Claire's 'positive attitude' stopped.
"What is it?"
"Do you know just how… extensive, the healing properties of the protection spell were?"
Claire looked at her confused, trying to figure out what she was getting at, and feeling her stomach drop in her belly. "Well, it healed my eyes, chest, stab wound…"
"It also healed your ovaries."
"My… what?"
"You're pregnant."
Her entire world stopped.
"I tested your blood 5 times."
"You said can't get pregnant. That there was a better chance of hell freezing over."
"There was. You beat the odds. Congratulations." Porlyusica replied with a deadpan expression.
Claire couldn't wrap her brain around it. The only thing she could think of was the last time she saw her mother, and the grotesque machine filled with mutilated souls. She had been flung into a world where her mother, the most loving and caring person she'd known, could be turned into a monster. This was a world where souls were used as slaves, ground into a disgusting paste, or simply destroyed on a whim.
This was a world where her brother was turned into a monster, and she hugged him while she tried to burn him alive. Where she watched her little brother be vaporized before her eyes because of a stupid bruise in her stomach. A world where dead people walked and children were left forgotten on the streets.
And now she was supposed to bring another human being into this hell hole?
Why the hell would her sister willingly choose to do this shit?
"Claire?" The pink-haired mage asked, slowly waving a hand in front of her face.
"Abort. Now. Before it gets a soul."
"I'll need Bickslow's consent before doing that, but I think you should-"
"I'm not giving birth to something in this fucked up place. Stick a knife in me and cut it out."
"Claire, calm down and-"
"I have no reason to calm down." Claire grit out, and grabbed the old hag by the collar, pulling her down. "Get. This. Out of me." She absolutely seethed, absolutely livid. The past month since her transport to Midi, she hadn't felt anything close to anger until now. At that moment she felt pure rage and hatred, her fire magic flaring, and she felt like screaming at the top of her lungs.
"You really think threatening me will get you what you want?" Porlyusica asked calmly, giving her the coldest glare she could muster. For a moment the two women just glared at each other, staring the other down with pure hatred.
Twenty minutes later, Claire found herself in the mess hall at her team's table silently fuming. How the hell is she so good at being cold and heartless?
"What's your problem?" Laxus asked across from her, and she looked up at him.
"What's yours?" She sneered back. Freed had let it slip about their little love affair weeks ago, and although she'd been planning to talk to the lightning mage about it, didn't care in the slightest right then.
Laxus grunted in response, deciding to leave her alone and sip at his drink.
"So what do you think about Carol and Mira?" Evergreen asked her, and winced at the harsh glare she received.
"They're irresponsible twats."
"Is that why you're suddenly so mopey?" Bickslow asked by her side, and teasingly poked her cheek. Her cold gaze turned to his bright green eyes, and like Ever, he flinched at the cold glare he received.
"No." She seethed, and went back to staring at her full mug of beer, simply staring at the bubbling liquid. The group gave her a weird look, but after a moment, went back to chatting about the upcoming trials.
2.
Tuesday, May 20th, 9:00 PM
Bickslow had never dreaded going home with his loving girlfriend and nephew… until that evening.
After hours of walking on eggshells around his fiancé, trying to give her space and not set her off, he found himself nervous to be alone with her. No one had missed her sour mood, and although most attributed it to her learning about Carol's pregnancy, Bickslow had a feeling that it was something else. Claire had been so up beat until today, until the doctors appointment specifically, that the sudden change in mood had him on edge.
Even though her happy disposition had been odd, he preferred it to the angry, quiet, seething woman silently cursing out everyone in their path.
Michael even hid in his room when they got home.
As the door clicked shut behind him, he subconsciously gulped, watching the blond turn her narrowed eyes to him. For a moment she simply stood there, glaring at him, and he stood frozen in place like an ice sculpture.
"I'm pregnant. We'll sign the papers tomorrow and get it aborted." She spoke in a cold, emotionless voice. It took him a moment to realize what she'd said, and by the time his brain slowly started comprehending what had just happened, the fire mage was already in their room upstairs.
"… what?" He blurted, and ran up the stairs. The run slipped under him as he turned to enter his room, but he paid no mind as he quickly got up and entered the bedroom, panic rising in his throat. "You're what?"
"Pregnant, knocked up, bun in the oven, eating for two, pillow smuggling, preggers, expecting, bat in the cave, pea in the pod, your sperm fertilized an egg in my-"
"I heard what you said, how the hell did it happen?" He interrupted, standing in the middle of the room flabbergasted.
"The protection spell that healed my eyes also healed my eggs. Pretty sure you know the rest of the details."
"But… you… your eggs…"
"Good news: I can grow babies in my uterus now."
"Will you stop making terrible jokes? This is serious." He snapped, and went to close the door and lock it. After setting up the silencing charm he turned back to the woman on their bed, who sat with her legs crossed beneath her and bored expression on her face. "What the hell? Why aren't you…"
"Why aren't I what?" Claire grumbled, avoiding eye contact.
"… happy?" He asked, hands falling to his sides. The surprise, anger, and confusion slipped away from him as he looked at her, a heavy sigh escaping his lips. Instead of feeling terrified, like he always thought he would in a situation like this, he oddly felt… giddy. Happy, even.
"What?" She asked, obviously caught off-guard by his response to the situation.
"This is… this is why you've been upset today? Because you're pregnant?" He questioned, striding across the room and hopping onto the bed, a grin tugging at his lips. When he was close enough he pulled her into a kiss, gently pushing her back against the bed and pressing his body against her warm one. He felt so many emotions at the moment that the only way he knew how to express them was by kissing the fire mage with as much passion as he could muster.
It didn't really register to him that she wasn't as enthused by the situation, and when he finally separated the kiss, he gave a heavy sigh and smiled again with his forehead resting against hers. "… you want to keep it?"
"Why wouldn't I?" He asked, and pecked her cheek softly.
"It doesn't have a soul yet. We're not obligated to keep it around."
"So?" He placed a kiss on her forehead, and before he could shower her with more kisses, she gently nudged his shoulder back.
"Do you have any idea how gross babies are?"
"Yeah, but ours will be cute and adorable." Bickslow replied easily, unable to hold back the smile even if he tried.
"We already have three kids to take care of."
