"Y'know, there's something on your face?" The bandit looked at Vali dumbly, reaching up to touch his face ignorant of the cruel smile on the considerably younger mages face.

"Huh? No there's no-"

"IT WAS PAIN!" Winding his fist back and coating it in a thick glob of water, Vali jabbed his fist forwards, fist crashing into the bandit's face, a satisfying Crunch sounding through the area as the bandits nose broke under his attack, shaking off his now bloodied hand Vali turned and looked over the area, over a dozen bandits lay on the ground in various states of unconsciousness and all of them way worse for ware

"Haaa, this is what? The Eighth time this week? I thought Minstrel was supposed to be a peaceful country, you'd think that the guild our man belongs to hired these guys but we've basically made all our plans on the spot so these guys are just hanging around." His partner chuckled at his exasperation, requipping away her sword as she finished off her own final opponent

"Well we both knew it wasn't going to be a peaceful journey Vali, bandits are just as common as Fiore as they are here" She patted his shoulder, ignoring the pout Vali acted out, chuckling once again at his puppy eyed look

"I know but it's still annoying, we have such an important quest riding on our shoulders and these guys just keep coming out the woodwork and slowing us down" Erza nodded her head, agreeing with his words as she turned her gaze to the bandits, a rope requipping in her hand as she started about her ritual of tying up the hands and feet of their attackers

"As true as that may be we're still making decent time, especially since we stopped taking the train a while ago" Vali nodded his head seriously, eyes narrowing as he thought back to the train.

Their original plan was to arrive at the Seaside Town of Cadenza and get a train to one of the major cities in Minstrel so they could get the fastest route to Crescendo Town where they'd hire a boat to take them to Melancholy Town in Sin, their plan had been ruined though when Darton called their lacrima telling them that there'd been reporting of their mans guild mark showing up in Minstrel

Instead of risking being prematurely caught and found out, Vali decided they'd play everything by ear, instead coming to terms with the fact he'd have to dig out some Jewels and buy a couple horses - Using a Magic Mobile was risky with the loss of magic and having to stick purely to the roads - when a messenger had ran up to them and told him some woman had bought them two horses

Sceptical they approached the stables the horses were being kept in when they asked the man who delivered the horses to describe the woman-

'A Beautiful woman with long black hair and eyes like your own sir. She just walked in and dumped the Jewels in the bosses hand asking for his best horses and to give them to you when you arrived, we heard word of your arrival pretty quickly when you got off your ship'

Well he figured out the unknown buyer the moment he heard the description of her and immediately sent a small prayer of thanks to his Mom, still he continued to ask their guide questions and eventually found out quite a bit.

Minstrel is the home of Music, the place where the Arts are hoarded and cultivated, where all the best musicians, artists, dancers, sculptures, actors, architects, everyone come to study, the central hub of the artistic side of the world where anyone who's anyone wants to be big in.

If you're from a place in Minstrel then you'll make it anywhere, it's like getting a Doctorate from Oxford or Harvard or getting a recommendation for a role in a movie by Harrison Ford or Betty White.

Just coming from a specialist school in Minstrel can make you rich, and that's not even talking about the people coming out at the very top.

Turns out, Vali's music was greatly received in Minstrel, people were excited yb a new artist coming out of the woodworks, especially one who was not only an S-Class Mage but also one who had become a Number one selling artist country wide in just weeks after making his debut album, there's talk about Musician Schools offering him a place and even some big shot records wanting to sign him

'Apparently some of the Artists over here want to Collab as well so maybe I'll reach out to them, there are songs I like that have female parts to them as well, plus collabing with other artists means more money for myself and the guild'

Shaking his head he turned to his steed, a beautiful black horse that looked as every bit strong as fast as it was. When the arrived at the horse-traders home he was told that the horse was named Swift but he could change it, after quickly debating with himself Vali settled on a name-

"I hope you're up for the rest of our journey Arion, we still have a long way to go before we can take a break" His horse neighed under his gentle patting, standing straighter as if to say that he's ready for their journey.

Arion, in Greek Mythology, was the son of Poseidon and Demeter and the Twin Brother of Despiona. In the myths Arion was said to have been given to Heracles during his travels and during his fight against Cycnus, he was also said to have saved the life of King Adrastus of Argos during the war of The Seven Against Thebes

Out of all the horses Vali could've named him after he chose the one he liked the most, sure Sleipnir was cool and Hengroen was an option he still enjoyed the name and myth of Arion the most, plus it's a much easier name to remember… and his horse isn't eight legged or the horse of a king so… yeah…

"If you're ready to continue Vali then we're ready over here as well"

"Hmm, sure. Ready when you are Erza"

Mountain Arion he turned to look at his partner, smiling at the beautiful pure white mare she rode. Since the horses were technically his, Erza let him name her horse as well, instead of sticking with his more mythological aspect he had going he gave the horse a simple name, Winter. Sighing he turned his head to the sky, eyes landing of a large black eagle with electric blue feathers staring at them on a high tree branch, giving a small nod and a sharp whistle the bird took off into the sky, a boom of thunder rattling the sky as it cawed in the air

-/-

"Oh my Gods it's you! Oh God- um, hi can-can I have an autograph? I-I'm a huge fan!" Nodding with a smile he took the pen in her hand, uncapping it as he bent down to sign her shirt, writing out his name - shortened down to Vali, obviously - and wrapping it in a large 'O'.

