A month later in the land of Fiore. We turn our attention to a mountain area near the village of Tully. it is a land vast with nature and life; there is a calm atmosphere but that all went down the hill when an explosion occurred by a mountain near the forest as smoke started to fly into the air.
Expanding the view from where the smoke is coming from. We find what looks to be an old mine cave that seems to be up into rumbles and is slowly collapsing because of the explosion.
In a minute; there came noises from within the cave that just echoed and before long a bunch of dark-cloaked riding on a single Magic transport vehicle came speeding out in a blur as it is getting chased by Clay and Dan who are riding.
"they're getting away!" Dan exclaimed as he and his teammate chases after the magic vehicle that has dark mages as its occupants.
Currently; team Salamander of the Fiore Magic Knights squadron are on a mission and that is to find and subdue a group of dark mages that has been hassling the nearby village.
"I can see that!" Clay replied as he grabs the bow and an arrow from behind his back which he starts to pull on the string and aimed at the dark mages who are escaping after their plans to subjugate the nearby village had failed. The blue-haired bowman closes his left eye and focuses his sights with his right eye. "burn…"
Clay soon fired his arrow as it flew into the air before its arrowhead blazes in flames and instantly hits the dark mage group's getaway vehicles' front tire that soon explodes.
"aagggh!" the dark mage group screams as their vehicle went out of control and instantly crashes straight against a tree.
"woohooo!" Dan howled out as he and Clay pulls the reins on their horses that stops near the crashed magic vehicle and got down. "we got them now!"
"don't count on it yet." Said Clay as he readied an arrow on his bow while having a careful yet alerted stance in approaching the crashed vehicle. "these are dark mages, not bandits. We have to be careful."
"gotcha there." Dan replied as he readied his sword and followed Clay's approach.
The two magic knights get close to the vehicle as they soon found 2 dark mages on it.
"Only two are here." Said Clay as he checked and finds that both dark mages are out cold before he looks around. "their compatriots must either gotten thrown off during the crash or they up and about while also making a getaway."
"I go for option 1…" said Dan as he looks around for any signs of knocked-out dark mages but he finds none. "but I guess option 2 is always possible."
"we have to warn the captain and the others." Clay replied as he pulls an arrow on his bow before he aimed up and fired the projectile straight to the sky where it exploded into a bright red star.
Meanwhile; at an area that is near from where Clay and Dan are at. A couple of dark mages are making a run for it as they had abandoned their comrades who are knocked out on their getaway vehicle.
"damnit!" one of the dark mages cried out. "since when are Fiore's magic knights this damn coordinative against us!?"
"like I know!" another dark mage shouted at the first. "those guys are on a whole different level!"
"one of them fired a flare!" another dark mage cried out as he sees the flare in the sky that slowly falls. "they must've brought an army if they are firing a flare!"
The group keeps on running as they plan to get away and redo their whole scheme somewhere far from where they currently are; but unknown to them, someone is hiding behind a big tree that is a few feet in front of them.
One dark mage ran as fast as his compatriots but soon finds a shield smashed against his face and sent him flying a few feet back.
"ooghh!" he cried out in pain as his face get smooshed and turned red while he lost a few of his teeth.
"What the heck?!" a dark mage exclaimed in surprise as he and the rest of his comrades stopped to see Tim appearing out of the tree while wielding his shield that he had just used to hit the face of one of the dark mages' compatriots. "t-they planned an ambush?!"
"Who cares! Let's just get out of here!" one of the dark mages exclaimed before another dark mage screams out in fright as he was snagged right off the ground from a trip wire trap that pulls him off his feet. "w-what?!"
"I would kindly suggest giving up, dear friends." Said Tim with a smile. "we have this place filled with traps before your arrival."
"w-why you!?" one of the dark mages who seems to be the leader looks infuriated at Tim as he soon wields a sword that he pulls out of his cloak. "you kingdom dogs! Like hell, we are letting it end here! Do you think you can take us all down, old man?! You thought wrong!"
"is that so?" Tim replied before he pointed a finger down at his feet.
The group of dark mages looks confused about his action before they looked down and finds that they are standing upon a camouflaged pitfall trap that is slowly breaking.
"What?" the dark mage spoke out before they all screamed as the pitfall trap broke and they fall straight in.