"They're almost teenagers and won't need that much supervision anyway."
"I don't think you realize how much of a responsibility this would be."
"I want to make an amazing little human being with you." Bickslow stated, and tried to lean down and kiss her again, but she kept her hand firm against him.
"Since when?"
"Since two minutes ago. You convinced me with 'pillow smuggler'."
"That's not funny."
His tongue snaked from his mouth and licked at the tip of her nose, causing her to put more pressure on his shoulder. Entertained by the soft blush on her cheeks, he pressed back against her hand, trying to land another kiss.
"Would you knock it off?"
"Well I've already knocked you up, so-"
"That's not funny, Bickslow."
"You would be laughing if I'd said it two minutes ago."
"Two minutes ago I didn't know you wanted me to grow a parasite in my stomach."
"Babies aren't parasites. They're tiny people that reside in uteruses for several months. Don't discriminate, Claire."
"This isn't a joke." She huffed, now pushing him with both of her hands. The seith mage grinned as he sat up, his legs straddling her waist, and he stealthily moved her hands to his lips to continue his barrage of kisses. I'm going to be a dad. He thought with a giddy chuckle, unaffected by the baffled woman below him. "Why would you want to raise a kid in this fucked up place?"
"What do you mean?" He hummed against her skin, and batted his eyelashes at her. Even though it was a 'girly thing' to do, it had actually worked in his favor a few times. Claire was a total pushover when it came down to it.
"People on this world use human corpses as puppets and souls as playthings. You really want to raise a kid in a place like this?"
"I think this world needs more good people to balance out the bad. Our little boy or girl would have an entire guild of the craziest most powerful wizards in the world to protect and raise them." Bickslow explained, feeling rather proud of himself for coming up with such a good argument on the spot. He could tell that her resolve was starting to wane, uncertainty settling in her beautiful blue eyes. If he could get her to at least consider the possibility, then that would satisfy him if they ended up choosing to abort it.
Well… it would satisfy him a little. Probably not entirely. "But Wendy and Carla are moving in next week, and the trials are coming up, and the wedding…"
"Two of those things happen 9 months before giving birth, and the girls will understand. I'm sure they'll be thrilled when they hear about it. Since Wendy is a healer it'll make doctor visits easier."
"But… I like the babies we have now. They don't poop and throw up." Claire told him with a frown, and the man bellowed in laughter, still holding her hands to his face.
"It'll suck, but we'll get through it."
"What about the crying?"
"When was the last time any of us got through a night without one of us waking up in tears?"
"What about money?"
"You're getting a huge check after what happened in Midi, and I'll take the occasional job here and there. Wendy and Carla love working with their friends, so we won't be strapped for cash."
"They barely make anything after they're billed for damages."
"You're missing the point."
3.
Wednesday, May 21st, 9:00 AM
"Oi, Gajeel, can I talk to you for a sec?" Bickslow asked as he approached the large man, glad that the iron mage was alone that morning. The dragonslayer gave him a confused look, but then shrugged, nodding to the empty seat across from him. They were both seated to the side of the mess hall, far enough away from the others to have privacy but not look suspicious.
"What's up, doll boy?"
"Do you like being a dad?"
Gajeel simply stared at him, his dark red eyes boring tiredly into the metal visor shielding Bickslow from the world. After a moment the man shrugged. "Depends on when you ask me."
"… what if I asked you now?"
"I'd say I like it pretty well. The little guy took his first steps two weeks ago." He said proudly.
"Do you ever regret keeping him?"
"Nope. As soon as I held him in my arms, looked into those big hazel eyes, I knew the little poop monster was mine forever. He's got one hell of a pair of lungs on the kid- takes after his mom."
"When you first found out about him, you weren't really excited about it though, right? I mean, people hated you for it. Even I was tempted to throw some punches."
"Well yeah, that part sucked." He said, proud smirk disappearing. "I almost left town and ditched her."
"What changed your mind?"
"Claire caught me sneaking out of town at 4 in the morning. She was the only person at the guild that reached out to me and actually tried to help. Actually, she's probably helped me through more shit than anyone has… wait, why the hell are you talking to me? Why are you asking about my kid?"
"Well, I know that you and Claire are good friends…"
"Did you hurt her? I'll kick your ass so hard-"
"No no no, I just… wanted your advice. I want kids but Claire doesn't, so I hoped that you'd talk to her."
"You already have kids. Didn't you just adopt two of them?"
"We weren't thinking of adopting. We, uh… found ourselves in a bit of a predicament."
Gajeel grinned from ear to ear. "It's about time. I've been sick of being the only guy to knock someone up."
"It doesn't have a soul yet, so she wants to abort it."
"After all that crap you gave Carol for aborting, you-"
"This is completely different!" Bickslow cut off, and tried to lower his voice. "We weren't irresponsible, it doesn't have a soul yet, and we don't have three other kids to consider before going through with it."
"Alright, alright, chill." Gajeel told him with a smirk, and took a sip of his water. The iron mage rarely saw the man so uptight, and it was a little fun to push his buttons. "So what do you want me to do about it, since you two are such responsible adults?"
"Just talk to her." Bickslow stated, shifting in his seat yet again. "If aborting really is the best option right now, I can live with it, but she's got a lot of PTSD stuff going on right now and I don't know what she'll do if she changes her mind later."
"PTSD? What do you mean?"
4.
Wednesday, May 21st, 9:00 AM
Claire tried to ignore the conversation taking place across the room.
She sat there, elbow on the table and cheek in her hand, lazily staring at her glass of cool water. Condensation was building on the clear surface, forming small droplets, and when they got too heavy started falling to the wooden table surface. Drop after drop, they fell, only to be rejoined at the small puddle forming at the bottom.
Someone poked her hand, and when she looked up, saw her brother staring at her expectantly.
"Did you hear me?" He asked her.
"No."
"There's going to be a meeting today for the S-Class mages."
"Why?"
"For the S-Class Trials. We're going to help gramps with it."
"Time?"
"It's at 2."
"What is?"
"… the meeting. For S-Class mages regarding the S-Class Trials."
"Kay." She muttered, going back to her glass. They were seated on the second floor that morning, and although the first floor was absolutely packed with wizards and guests, the second floor was surprisingly sparse. This floor used to be restricted to S-Class, and every once in a while, it would randomly be taboo for anyone else to sit there.