Standing back up Vali sweat dropped, seeing a crowd of people surrounding him, staring at him excitedly. Turning his head to his Redhaired partner he felt his eyebrow twitch as he watched her struggle to contain her laughter.

Letting out a silent sigh he turned to the girl he had borrowed the marker from, asking her if he could use it for a bit longer as he looked over the crowd of people who wanted his autograph on something.

-/-

(A/N: If y'all don't like the singing bits then skip this part)

"~Yeah, you!

Yeah, you!

I used to wanna be

Living like there's only me

But now I spend my time

Thinking 'bout a way to get you off my mind (Yeah, you!)

I used to be so tough

Never really gave enough

And then you caught my eye

Giving me the feeling of a lightning strike (Yeah, you!)

Look at me now, I'm falling

I can't even talk, still stuttering

This ground I'm on, it keeps shaking

Oh-oh-oh, now!

All I wanna be, yeah all I ever wanna be, yeah, yeah

Is somebody to you

All I wanna be, yeah all I ever wanna be, yeah, yeah

Is somebody to you

Everybody's trying to be a billionaire

But every time I look at you I just don't care

'Cause all I wanna be, yeah all I ever wanna be, yeah, yeah

Is somebody to you (Yeah, you! Hahaha)

I used to run around

I didn't wanna settle down

But now I wake each day

Looking for a way that I can see your face (Yeah, you!)

I've got your photograph

But, baby, I need more than that

I need to know your lips

Nothing ever mattered to me more than this (Yeah, you!)

Look at me now, I'm falling

I can't even talk, still stuttering

This ground I'm on, it keeps shaking

Oh-oh-oh, now!

All I wanna be, yeah all I ever wanna be, yeah, yeah

Is somebody to you

All I wanna be, yeah all I ever wanna be, yeah, yeah

Is somebody to you

Everybody's trying to be a billionaire

But every time I look at you I just don't care

'Cause all I wanna be, yeah all I ever wanna be, yeah, yeah

Is somebody to you (Yeah, you!)

Look at me now, I'm falling

I can't even talk, still stuttering

All I wanna be, yeah all I ever wanna be, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah (Yeah, you!)

All I wanna be, yeah all I ever wanna be, yeah, yeah

Is somebody to you

All I wanna be, yeah all I ever wanna be, yeah, yeah

Is somebody to you (Yeah, you!)

All I wanna be, yeah all I ever wanna be, yeah, yeah

Is somebody to you

All I wanna be, yeah all I ever wanna be, yeah, yeah

Is somebody to you (Yeah, you!)

Everybody's trying to be a billionaire

But every time I look at you I just don't care (I just don't care)

'Cause all I wanna be, yeah all I ever wanna be, yeah, yeah (Yeah)

Is somebody to you (Somebody to you)

'Cause all I wanna be, yeah all I ever wanna be, yeah, yeah

Is somebody to you (Yeah, you!)

Yeah, you!"

Finishing, Vali turned towards Erza with a small smile, enjoying the happy look on her face as he sang for her once again. While the song wasn't one he had written down for his next album or single, Somebody To You by The Vamps was a song he enjoyed, plus it expressed his feelings kind of well in this moment.

Honestly Vali doesn't know when it happened but at some point during his time in Fairy Tail he had grown increasingly attracted and attached to the redheaded girl, it might've been before the Thallassia Journey or it may have been some point afterwards but he enjoyed the time he spent with her and slowly his feeling for her escaped the realm of just friends

Now Vali isn't a kid, he had long since decided that hiding how you feel is pointless unless you have to, meeting a client you have to control yourself, but you can be as open as you want at any point and time but Vali didn't say anything to the redhead, silently declaring to himself that he'd ask her at the end of the quest, if he asked her now and she rejected him… well everything hung in the balance and as much as he'd love to make his feelings known he knew when to keep things to himself

If he had to hide how he felt for a couple of weeks and stop a potential war then he will, afterwards in free game. If she rejects him than life moves on, he'll be crushed of course but he'll move on, maybe write a couple sad songs or something, take a long mission and escape the guild for a bit but he'll move on either way

-/-

"Is this how it's gonna be the entire journey? Because if so I'd prefer to just say fuck it and get a train- no offense Arion, Winter!" Punching yet another bandit in the face Vali sighed, annoyed by the constant interruptions they were getting during their travel

Luckily Darton had contacted them a few hours ago to tell them that someone wearing their guys guild mark was seen getting on a boat back to sin a few days ago so they were finally back to going the fastest route, still they didn't want to get on the trains just in case.