Tim smiled while chuckling before he went to the pitfall trap and looks down to see all the dark mages knocked out from their fall.
"d-did it work?" a voice called out as Tim looks to the side and sees Rookie coming out from the bushes, the small magic knight having to have gone undercover when the dark mages come.
"it has indeed." Tim replied with a nod as he looks back down to the unconscious dark mages. "it was good thinking in creating pitfalls in this area, Rookie-kun."
"n-no! i-it was j-just a suggestion! A-and i!" Rookie stuttered out while looking embarrassed and nervous.
Tim smiled before he looks to the sky as the flare that Clay fired falls into the forest and disappears.
"Let us regroup with the others." Tim stated to Rookie. "We round up every member of the dark guild and then hand them to the nearby authority."
"y-yes!" Rookie replied before they get to work.
In about an hour; Rookie and Tim regrouped with Clay and Dan; the four magic knights dragged tied up dark mages behind which they soon piled up to the center of their rendezvous point.
"Mission accomplished, Salamanders!" Dan exclaimed with a cheer. "another mission in the bag and finished up in a lickity split time!"
"The mission isn't finished, muscle-head." Clay told Dan before he looks at Tim and Rookie. "the accounted numbers of the dark mages of the dark guild was at least 7." The group then looks at the dark mages that they had caught and brought with. "we only have 6 of them."
"t-then that m-means one is missing, right?!" said Rookie as he is panicking. "w-what should w-we do!?"
"We should head east." Tim suggested before he pointed east. "If our missing fellow plans to escape from us; he would head east. The forest is in a close border with the Rustina Valley."
"That place is large and has lots of caves and stuff, right?!" said Dan to his teammates.
"if that dark mage managed to escape us, he'll be long gone" Clay replied with a nod. "let's go and catch him!"
"b-but…!" Rookie called out with a hand raised. "w-what if the captain is chasing after him right n-now?"
The teammates looked at Rookie before to each other.
"he did say that he's blocking up the East side, right?" said Dan as Clay nodded
The group soon looks east as somewhere a far from their position is the last dark mage who is making an escape as fast as his legs could take him.
"Damnit! Damnit!" the dark mage curses as he keeps on running before he tripped on something that made him fell face first. "aggh!" he slowly gets back up to his feet before he heard a metallic click from behind him. "wha?"
"Thought you could get away?" a voice spoke as the dark mage slowly lifts his hands up and then turns his head around then finds the barrel of Revol and Ver pointed at his face by Natsu. "did you?"
BANG!
A loud gunshot echoed out as it made a small flocks of birds fly into the air.
In a minute, the dark mage is all tied up and knocked out while getting dragged on the leg by Natsu who regrouped with his teammates.
"You guys missed one." Said Natsu as he went and threw his dark mage into the pile then looks at his teammates. "next time; make sure to count your captures before you decide to regroup with one another."
"it was a technical mistake in counting, captain." Clay replied while adjusting his glasses as he then points at Dan. "if this muscle for brains had think for once in using his fire magic in a cave filled with explosives. We wouldn't be in such trouble of nearly losing one of our targets."
"hey! We're Salamanders, right?!" said Dan in a loud voice. "I mean! We got to live up to our name and use our fire against the bad guys, right?!"
"not an excuse like that again, Dan." Natsu stated sternly at the swordswoman who just grins all dumbly to him which made the salmon haired man sigh before he turns towards Tim and Rookie. "you two, did you fill up the pitfall traps that you've made to capture some of your targets?"
"we have indeed, captain." Tim replied with a nod. "we have sealed them up and ensure that no person nor animal will fall into the trap that we have made."
"i-I made sure t-that there are no holes left uncovered!" said Rookie.
"good." Said Natsu with a nod before he sighs. "let's pack things up and head home."
"roger that." His teammates replied while nodding.
In about two hours' time; Natsu and his teams are riding on horses that have their equipment and essentials strapped onto the saddle as the group are heading back to Crocus after delivering the dark mages to a nearby town's local authority.
Their horses run on a nearly barren land's field as they left a trail of red dust when they run.
"hey, Cap! You sure we can't just rest up for the night?!" Dan called out to Natsu as his horse runs near the salmon haired mage's. "these steeds of ours are built to run and all, but they ain't going to hold up for that long, right?!"