"I heard you were peppy as hell on your trip. What the hell has you so down?" He asked, glaring at her. Normally he could read her like a book, but no matter how many scenarios his brain concocted, he couldn't find one to explain his sister's state.
"I'm giving up drinking..."
"Why the hell would you-"
"For nine months." She finished, and glanced up at him. A small smile graced her lips at the comical expression on his face; it was exceptionally rare to catch the great Laxus Drayer off guard.
"I thought… you went on and on about being barren…"
"Someone cast a healing spell on me. It healed more than my eye sight."
"A healing spell?" He asked, and she nodded, losing the previous smile. Her gaze moved back to the glass of water, noticing that the puddle at the base of the glass had grown. "Who cast it? When was it cast? You never mentioned anything about a healing spell this powerful on your trip."
"I left out a lot of details about my journey." She shrugged, and upon hearing Gajeel and Bickslow part ways, she sighed. The iron mage was walking towards her.
"Why the hell would you leave something like that out? This is bigger than you- you need to tell us shit like that." He lectured. When Gajeel arrived at their table, the blond turned back to his drink, obviously trying to ignore his presence.
"You busy right now?" The iron mage asked the fire woman, eyeing her sour disposition.
"No. Why?"
"Let's go get breakfast. My treat."
"I already ate."
"Then you'll watch me eat."
"Why the hell should I?"
"Because I want to repay a damn favor. Just get your ass moving already." He ordered, and when she glared at his demanding tone, he met the stare head on. To her dismay, she wasn't as good at her cold stares as she wanted to be, and gave up after a few seconds. She cast her brother another glance before getting up and following the younger man out of the guild hall, ignoring the seith mage watching them carefully.
They went to a French restaurant down the street. With the publicity of the S-Class Trials taking place, the entire area was busier than usual, and they had to wait several minutes for a table.
Gajeel was quick to get their food ordered, picking a plate of food for her despite her objections, and didn't bother dancing around the topic at hand.
"Never saw you as the pregnant type." He told her, keeping a straight face.
"Never saw you as the bloody nose type." She countered, and the man chuckled.
"Bickslow's worried that you're going to do something stupid that you'll regret later." He stated, and when he didn't get a response, decided to switch tactics. "How was Midi?"
"I don't recommend vacationing there."
"I talked to Wendy yesterday. She said that you carried her for the entire trip and wouldn't let her fight."
"She was also poisoned as soon as we got there. Like hell I'd let a drugged 12 year old fight death mages and corpses." She told him, and he nodded thoughtfully.
"She's pretty upset about being a burden to you. You might want to have a chat with her."
"Did she tell you that?"
"Not in so many words. Considering how strong her team is, it's understandable that she'd feel inadequate compared to them."
"She's plenty powerful for her age and she's been through more shit than anyone should. I wish she'd been unconscious for more of Midi so she wouldn't have seen all that death."
"She's strong, and she handled it well. The only thing that seems to be bothering her from it, at least from what I can tell, is that she thinks she let you down."
Claire grunted, sliding down her chair slightly, and gazed out the window. Why the hell didn't I realize she felt that way?
"She's also worried about you in general. You suck at hiding when you're upset." He added, and she grunted, continuing to stare outside at the busy street. "Killing your brother couldn't have been easy."
"If I trained with Wendy, do you think she'd feel better? I could train her in self-defense, teach her how to defend against death magic, and practice with my new souls in the process. And my new seith mage tactics." She rambled, still avoiding his gaze.
"Laxus and Makarov have been worried that the Ghoul Guild got to you and you're just a puppet now. Wendy, too."
She snorted, rolling her eyes. "They couldn't control me if they tried."
"Why the hell would you think that? You know more than anyone what they're capable of."
"I know the guild is filled with half-trained idiots that don't know what they're doing. Their magic is terrifying but they're not all knowing and their pompous arrogance will be their downfall."
"You seem awfully confident in yourself." He commented, smirking slightly. She grunted, turning away again, and hating herself for being tricked like that. He was messing with her to get information. "You found a weakness, didn't you?"
"… when I was in the swamp, I heard some of their goons talking. They had no idea we were there, they were weak, and they were incompetent."
"Just because they were incompetent, doesn't mean the rest of their guild is."
"They're recruiting gifted people by ostracizing them from their homes, and driving them to the guild under false pretenses. Imagine the backlash if those people found out that it was Clarence's fault they lost their old lives."
"Even if they do have a lot of idiots in their guild, it doesn't mean that they're not dangerous. I mean, think about most of the mages in our guild." He spoke, and she snorted, instantly thinking of Natsu. "Natsu, Gray, Lucy… some of our most powerful wizards are also complete dumbasses."
"Any word on how they let Carl escape?"
"They claim that he overpowered them. According to them, they lost over 20 people trying to take him down."
She grunted, turning to look out the window again, and waited for their food to arrive. Gajeel tried to get more out of her, but alas, she wasn't as talkative after that.
5.
Wednesday, May 21st, 2:00 PM
Laxus tapped his fingers anxiously against the table surface, wishing for the meeting to be over even though it hadn't started yet. He just wanted to go home.
For some reason, over the past few weeks, he'd started feeling increasingly restless. He'd attributed most of it to his drama with Freed and Gajeel, but he couldn't help wondering if it was something else. He had the inexplicable urge to punch everyone in the face.
Claire arrived just on time, where she'd been before that he had no idea. Makarov had told him to talk to her, to see if he could find out what happened in Minstrel, but the lightning mage didn't feel like bonding with her at the moment. He felt too unstable, and with the woman's death glares, he didn't even want to be in the same room as her.
"Now that everyone is here, we can get started." Erza announced, standing next to the guild master. Mirajane cast a silencing charm on the second floor, where the meeting was taking place, and set a sound dampening field to drown out the noise from the first floor. Erza, Mira, Laxus, Claire, and Makarov were all present. The only S-Class mage absent was Guildarts, who wasn't in town at the moment.
"The S-Class Trials will be in a similar style to the Grand Magic Games and the competition that the Thunder Legion and S-Class mages hosted." Makarov spoke. "It will last a total of 4 days. Each day will have different trials."