Plus then Arion and Winter would just get abandoned somewhere in Minstrel and he wouldn't like that, they're his friends now

"Come on Vali, start acting like the S-Class you are and stop complaining"

"Haaa, fiiiine [Sea God's-]"

"Wait no-"

"[-Crashing Waves!]"

-/-

"Why do I put up with you again Valentine?"

"Because you love me?"

He received no reply, making him pout

-/-

"Ariooooooooonnn! She's being mean to me" His loyal, faithful, beautiful horse neighed in response, nodding its head in understanding as Vali hugged it, glaring at the deadpanning and visible confused redhead across from them

"S-She's so mean Arion! You're my bestest best friend alright? Nobodies better then you buddy" Sobbing louder than before he shrieked slightly when a bolt of lightning struck next to him, an unimpressed and seemingly angry thunderbird staring down at him

"You don't count Raijin, you're my baby! My Comrade! The bestest companion a guy could ask for, better than that weirdo Happy could ever be! He doesn't even shoot lightning!" His bird looked even more smug at his words, a haughty and arrogant aura now eluding in its posture as it sat in a tree

"What the fuck…?" Turning to her own Companions Erza stood baffled, confused as to what the fuck was happening across from her, her own horse shaking its head, confusion showing on its face at the scene they both stood across

-/-

"To be, or not to be, that is the question"

"...what does that even mean?"

"To be honest Erza? I don't know either, it just sounds cool"

"...remind me how you became S-Class again?"

"Nishishi, 'cause I'm a badass, obviously"

"Gods help me..."

"Rude"

It took them a while, nearly a month worth of travelling before they eventually made it to the seaside town of Crescendo. After arriving at the town Vali quickly asked where the nearest Stable was, leaving Arion and Winter there and paying off the Shepard there so that they'd stay healthy and happy in his care while they finally embarked on their quest

They ended up crashing at a hotel for a couple of days in Crescendo Town, relaxing one final time before they departed, enjoying what may be their last formal meal and last real bed for what it was worth, sending a message to Darton letting him know they'd be arriving at Sin within a day at least before they hired a boat, departing from the last safe haven they'll know for a while yet…

This chapter was super short and super unimportant but I wanted to write something at the very least so enjoy this filler chapter I guess, next time we get into the big and exciting stuff so look forward to that

I hit a bit of a slump the past few days so I'm just trying to get back into it, I've also finally started re-watching anime again! I used to love watching anime but then I just… stopped, I lost all motivation for it, the only one I kept up with was My Hero Academia but I've started watching again! I watched Rising of the Shield Hero a while ago so I can't wait for Season Two and the other day I binged watched all of That Time I got Reincarnated As A Slime

Started watching Haikyu! The other day and I'm about to Start Season 2 of that which is fun, probably watch Kuroko No Basuke after that aha. I kinda wanna write a Haikyu! Or Kuroko No Basuke Fanfiction buuut I doubt I'll be good at it, eh I'll think about it

Also I don't know when I'll start writing my Dimension Hopper Fanfiction thing, won't be for a while since I'm still debating how I wanna do it but I've been thinking about writing a My Hero Academia for fun, just something to do when I'm not writing this one just trying to work out if 1) I wanna do it and 2) What quirk I'd give him

...yeah the recent chapters for It got me hyped to do it, plus a friend of mine asked Imya a while ago If I could use the beginning of his own MHA fanfiction so I kinda feel like I have to do it aha (It's called Protocol I: Machibuse Hakuba if your interested)

Ummm, I'll probably not post next week, It's actually my birthday next Sunday! I'll be turning 18 which means I can finally 'start' drinking and stuff

Don't know what else to write so I'm out guys!

Neo!