"can't afford to rest here, Dan!" Natsu replied while looking at his comrade. "remember that this is the autumn season and when it's that time; it gets extremely dry even at night!" he then looks back to the front. "We do not want to rest at such a time by a nearly deserted wasteland that has the occasion for desert storms or anything that we won't like!"
"he's right!" Clay started as Dan looks at the glassed bowman. "we just have to follow the road and we will take a rest on an outpost stationed nearby! It's only another mile or so! We'll get there in time!"
"You really sure!?" said Dan in reply before he looks to the front. "Because I can only see nothing but a total wasteland here!"
"not everything is a wasteland!" Natsu replied as he pointed to the front when he spotted a small building coming into sight. "there! There's the outpost!"
The Salamanders ride their horses as they run straight for the outpost.
This is how it goes for Natsu and his team; the group had just started their duties as magic knights for Fiore and in just 2 months; they've been completing missions given by their superiors.
In about a few hours' time, the day is gone as night came to replace it.
Natsu and his team camped out at the small outpost which is a box-shaped building, painted white, only has a few small windows, but there are beds and stored food within that are usually for members of Fiore's knights or Magical Division Squadrons.
The group set up a campfire outside as they had to maintain a secure perimeter because there was no knowing the possibility of attackers of any kind that might come.
Right now; Natsu sat on a rock outside with Tim as the two are being the first members to look out while Clay, Tim, and Rookie were inside the small outpost taking a rest.
Natsu sat while in the middle of writing a report of the missions that he and his team had accomplished; it was his duty to always make it and it's something that he never liked to do.
"Dan made his part of paperwork more annoying every single mission…" said Natsu while writing his report as he scribbles his quill pen onto the report paper. "every single time; an explosion here and there..the old man is going to give me another lecture after this.."
"but the mission was accomplished with no casualties, captain." Tim spoke out with a smile while he is polishing his shield. "isn't that what matters?"
"it is, but the headaches that I get from doing these reports aren't worth it." Natsu replied as he scribbles his report before he sighs and rolled the paper up. "if there comes another meeting between captains and stuff. I want to propose that whoever made the bigger messes in the given missions would be the ones to write the reports from now on." The salmon-haired mage cracks his head side to side before he put the report scroll into his bag. "I'm so done with doing this."
"I believe I can understand that." Said Tim with a chuckle before he returns to polishing his shield.
The two went into silence as they just waited for the change of turns on the lookout. Natsu sat on the ground and leans on a rock to get some shut-eye while Tim is just sitting in silence.
The air is silent as there is no sound but the burning wood of the campfire that goes on.
Upon tomorrow; Natsu and his team rides their horses and heads straight for Crocus that is about a few hundred miles away from their position.
"home sweet home, dead ahead~!" Dan exclaimed with a big grin. "can't wait to chow down at the good old Rock N Road and get some good cold beer down the throat~!"
"as if that wasn't to be expected…" Clay spoke while sighing as he then adjusted his glasses. "do not think I will come to bail you out if you go drunk fighting like last time, Dan."
"come on~! Be a good pal and be my drinking buddy~!" Dan called out as Clay just sighs while looking away.
"Captain, are plans as you expected?" Tim spoke to Natsu as his horse got near his. "this is our 30th completed mission. This would definitely be noticed by the king."
"a promotion is very much to be expected." Natsu replied before he takes out his map and checks the geography of the area. "but I don't give a damn about that."
"you are still vent on your quest in search of your father, I assume?" Tim asked as Natsu just nodded. "do you have a close lead?"
"Bash has been checking and he found another lead that is very much close to Crocus." Natsu replied as he checks the map and then traces a finger to one mountain area. "I'm going to meet up with him and plan to go to the area tomorrow."
"that would mean that Team Salamander will be taking an off-duty day then.." said Tim with a smile.
"yahoo~! A break~!" Dan cried out with cheers from hearing the word 'break'. "let's party tonight at the bar! My treat!"
"you can go and party till you find yourself awake in an alley the next morning." Clay told Dan before he sighs and then glances at Rookie. "it'd be best that you do not try to be with him, Rookie. The troubles he will have would just be placed upon you."
"y-yes…noted!" Rookie replied quickly.
Natsu glances at his team before he sighs and then looks back at his map.