"The first three days will be done with 5 teams of 3." Mirajane continued. "Each day there will be 6 matches."
"Six?" Claire asked.
"A random person will be chosen to fight an S-Class mage each day." Laxus answered. At this point, the meeting was to catch Erza and Claire up to what they'd already planned and decided. Mira and Laxus had been working with Makarov the past month setting up the trials, so now, they need to relay that information and assign roles to the two women.
"Each day will also have group challenges, and unlike the Grand Magic Games, everyone in the group will compete in them. One of the games will be a repeat of the last trial: the hand painting one." Makarov spoke, and the fire mage instantly grinned at that. "Unlike the previous trial there won't be a race, though. Each team will start with a bucket of paint, so they all start on equal terms."
"We've already chosen the people that will be competing and informed them that they'll be participating. They were instructed to choose their teams of three by the time this starts." Mirajane spoke.
"So what's our job? Just show up and fight on one of the three days?" Claire asked.
"Each of us will be part of the fourth day." Mira answered.
"But I won't be telling you how you'll be involved until that day." Makarov told her, the infamous mischievous glint in his eye. He had something sadistic planned, and everyone at the table knew it.
"Everyone in the Thunder Legion was chosen, by the way." Laxus told his sister, and the woman chuckled. "Well, Freed and Bickslow were picked, and they're allowed to pick a third person for their team, so Ever will be competing."
"That's not even fair. They're going to slaughter the trials." Claire told him, thoroughly entertained by the prospect.
"Don't count the rest out so quickly. Natsu and Lucy make a formidable team." Makarov told her.
"They don't stand a chance against the Thunder Legion." Laxus stated proudly.
"Care to place a wager?" Erza asked with a smirk.
"You two can do that later. Right now we need to discuss the details of the trials." Makarov told them. The rest of the meeting was rather dull, simply assigning simple tasks to everyone and making sure they were up to speed. Claire outright turned down most of the jobs Makarov tried to give her, which resulted in the two arguing for most of the meeting and Laxus eventually taking the jobs she didn't want to do.
"I'm surprised you volunteered, Laxus." Mirajane commented.
"She'll pay me back later." He shrugged passively. Can't blame her for not wanting to do it. I wouldn't do this if I had a good excuse to get out of it.
After two hours cooped up with the powerful wizards, the meeting finally ended. Laxus had never seen anyone aside from himself back talk the guild master so much, and he was a little proud that his sister was standing her ground so well. For whatever reason their grandfather wanted her to have a bigger role in the S-Class Trials, but just like the day they tried to question her about Minstrel, she wouldn't budge on the issue.
Claire blatantly ignored her grandfather's attempt to talk to her after the meeting. Somewhere in the back of her mind she felt bad for turning him down during the meeting, and not exactly being polite about it either, but she couldn't bring herself to scrounge up the energy to care. She told him that Wendy and Carla were moving in with her this week and her wedding was coming up as well. Where the hell did he think she'd find the time to do all of that in such a short amount of time?
Finding the girls in question on the first floor with their team, Claire quickly made her way over to them. Natsu seemed unusually awkward upon her arrival, but the others seemed excited about her presence and exceptionally nice.
"So how'd the meeting go?" Lucy asked sweetly, and all too obvious grin on her face.
"Boring. I spent half the time arguing with gramps about assignments. Have you guys chosen your teams yet?" She asked them, continuing to stand next to the blue-haired mage.
"I'm going to be fighting with Natsu and Lucy!" Happy declared excitedly.
"Loke is going to be fighting with Juvia and I." Gray stated.
"What, seriously?" Lucy whined. "Is he going to ditch me at every S-Class Trial?"
"Wendy, Carla- have you guys figured out what colors you want for your room?" Claire asked, turning to the pair and ignoring the spat between the celestial and ice mages.
6.
Wednesday, May 21st, 7:00 PM
Laxus nearly turned on his heel and ran. As he approached his home, a modest two story house on the outskirts of town, he noticed an all too familiar word mage in his doorway. Not just standing on his porch, but standing in his doorway with the door wide open and wearing an apron. From twenty yards away he could smell his favorite dish cooking in the kitchen.
He knew this was bound to happen sooner or later. Freed always had a habit of making himself comfortable in the older man's home, and in the past, Laxus never had a problem with it. The mage would tidy up his house, come over to make a meal for him, or give him a massage or whatever else he could think of to make the blonde's life easier. Laxus always made it clear that he didn't need to do those things, nor did he ever ask him to do them, but he also didn't refuse the offers. A few years ago it may have even contributed to his power hungry state of mind.
"How was your day?" Freed asked when he got to the porch. Laxus said nothing, simply giving him a small nod and walking past him into the house. He was careful not to give the man any physical contact on his route, going straight to his living room and plopping down on his couch.
The word mage diligently closed the front door and followed him into the room, taking a seat on the love seat nearby.
"How did the meeting go?"
"Boring."
"I trained with Bicks and Ever today. She's excited to be participating this year."
"I'll bet."
Laxus looked over at the dark fireplace, then to the pile of wood next to it, debating whether to start a fire. It could accidentally give the wrong message, considering their last… 'alone time'.
He flinched suddenly, not expecting the young man to get so close so quickly. How the hell did he move so fast!? The blonde's thoughts raced, staring up at the word mage that placed one knee on the couch cushions by his right thigh and the other on the opposite side. Before he knew it the man was straddling his waist, breathing down his neck, and closing the gap between them. Push him off, idiot, you'll give him the wrong idea!
Laxus groaned at the friction between the slender hand and his crotch. Warmth began pooling in his lower belly, and instead of hands pushing him away, the pulled those warm lips against his own. Reason spilled from his mind as it became clouded with lust, and before long, he had the sexy mage pinned beneath him.
7.
Wednesday, May 21st, 7:00 PM
Claire couldn't fathom why Bickslow was so sure about this.
The previous night, when they talked, he didn't have a doubt in his mind about whether or not to keep the baby. It didn't matter how many reasons she came up with to get rid of it- he countered every one of them, simply dismissed some, and in the end Claire didn't know what to think.
After talking to Gajeel, she did feel a bit more confident in the idea of keep it. Her biggest fear was that the Ghoul Guild would harm her child, but the more she thought about it, the more she felt assured that her child would be safer than most others in that respect. She was possibly the most informed, or atleast in the top 10 most informed about them, and she was confident that her home could withstand a bomb if it had to.