Omake - The Beginning of Poseidon Aegaeus

"Vali! Vali" Blinking he tilted his head, raising his eyebrow as his small blue haired friend ran up to him the moment he walked through the doors to the guild, a book tucked under her arm that he couldn't see as she got closer

"Levy? What's up?" The moments the blue haired girl was in close enough range he started walking forwards, scanning the guild for a small table the two of them could sit at while the blue haired girl started explaining why she was calling for him

'Maybe she wants to go on an S-Class? It's been a while since we did any missions and Team Shadowgear could definitely use the experience for when Levy becomes S-Class'

Sitting at the table he waited for the Solid Script mage to calm down, thanking the barmaid who had gave him his morning glass milk as he waited

"I got a message from Paul the other day, apparently a new book came in from a guy he's never heard of before" Vali raised an eyebrow, Paul is the owner of 'The Bookshop' in Magnolia and was a person who got along well with Levy and himself, the bookshop owner sending them letters telling them about any new books that come in, usually keeping a copy each off to the side for them

"Well, what's it about? Any good?" He asked his usual question, Levy usually being the one to get the book first of the two of them since Vali was usually either away taking jobs or visiting Crocus to work with Mr. Silius on new songs

"You bet your butt it is! So it was wrote by someone called Poseidon Aegaeus, it's about this man called Arthur Curry who finds out he's not fully human and is actually the heir to the underwater kingdom of Atlantis, Arthur goes on a quest to prevent a war between the land and the ocean, It's really good Vali! You should check it out, Paul still has your copy in the shop, it's called Aquaman!"

Vali chuckled when the girl finished her small rant, a smile threatening to break through his face as he heard the description of the story that had just been released, mind flashing back to a month before this moment

~ Cue Flashback Sequence! ~

"Thank you for accepting Mr. Silius, I'll be back in a couple of weeks when I've got the rest of the lyrics and music sheets written out" The jolly older man laughed, patting Vali's shoulder as he did. Vali had initially been surprised when the man had offered him a contract on the spot, his impromptu performance surprising and exciting the man at the same time

"Are you sure you don't need any help writing the music Valentine?" The question didn't come off arrogant or condescending, the man just seemed curious and worried about him not getting the sheets done on time which Vali understood perfectly. While there's no real need to rush the creation of his album the worry of him going on a long quest or becoming extremely busy is troublesome, so Vali was asked to get his music written quickly so the musicians could learn and record the music for when he finally started recording the vocals

"No It'll be fine, I don't plan on going on any quests right now and even if I do I'll have a guildmate of mine helping me get it all down" The man seemed relieved at his words, nodding his head with a smile as he let go of Vali's arm, shaking the man's hand he departed from the building, rolling his arms as he pulled his bag over one of them

"Right, now I just have one more stop for today and we should be good" Nodding to himself he pushed himself into the busy streets of Crocus, wandering around the flower covered city as he tried to find his destination, eyes lighting up as he eventually found his way outside of a building, a small sigh hanging above the door labelled 'Sunrise Publishers'

Pushing open the doors to the homely building Vali looked around, pushing himself towards the receptionist desk silently thanking God that nobody was inside the small building when he entered

Unlike the Borealis Record Label, Sunrise Publishers is a relatively small, unknown company that helps authors get their books out there, a place where a person like Vali - who wants to introduce his books under a pseudonym - would want to go to get their books out there

Pushing down on the small bell Vali waited silently as a man's voice rang through the building, asking him to wait a moment. As time ticked on Vali started thinking more and more, wondering what he'd do if his books was rejected, as much as he'd enjoy staying relatively unknown and having his books be bought by people who actually enjoyed his stuff he would go to a more famous publisher and use his own fame to get his stuff out there

"Sorry for the wait-" The man who walked out of the door, stuttered, his voice dying off as his eyes met Vali's own, mentally rolling his eyes Vali plastered a smile on his face as he opened his mouth

"A pleasure to meet you, I was wondering if any of your publishers are available right now?" the man still didn't respond, the only 'response' Vali got being the older man's eyes widening even more "Umm, hello…?"

"O-Oh, sorry, yes um. Yes. Um, that is that we don't have any meetings at the moment, what can I help you with today?" Vali's smile became slightly more genuine as the man stuttered, his voice becoming stronger with each stuttered word

"A friend of mine recommended that I come here to see if I could get a book of mine published, I apologize for not mailing in advance to schedule a meeting but I figured anonymity was best." The man nodded his head waving any his apologies almost as soon as they came from his mouth

"Oh no, it's- It's perfectly fine Mr. Mizushima, if you give me a moment I'll see if any of my publishers are alright with meeting you right now" The man disappeared immediately, not giving Vali a moment to protest or add anything.

After a while the man came back and escorted Vali to a separate office where a woman in her late 30's sat, the conversation that took place took them near to an hour to sort out, with Vali explaining to the woman his wish to keep himself anonymous in his book publishing expedition, the pseudonym he wishes to use - thankfully the woman didn't blink an eye at the name he suggested, even as Vali failed to contain his small smile at the joke no-one would understand - the story he wished to publish, it's name, cover art

In that on hour the two of them went back and forth, discussing every aspect of his book in detail with a promise that it'd be on shelves soon by the time Vali exited

And that folks, Is how Vali started his journey to becoming one of the most famous authors in not only Fiore but most of Ishgar itself