After a while, Natsu and his team returned to the city of Crocus as the group had split up since their arrival. Natsu is currently in the castle Mercurius to have a quick briefing with his superiors while his team gets the day off.
Natsu walks in the hallway of Mercurius as he passes by some royal guards who gave him a quick salute before leaving.
"this is the part that I always hate doing…." Natsu whispered as he scratches the back of his head and heads to a door; but just as he is about to knock, he heard a racket nearby. "huh?"
Natsu turns and soon saw a pink blur jumping out of a hallway and bolts away while being chased by a number of guards.
"the heck?" Natsu spoke out before he sees Arcadios following behind the guards. "old man!"
Arcadios heard Natsu as the knight turns to see the salmon-haired magic knight coming to him.
"what's the racket all about?" Natsu asked as Arcadios glances at the hallway where the guards are chasing after the mysterious pink blur before turning back to the young man.
"we have an intruder of some kind." Arcadios stated. "it's small, furry with the same color as your hair…"
"it's Salmon!" Natsu interjected with a growl.
"right…." Arcadios spoke out before he coughs and then continued. "anyway, this intruder is some sort of animal that has been giving the guards in the castle some trouble."
"What kind of trouble?" Natsu asked while raising an eyebrow.
"the type where food prepared by the chef are snacked on, a mess in every room possible, and lots and lots of other troubles." Arcadios replied while waving a hand around. "we've been trying to catch it ever since it appeared nearly 3 weeks ago."
"it's been giving you guys trouble for that long?" said Natsu with a rather surprised face before he looks to the hallway where he could see the guards trying to catch the unknown pink intruder. "must be some sort of elusive animal of some kind."
"We are really stretched out in numbers." Arcadios stated. "but with you and your team back, I believe we have enough hands in capturing that creature."
"well. That is true." Said Natsu before he sniffs the air a few times. "but on one part, that pink thing smells like garbage, blood, and nature for some reason."
"blood?" said Arcadios as Natsu nodded.
"leave catching that thing to me." Said Natsu as he handed the scroll of his report on his team's mission to the knight while keening his eyes on the pink blur that jumps away to a window and left the castle. "You just handle the reports and stuff like always." He then sniffs the air twice. "I got a good feeling that whatever this thing is. Someone brought it here."
"Someone brought it here?" Arcadios asked as Natsu nodded.
"Someone who I know very well." Natsu stated.
Night soon came as we turn our attention to the Garden area of Mercurius where there is no one but the flora life.
Meanwhile at another bush, Natsu is hiding within its covers with Kama; the leader of the Garou Knights who has a total new look with an iron mouth mask and a suit mixed with black attire.
"Remind me again why did you bring me here?" Kama whispered as he and Natsu are on the lookout to catch the elusive pink creature that has been giving trouble for Arcadios and the guards in the castle. "I'm supposed to be preparing my report for Captain Arcadios for my team's completed 29th mission."
"I need you here because i got to need a pair of keen eyes." Natsu replied as he checks the surrounding garden side to side. "and for the record, my team finished the 30th mission that we just received and completed. Therefore; as our bet, you need to help me with this as a little favor."
"since when does staking out in the night count as a little favor for our bet!?" Kama growled in reply before Natsu quickly hushes him.
"Quiet! I can hear it coming!" Natsu whispered back as he and Kama looks out of the bush but soon hides their heads down because they could see something coming.
It was just calm and silent as there is no sound at all, until the mysterious pink blur of an intruder came hopping in all around the garden.
"What is that thing?" Kama whispered as he and Natsu tried to catch a glimpse of the pink creature that is just hopping around before it went and jumped into a bush near theirs.
"whatever it is, it's some sort of animal." Natsu replied as he tried to get a better look at the unknown animal because he could see it in the green bush from how it is pink in fur. "but I guess we can find out from the person who brought it here."
"Who brought it here?" Kama asked with a slightly confused voice. "someone brought it here?"
Natsu nodded before his ears twitches twice as he then looks to the nearby hallway.
"and that someone is coming now." Said Natsu as he pointed at the direction of the hallway which Kama turns to look at and seems a bit surprised.
"isn't that…?" Kama spoke out before Natsu pulls him down to hide.
Natsu and Kama hide as they watched someone quickly yet quietly enter the castle's garden.