Her grandfather was one of the Ten Wizard Saints, her brother was an S-Class mage, and her future husband would have the same title soon. Not to mention they'd have a dragonslayer and healer living in their house.
In terms of safety, discounting the numerous normal ways a child can get hurt, he or she would be exceptionally protected.
And, ultimately, Bickslow's first argument about why they should keep it stuck with her the most. There were so many terrible people in this world, and the idea of making a good person to counter it felt right. After everything her family had done to that world, and even her own sins, creating a positive force in the world to help rectify it seemed like the right thing to do.
Of course there were tons of other factors with having a baby, but those were the most important ones to her. Every time she thought about having a child of her own, she kept having flashbacks to the bloodshed she'd witnessed over the past few years. Of her own baby hanging limp in her arms, covered in blood, and no longer breathing.
Michael was putting together a puzzle in the living room, only a few feet from where she sat on the couch. Bickslow had volunteered to give her a foot rub, so he sat on the other end of the couch with her appendage in his hands and giving her silent, questioning looks. Have you reconsidered? She imagined him asking, over and over and over again.
So, after a while… she finally answered.
"… it wouldn't be terrible." She spoke quietly, and the man glanced up at her again.
"What?"
"If you really want to… we can keep it." She felt oddly silly for saying it that way, heat rising to her cheeks and no doubtedly turning it red. Maybe I should have waited before telling him. What if I change my mind later?
"Keep what?" Michael asked nearby, looking up from his dinosaur puzzle.
Bickslow jumped up, leaning over the couch and planting another passionate kiss to her lips. Michael made an 'eeew' sound nearby, rolling his eyes and going back to his puzzle.
8.
Wednesday, May 21st, 11:30 PM
Makarov sat on the roof of his guild hall enjoying the night air. On troubling days he loved to come here, finding it much easier to think than inside the mess hall, and the cool air nice and refreshing. Spring was here in full bloom, and he loved the scent of flowers blossoming this time of year.
Only hours earlier, he received an invitation from Clarence, the guild master of the Ghoul Guild. Thankfully their meeting would take place in a common meeting ground in a nearby forest, instead of either guild hall. Makarov hated meeting with the man, because although he acted civil, he was a slippery snake that could warp and twist your words for his gain.
Normally he would have no qualms asking his granddaughter to join him for this, but considering the recent events, he was hesitant to do so. He had risked her life by overplaying her power in negotiations, and although they'd never made it clear if they were responsible, Makarov always suspected that most of the attacks on her were a result of the Ghoul Guild. This had ultimately played in his favor, since Claire escaped or held her ground well enough to make them back off, but the Fairy Tail guild master always worried that he might overplay his cards on day. That the Ghoul Guild would call him out on his bluff, she would get hurt in the process, and consequently more of his children.
It troubled him immensely that she wouldn't talk about what happened. Gajeel relayed some of his conversation with the woman from earlier that day, and admitted that although she seemed to have changed in the past few weeks, he didn't think it was from mind control. The iron mage spoke to everyone that had been there in Minstrel, and it seemed that she was dealing with her brother's death in her own way.
The Ghoul Guild has a history of killing popular people and replacing their souls with fake ones, and then flaunting it in everyone's faces. Makarov couldn't help but fear that this happened to Claire and Wendy- that it wasn't simply a 'mix up'. He'd been damn close to declaring a war on that guild over it.
Now, he had to decide whether to trust one of his strongest wizards or not. He had hoped to study her during the trials, to see how she interacted with the other guild members to gage whether she was herself, but since her refusal to do so he didn't know what to do. If she didn't sound and look almost exactly like Laxus during that meeting, he wouldn't be having this mental debate.
Makarov sighed, wishing the situation wasn't so complicated. He wished that the magic council would give the go to destroy the Ghoul Guild and be done with it, but that didn't seem like a possibility for quite some time; if ever.
With another sigh, he decided to just have her come along for the meeting. He was allowed two wizards to accompany him, so he figured she and Laxus would be the best people to bring.
9.
Wednesday, May 22nd, 11:30 PM
Bickslow would have a heart attack if he knew where I was. Claire mused silently as she waited with the guild master and her brother. The meeting with the Ghoul Guild would begin any minute- whenever their hosts decided to arrive.
She had spent most of her day shopping with Wendy, Carla, and Michael at the shopping district in town. They bought paint, two twin beds, and a few other accessories for their room together. Claire had meant to invite Wendy to train with her sometime, but never got the chance.
On some level, she thought it was strange that she wasn't nervous by this meeting that would take place. Even her grandfather and brother showed very subtle signs of anxiety over this situation, having been sitting in a dark forest for half an hour, and yet the fire mage sat perfectly calm.
When the baby comes, we'll have to put the crib in our room until we figure out a better situation or get a bigger house. … I wonder what it'll be like to have a kid that I gave birth to?
Seeing something move in the corner of her eye, she brought her thoughts back to the situation, realizing that there were several souls in the surrounding shadows. Her own souls were on standby in case she needed them, far away from their current location but close enough to be useful.
Makarov, Laxus, and Claire all sat on one side of the fairly large square table, and looked to the other side of the clearing when people started arriving. A short woman draped in dark purple shawls walked between two young tall men, and with discomforting grace, made their way to the opposite side of the table.
"I apologize if I kept you waiting." The old woman spoke, clasping her hands on the table after letting her hood fall. It was none other than their mother, Margaret, looking calm yet stern. "It has been a… complicated, few weeks. As you can imagine."
"Are you speaking in place of Clarence?" Makarov asked.
"Yes. I've been debriefed on all details necessary. Clarence called this meeting to clear up what happened on March 18th and 19th."
"You mean when you kidnapped two Fairy Tail mages and released a powerful monster that resulted in hundreds of deaths?"
"That's what we're here to clear up." Margaret spoke, not blinking an eye at his accusation. She held out a hand to one of the two men standing next to her, and they took a folder from their satchel and handed it to her.
Claire's gaze lingered on him. His soul had an odd, white bubble that seemed to bob unusually in his dark blue swirls, and the fire mage couldn't recall seeing an anomaly like that before. Curiously, her gaze moved to the other man, finding an almost identical one on his shoulder. An artificial soul, perhaps?
"On March 18th, at exactly 2:05 PM your time, a member of my guild tried to transport our property to a base we have in Midi. Unfortunately, the Fairy Tail members Wendy Marvell and Claire Groh were in close proximity to the transport site and were transported as well. We apologize for the mistake and if they had contacted the staff on site when they arrived, they would have been taken promptly back home."
"So when that 'staff' hunted Wendy and I down to murder us, they were really just trying to bring us home?" Claire asked.
"Did they expressly say that?" Margaret countered.
"Yes."
"There was likely a misunderstanding. Everyone in our guild knows not to kill members of Fairy Tail."
"They knew the rule. They were so terrified of their boss killing them for losing the cargo that they didn't care."
"Whether or not this transpired, you obviously survived. My sources say that the little girl is perfectly fine as well. I am glad that you're here to answer a few of my questions, though." Margaret spoke, and the group gave her a suspicious look as she started sorting through papers again. Within seconds the table was filled with photos, and as the trio leaned in to look at it, they realized that they were pictures of Carl.
They were images of the parasite when he was imprisoned. The tiny, foot tall stump like mass was sitting in a room with three dirt packed walls. On those walls were words carved into them, and most of the photos were close ups of them.
"On March 18th, somewhere between 4:00 and 5:00 PM, he became increasingly agitated. Not long after Claire and Wendy were transported."
"What do these words mean?" Makarov asked.
"We're not sure. We were hoping Claire would have some insight to it."
"They're song lyrics from our home world, idiot. I knew you were old, but I didn't know you were that old." Claire insulted, watching the woman's lips turn into a thin line.
"These are song lyrics?" Makarov repeated, and she nodded, leaning back in her seat. One of the pictures in particular stared back at her, and the sudden guilt gnawed at her chest painfully. Wait… is there any possibility he could have been notified when I became a seith mage? The spell he cast is specific to those with the mark… No, it's more likely that these idiots slipped up and he escaped.
The necromancer ended up spending an hour evading questions and giving vague answers. She admitted that Carl escaped from their facility, but failed to mention how or why it happened.
10.
Wednesday, May 23rd, 9:30 AM
There were only two more days until the S-Class Trials, and everyone was excited for it. Those competing were rarely seen ever since their return from Minstrel, given their limited time to prepare and train, but their rare presence in the guild hall was stressed as hell.
Gajeel and Levy were a rare exception to this rule, since neither of them had left Fiore with the group. They had both been training for several weeks now, preparing for the trials, and were ready to fight. Both of them were confident about their success, and they would definitely make the trials interesting for the other competitors.
"Moooooom," Michael whined loudly, and proceeded to climb onto the woman's back and shoulders. She was slouched over the table, headphones on her ear, and producing a soothing purring sound. Her coffee was going cold nearby, only half empty, along with her barely touched breakfast. "Uuuugh, you're so borrriiiiing,"
"You should be nicer to your mom." Levy commented as she approached them, and the boy looked up at her, giving her an annoyed look. "You should let her rest."
"But we're supposed to do stuff today."
"Why don't you go play with Romeo until she wakes up?" She suggested, and took a seat across from the sleepy mage. The second floor, unlike the previous days, had several other mages littered about the tables enjoying their meals.
"He's too busy playing with wizards."
"Why don't you go keep Gajeel company, then? He gets pretty bored babysitting Ryan on his own."
"Gajeel is scary in the morning." Mike replied, and made a surprised sound when the woman beneath him shifted, nearly knocking him to the floor. His knees were situated between her shoulders and neck, precariously balanced, and he gripped her hair to keep from falling.
"Why don't you go say 'hi' to the guild master for a minute?" She asked, and reached up to remove his hands from her hair. Carefully, she removed the ten year old from her shoulders, her half-lidded eyes staring at the energetic child.
"Fine." He huffed, and proceeded to jump from the bench and run away at full speed.
"Energetic little bastard." Claire grumbled, and the blue-haired mage giggled, causing her to look up. She'd already forgotten about the word mage's presence. "Hey Levy. 'Sup?"
"You look exhausted." She replied instead, and the fire mage shrugged, moving to her neglected coffee mug. "I can barely handle one kid, I can't imagine adopting three."
"They're not too bad. I might take Mike to park and have him run around with the babies."
"'Babies'?" Levy repeated, and the fire mage stared at her for a moment, taking a second to realize the confusion.
"Babies, as in, my wandering souls. They're with Bickslow right now helping him train, but I'll probably steal them back in a while for Mike." Claire explained tiredly, yawned into her hand, and took another drink of her now steaming coffee.
"So, I actually came over here to ask for a favor." She spoke, shifting awkwardly in her seat. "I, uh… well, after my dad passed away last month, my mom has been taking it pretty hard. She's temporarily closed down her book shop and living in a cabin to the west of town, and I've been delivering supplies to her."
"I'm sorry about your dad."
"Thanks… anyway, I was hoping that you could come with me. Gajeel doesn't want me to go alone, but he doesn't get along with her, so…"
"When do we leave?"
"Um… tomorrow night, if that works with you? I know it's not a lot of notice…"
"It's fine." Claire replied, slightly suspicious of the little word mage. She couldn't remember a time that she'd seen the woman so fidgety and nervous. "Just let me know times."
11.
Wednesday, May 23rd, 4:30 PM
Bickslow was exhausted.
His team quit early that day to rest, and boy, did he need it. With the recent news about the bundle of joy on the way, he wanted nothing more than to stay home and dote on his fiancé while planning their wedding. As a result he let his guard down way too often during training, Ever turned him to stone more times than she needed to, and for some reason Freed was equally as distracted. The Thunder Legion was out of sync, and they only had 2 days to figure it out.
As the front door to his home closed behind him, those worries left his mind and he instantly sent out his souls to search the house. He was a little disappointed that she wasn't home, but he didn't let it deter him too much.
Even though he felt sore as hell, he also felt a new wave of energy wash over him, inspiring him to run up the stairs and go to his room. He started searching through the shelves of books that Claire owned, and after an unsuccessful trip downstairs as well, exited the house again.