"where are you?" a voice whispered out as the mysterious individual walks around in a bit of a haste. "come on…I have treats for you…it's alright…come on out and let's go home"
The mysterious individual approaches the bush where the mysterious pink blur had jumped into as Natsu and Kama checked it out.
"and…." Natsu whispered as he held a rope in his grasp before he tugs it hard. "now!"
Within a blink of an eye, a cleverly hidden net trap came flying up and caught the mysterious individual by the bush in an instant.
"kyaaah!" a feminine scream is heard as Natsu and Kama get out of their bush and then look at the net. "w-what's going on?!"
"to think that it was you of all people…" Kama spoke out as he and Natsu looks at the person caught in the net and it is none other than one of his own teammates; Cosmos. "you were the one who brought whatever is making a mess in Mercurius, Cosmos?"
Cosmos looks at the two captains in surprise before she started to look a bit embarrassed and nervous.
"well…" Cosmos started off while chuckling a bit awkwardly. "you…got me?"
Natsu and Kama look at her before each other and then back to Cosmos who was dropped when the salmon-haired mage let go of the rope that he is holding to keep the net up.
"ow!" Cosmos yelped as the net dropped open.
"care to tell us what animal did you bring to Mercurius?" Natsu asked while crossing his arms.
"t-the thing is….well…." Cosmos whispered while scratching her cheeks. "how am I supposed to put it? Um…"
"the longer you make us wait, the quicker the possibility of you doing three weeks of report writing duty, Cosmos." Kama stated in a threatening voice.
"t-the thing is!" Cosmos yelped quickly after knowing she would be punished by her captain. "i-it's not my pet! I-it's actually! A! um! A…um…..?"
"a what?" Natsu asked before his head get hit by something from behind that made him lean forward in an instant. "ow!"
A pink blur flies in the air before it fell and landed into Cosmos' arms.
"there you are!" said Cosmos with a smile.
"what is that thing?" Kama asked while Natsu rubs the back of his head and then stands up straight before he looks at Cosmos and a small pink furry ball of a creature that has bunny-like ears, a short cat-like tail, little stubby legs, and have slanted eyes with no signs of a mouth that might be covered by its pink fur. "a cat?"
"doesn't smell like one" said Natsu while rubbing the back of his head. "and whatever it is, it hit my head hard too."
"puruuruuuu~!" the small pink furry fluffball let out a cry as it sounded very unique yet strange at the same time.
"that ain't a cat or anything we have ever seen before." Said Natsu as Kama nodded in agreement after the two heard the weird cry that the fluffball let out.
"must be some weird creation from a wizard or something," Kama stated.
"he's not a creation! Puru is a Pink Purun!" Cosmos exclaimed while holding up the pink fluffball that seems to be huffing for some reason.
"a Pink…Purun?" said Natsu and Kama in unison before they look at each other. "the heck is that?"
"he's a type of sprite" Cosmos stated while holding up the Pink fluffball in her hands. "Purun are small little creatures that are commonly found in forests or dryer lands considering the type of their species,"
"you call it Puru because of its species or how it cries out 'Puruuu' and stuff?" said Kama with a raised eyebrow.
"Puru is very nice, captain. His species are completely harmless and very friendly." Said Cosmos with a smile.
"Way too friendly, if you ask me." Said Natsu while looking at the pink Purun that jumps and nuzzles against Cosmos' face. "What is this thing's problem?"
"Puru here believes that I am a friendly person considering my pink hair is the same color as its fur." Said Cosmos while stroking and then scratching Puru's head getting the little fluffball to let out a pleased purred. "also Purun usually associates with groups of the same color as their furs."
"my hair is salmon…" said Natsu before he sighs. "ah, forget it. I don't give a damn nowadays."
"anyway. that answers on what this…Purun is." Said Kama in looking at the Pink Purun before to Cosmos. "but why is it with you?"
"actually…" Cosmos spoke out. "I found him in an alley a few weeks back. He was injured and weak. I think he was caught by someone and has been mistreated before he had escaped." The Pink haired woman then strokes the Purun's back and then snuggles her face against it. "I've been taking care of him ever since."
"and he is here because he followed you?" Natsu asked as he pointed at Puru that looks at the finger before it looks at the salmon haired man and then proceeds to hop from Cosmos' arms and onto his head. "hey…"
"seems that he likes you, Captain." Said Cosmos with a smile.