I'm going to be a dad. The thought made his smile broaden, and he was so excited that a little skip found its way into his step. Before long he found himself in town, perusing bookstores and any shop that looked like it might have something with baby themed things.
"Daddy's so happy!"
"Happy, happy!" His babies sang as he walked down the street.
"Bundle of joy!" Another sang, possessing the body of a small teddy bear and floating with the others.
"Sssh, keep it down, guys. It's supposed to be a secret."
"Secret?"
"Baby! Baby! Baby!" Two of them started chanting loudly, and the seith mage quickly unbound them, causing them to 'aww' as their totems disappeared into thin air.
12.
Wednesday, May 23rd, 4:30 PM
"Uuuugh, when will this torture end?! This is so unmanly!" Elfman complained in the shopping district, his large frame carrying an abundance of baby themed things. Not surprisingly, the man had gotten roped into shopping with his older sister and her girlfriend, a task he wished he could escape. They spent ridiculous amounts of time debating the various colors of pink, blues, purples, the texture of certain fabrics, toys suitable for their child, and an unending list of other incredibly boring topics for the man.
"Elfman, you're such a great brother." Mirajane told him with a cute smile and tilt of her head, not for the first time, and the younger man blushed yet again as he looked away. He would do anything for his big sister.
"Why do you think my sister doesn't care?" Carol asked, stopping outside a store window and looking sadly at a stroller.
"How did you expect her to react?" Elfman asked, and his sister hit his arm.
"I thought she'd, I don't know… be happy, I guess?"
"It's just going to take time." Mira assured her, and reached a comforting arm around her.
"Not to be rude, but, uh… instead of worrying about why she's not happy for you, why aren't you worried about how she's handling your brother's death?" Elfman questioned, and the young woman blinked up at him, confused. "I mean, I'm not that close to her, but I did spend the past few weeks with her and our friends. As far as I know, she hasn't talked to anyone about what happened."
"He worked with Kelsey, and from what I heard, he killed a lot of people. If anything, shouldn't she be happy?" Carol asked, and the man looked away, not knowing what to say.
As Mira consoled the woman, Elfman found himself distracted, watching a familiar seith mage strolling down the street. He was extremely upbeat, even skipping, with his weird souls following suit and carrying a couple of shopping bags. They were talking rather loudly about babies, which the takeover mage initially dismissed as the weird relationship between the floating things and Bickslow, but he soon realized what he was talking about.
The large man smiled. Good for them.
"Elfman, come on," Mira ordered. He diligently followed, deciding to not share what he'd overheard.
13.
Wednesday, May 23rd, 5:00 PM
Laxus didn't know why he couldn't say 'no' to the man. He had done so a million times, yet he'd completely lost the ability to do so.
It was as if he was under a love spell, but of course, the effects of those wear off when the person realizes that it's been cast. Every time that Freed touched him, riled him up, Laxus was gone. All that mattered was sex at that point, and any intention he had to stop was done.
As he lay there with only a thin sheet on his legs, he stared at his white ceiling, wishing that Freed would leave sooner. The green-haired mage took his time to leave, trying to make idle chit-chat or compliment the blond on his sexual prowess, or taking his time getting his clothes on. Sometimes the man would purposely pose in a way to entice the dragonslayer, and to Laxus's dislike, it worked.
He had never hated getting laid so much. It wasn't even bad sex- he just hated the utter lack of self-control he had with it.
Whatever the hell was wrong with him, he hoped that it would end soon.
14.
Wednesday, May 23rd, 5:00 PM
"Natsu! You're supposed to be training, not cuddling with someone else's girlfriend." Happy lectured on the table, slightly annoyed at the scene before him. Lucy was more confused than anything nearby, sitting across from them with a bowl of soup in front of her.
The fire mage simply tightened his grip around the fire woman, staying silent. After spending the day with Mike and doing a few chores, Claire had returned to the mess hall to take a nap on the second floor. Given her anxiety levels, and that of the people around her training for the trials, she had decided to wear her headphones that day to calm everyone down.
Originally Natsu, Lucy, and Happy were only going to briefly stop in the guild hall for dinner and then leave. Instead, the dragonslayer stilled as they entered the mess hall, sniffed the air, and then made a bee line for the napping dragon girl. He didn't even eat any food that was offered to him- he simply stayed latched to Claire, nuzzling his face into her neck.
"What's with you, Natsu? I don't think I've seen you act so weird before." Lucy asked casually, and took another bite of her soup.
"Do you have to do that damn purring, Claire?" Gajeel asked loudly as he stomped over to the group, startling Happy and Lucy from their commentary.
"I thought you usually liked her purring?" Lucy asked, confused. "Doesn't it remind you of your dad?"
"Usually, yeah, but not during the god damn mating season. Her and her sister's scents are driving me nuts, and that purring is just pissing me off."
"'Mating season'?" Lucy and Happy asked in unison.
"Dragons have a stupid mating season every ten years or so. Since dragonslayers have dragon magic, we experience some of the symptoms." Gajeel explained, blushing slightly and looking away. When the fire mage remained unmoving, likely sleeping, he gently removed the headphones and turned them off.
Natsu growled, low and deep, and glared up at the iron mage.
"Since Claire is a fire dragon, I'll bet it's driving you nuts more than anyone." Gajeel snickered, unaffected by the death glare he was receiving.
"Wait, that's why Natsu has been so weird the past few weeks?" Happy asked. "Because he's in love with Claire?"
"I wouldn't say in love, per say, but something like that. 'Lust' might be a better word."
"Aw man, how is he going to fight her during the trials, then? Almost every year they have the competitors fight S-Class mages!" Happy exclaimed, and the iron mage laughed boisterously.
"Sucks for you guys. Later." He waved off, eavesdropping on the comical arguments that followed.
15.
Wednesday, May 24th, 7:00 PM
Claire reclined further into the wagon seat, snuggling into her large poncho. It was the one she got from the fairies, fixed up, and she loved it.
In her half awake state, she made sure that her souls patrolled the area. Levy did most of the work, actually driving the horse pulled wagon down the trail, and had even down most of the packing. Claire had offered her souls to help move things, but ultimately, the fire mage was pretty useless. Between Mike vying for her attention during the day, Bickslow talking for most of the night about their baby, and spending time with Wendy and Carla in the mix of that, the fire mage found herself taking naps whenever she could.