"I guess everything else goes with you trying to get this thing back with you and out of the castle, right?" said Kama while looking at the Purun nuzzling against Natsu's hair before to Cosmos. "and the mess it has been making is all to find you."
"y-yes…." Cosmos replied with an embarrassed yet nervous smile as this made Kama sighs while shaking his head.
"anyway…" said Natsu as he grabs the Pink Purun and pried it off his head before giving it back to Cosmos who hold and carried it in her arms. "we caught it and gave it to her, it's all on you to get it out of the castle and release it back to the wild."
"I just can't release him out of nowhere!" said Cosmos. "I need to get him back to his forest where he really belongs!"
"the forest?" said Natsu while raising an eyebrow.
"as far as records have been given; there are only 7 colors for a Purun to have." Said Cosmos while petting the Purun's head. "Green, black, blue, brown, gray, white, and pink. Each color of their fur that they have; responds to the area that they are mostly found in along with how it helps them camouflage from predators" the pink-haired woman then looks down at the Purun in her arms with a bit of a confused face. "at this area around Crocus; we should only be able to find the brown and gray Purus. To find a pink one anywhere near here….is a bit confusing."
"Where do you usually find a pink one?" Natsu asked as the Purun went and jumped right back onto his head and nuzzles into his hair.
"We should only be able to find the pink ones in a forest filled with flowers." Said Cosmos while pointing a finger out and then cups her chin while looking up. "but the nearest forest is about a week's distance from here. I've always been wondering how Puru got here because catching a Puru is incredibly hard even for hunters."
"the answer is probably just like you said before." Said Kama while crossing his arms. "someone must've caught and then decided to bring it to Crocus. Before mistreating it and make it escape."
"you plan to get it back to the forest?" said Natsu as he pried the Purun off his head and just carried it with one arm. "or something else?"
"I was planning on doing that…." Cosmos replied before taking the Purun back into her arms. "but I've been trying to find who has been mistreating Puru before I found him. For the past few days; I have been collecting information of smugglers of animals and many other" She then strokes Puru's head a couple of times. "I just can't let whoever hurt Puru, hurt anyone else. I just can't."
Natsu and Kama looks at Cosmos for a moment before they look at each other for a moment and then nodded.
"very well…" said Natsu as he looks back at Cosmos. "we'll help you find whoever is doing bad things to other animals like Puru here." He then points at Puru. "but remember that once we finished this problem, you need to start preparing to get Puru to his real home." The man then crosses his arms. "he doesn't belong here. That's for sure"
"yes" Cosmos nodded. "I understand."
The Purun let out its cry to Natsu as it went and jumped right back onto his head then nuzzles.
Natsu was about to pry it off his head once again, but he sighs tiredly and just let it be.
A few days later, we turn our attention to one street area where there is Kama who is walking to a corner street where he met up with Natsu who is waiting by.
"how it'd go?" said Natsu as he watches Kama who reaches a hand to his back and takes out a scroll that he handed to the salmon haired Captain who took and opened it. "everything is written in here?"
"everything." Kama replied as the scroll is intel that he received that is just filled with reports of rare yet exotic animals that are being smuggled within Crocus day by day. "the recent one happened at the downtown alley area and the next one is going to happen at the downtown district near the Minor Plaza this afternoon. If we do it now, we can shut down their operation."
"yeah." Said Natsu with a nod while rolling up the scroll and then placed it away before looking at Kama. "let's get our team in and we shut them down for good."
"already on it." Kama replied while nodding back.
The two captains soon went on the move as they started running up the street and then made a corner.
Meanwhile at Bash's Candy store; Cosmos is sitting inside with Puru who she is feeding candy as the little fluffball purred while eating the treat that made the pink haired woman smile.
"You must really love sweets, don't you Puru?" Cosmos asked as the fluffball just purred out to her which made her giggle and then started to caress the little animal's head. "when Captain and the others finish dealing with the people who have been bad to you. I'll get you back to your home, alright?"
The Pink Purun purrs as it sleeps within Cosmos' arms, the pink haired magic executioner caress the little fluffball's head while humming a lullaby
Flashback
Somewhere at a forest where there are flowers thriving everywhere as there also many Pink, green, yellow, and blue Puruns living there.