"So what's your mom like?" Claire asked at some point, feeling awkward after such a long pause between them. She had never been particularly close to Levy, but they had talked on occasion and Claire's involvement with Levy's pregnancy made them feel closer than they were.
"She went to Magnolia Town University and studied ancient literature. She loves antiques."
"That's cool. My mom used to be into old shit, too." The fire mage commented. "Sorry for being so crude. She loved old things from other cultures, specifically a middle eastern religion that was popular in my town." She explained awkwardly. Another silence followed.
They were traveling through a dark forest, with only four magic lanterns lighting their path. It was eerily silent.
"How did your dad die? If you don't mind me asking."
"… he going on a business trip by ship. He was one of the people killed by the…"
"Island monster?" Claire finished, hoping she wasn't right, but the bluenette nodded. "I'm sorry he died that way. I hope he escaped the monster before it got him."
"What difference would that make?" Levy asked, keeping her eyes ahead on the path.
"The island ate body and soul. It ate everything and anything in its path." Claire explained sadly, wishing that she hadn't brought up the topic. Another awkward silence followed, and this time, she was determined to not start the next conversation. No doubt she'd accidentally insult her grandmother or something just as terrible.
Levy's hands were shaking.
Shit. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything."
"N-no, i-it's fine."
"I say stupid things sometimes."
"Please, Claire…" She spoke, her voice and lower lip trembling. The word mage reached up and rubbed her eye, to which the other mage looked away, deciding to not press the issue. It had been a long time since she cried, but she knew the vulnerability in it, and she knew that sometimes talking could make a situation worse.
Mom, trouble up ahead. Siri spoke in her head, one of her two new souls. The cabin is crawling with armed guys.
It's a trap. Riley added.
"How long 'til we get there?" Claire asked the driver casually.
"About ten minutes."
"And then we'll be there, comforting your mom for a few hours…. I'll probably miss tucking Mike into bed, if that's the case. Ever since his dad died, and then my trip to Midi, Mike gets upset when I'm not there to tuck him in." Claire rambled, and as the tears fell from Levy's eyes, her suspicion was confirmed. "Although, Bixy can probably handle it tonight."
As her souls relayed more information, she sighed, already forming her plan. What a pain.
She wasn't even mad at the girl next to her. Levy was shaking, crying, and on the verge of hyperventilating. Whatever reason she had for leading Claire into a trap, she knew it had to be a good one. Levy Gardner was a Fairy Tail mage through and through, and wouldn't endanger her friends unless she had to.
"Do you want to stop? Like, to compose yourself before you see your mom?" Claire asked, but the woman shook her head, keeping her hands on the reins and her face forward. "Suit yourself."
It felt like an eternity until they reached their destination, and as they rolled up to the cabin, no person was in sight. As the wagon slowly came to a halt, Levy's sobs quieted but her body still shook. The word mage hopped off of the wagon, walked over to the horses, and cast a spell to dull their senses. It was a common trick to prevent horses from running and let them rest.
That was when the armed men emerged from their hiding places, carrying a variety of weapons. Some had axes, others swords, and even one man had a club. Each of them had a symbol somewhere on their body to mark their guild.
Claire simply stayed put, yawned tiredly, and remained snuggled into her warm poncho.
"I-I-I did as you asked." Levy spoke, approaching a man on the porch steps.
"Where's the money?" He asked.
"It's in the wagon. Where are my parents?"
"Inside." He replied, and nodded to the house. Just as she was about to run forward into the lit structure, a clay pot sitting on a rocking chair lurched forward and smashed into the word mage's chest, causing her to fly backwards to the ground. Gasping for breath by the hooves of her horses, she lay curled up and helpless. The man she had just been talking to looked around him, knife in his hand, and tried to figure out who had thrown the object.
The barrier flashed around the entire wagon and horses, her summoning of it too fast for them to see.
"What the hell did you just do!?" The man on the porch demanded.
"YEEEEEEE!" Several firey objects screamed as they soared through the air, and an assortment of weapons flew in attempt to hit them. Screams and cries rang out as the sharp objects landed on the men, blood spilled, and the fire woman simply observed the scene unfold.
From the information her souls gathered, this wasn't a strong group. There were only 20 people total, their weapons consisted namely of blunt objects, and within a few minutes they were very effective in taking themselves out. They were common bandits, and by the sound of it, weren't very good at the ransoming business. I guess it's kind of a nice change to fight people that are idiots, rather than people par with my strength.
"Claire! Let me out of here!" Levy screamed, and the fire mage looked over at her, surprised that she was already standing.
"Relax, your parents are fine. Riley helped them get to the basement to hide until we take care of these idiots." Claire explained, and yawned into her hand. I love my babies so much. She thought, feeling extremely thankful for them at that moment. Bickslow had encouraged her to use her souls to fight for her more often so that she didn't get hurt, and she was starting to understand just how nice it was.
"What do you mean?!" She yelled, running over to the wagon. With the babies screaming and causing as much chaos as possible, it was difficult to communicate clearly.
"My soul, Riley, took your parents to safety. Once we finish these guys off we'll go inside, get them, and take them back home. I'm assuming that's okay with you?"
Levy simply stared at her with wide eyes, in disbelief, until her arms gave out and she pulled the fire woman into a hug.
16.
Thursday, May 25th, 1:30 AM
As the front door closed behind her, her eyes drifted to a close briefly, glad to be home. A click behind her indicated that it was fully shut, and without bothering to open her eyes, she turned to finish locking it for the night.
Even after her attempts to not move around too much, she felt exhausted. Between the crying, hugging, carrying, talking, blah, blah, blah, she just wanted to slip under the covers and fall asleep. Somewhere in her mind she knew that she should be mad at Levy for the whole thing, but at the same time, she couldn't bring herself to it. If the situation had been reversed, she likely would have done the same.
Well… maybe. Levy hadn't been monitored, so she easily could have given Claire a heads up or asked her friends for help, but she didn't.
Why the hell does it matter?
Realizing that she was on the verge of falling asleep against the door, she pushed herself from it and climbed up the stairs, careful to not make much noise. When she slipped into her room, she could see two mounds under the covers, reminding her to change into pajamas. They would need to have another talk about him sleeping in his own bed.