The Puruns were all living happily with one another as we turn our attention to a pink flower field where there are many Pink Puruns living there.
One Pink Purun is the Purun that is in Cosmos' care, it is jumping around all happily before it went and jumped to a couple of Pink Puruns that are a bit bigger than itself.
'puuruuu~!' the Pink Purun cried out to the two bigger ones as it nuzzles to them.
The two bigger Pink Puruns nuzzles to the smaller one as they are its parents. A mother and a father with one child.
The Mother Pink Purun drops in berries as the child Purun gobbles them up in one go before crying out happily to its parents that looks happy in return.
The day goes on in the forest as the Puruns lived a life of peace and happiness, but that only lasted for a moment because a large green forest Wyvern came and started wreaking havoc.
The Puruns all run or rather jumped to safety as they all ran away from the forest Wyvern which is one of their natural predators.
The Pink Purun and its parents jumps away along with their kind as they are all headed straight to any available hiding places that would give them safety from their predator.
"Puruuu! Puruuruuu!" the Pink Puruns parent cried out as one by one they all headed straight for a hole where other Puruns are jumping straight into.
They joined their kind as the small Pink Purun jumped in first followed by its father, but as the mother Pink Purun was about to join in, the Forest Wyvern came and grabbed it with one of its claws.
"Puruuu! Purururu!" the small pink Purun cried out as it tried to jump out and help its mother but its father stopped it. It started to cry in tears as it and its father watches as the forest wyvern went and preyed on the Mother Pink Purun. "puruuu! Purururuuu!"
The time passes as the Pink Purun lost its mother and is only left with is father. It cries in losing its mother as the father consoles its child.
The days goes on as the Pink Purun lives its life without its mother. It went on its life by just jumping and ramming itself against a tree; seeming to try and get stronger but its species are harmless and friendly which is very much the reason why they are preys to many predators.
"puru! Puru! Puru! Puru!" the Pink Purun cried out as it keeps on hitting itself against the tree to train.
The other Puruns looks at the pink Purun with confused and sad looks as its own father looks sad before it jumped and stopped its child from hurting itself too much.
'puruu! Puruu! Pururururu!" the Pink Purun cried out to is father that shakes its head.
"puruu….puruuu…" the Pink Purun's father let out its cry in return. "puruuu."
"purururu! Puruuu!" the Pink Purun cried out before it went and started hitting against the tree while its father looks sadly at its child.
Day by day that passes, the Pink Purun keeps hitting itself against the tree while the other Puruns watched or just ignored its actions and continued to do what they want to do.
The Pink Purun hits itself against the tree as by each hit; a bark gets broken off each time but at the same time gets slightly covered in blood that comes from the pink furball that is slowly going red from the injury that it is inflicting itself.
One night; the Pink Purun went and hits the tree as it starts to have a crack on the worn out part that spreads.
The Pink Purun heavily wobbles while trying to stand up, but it soon fell while looking very weak from the countless injuries that it inflicted itself.
'pu…ruu….' It let out a soft yet weak cry as it looked tired and very injured.
The Pink Purun's father soon came as it nuzzles near its child before it hops away and in a minute; it came back with water carried in a leaf on its head.
'puruu…' the father Purun cried out to its child as it laid down the water in front of its child. "puruuu"
The pink Purun let out a weak cry before it went near and started drinking the water while its father hopped away and soon came back with berries that it dropped near. It then started hopping back and forth as it brought every single necessity that its child needed after days of constantly hitting itself against the worn out tree.
Time goes on as the Pink Purun is now resting in a tree-hole that has a nest made. The father Pink Purun came in and drops in berries for its child.
"pururururu" the father Purun cried out to its child before it went out to start foraging more berries for its resting child.
The Pink Purun just rests in the nest before it soon hears a loud rumble from outside that it instantly woke up and soon ran out.
In an instant, the Pink Purun sees that its kind are running and jumping away from the same Forest Wyvern that came and started preying on them.
The Pink Purun looks furious as it started to jump straight for the large predator while its kind started to run away as fast as they could.
"puruuuururururu!" it cried out before the Pink Purun spins around like a ball and hits the Forest Wyvern's head from the side; but the attack barely made it wince.
The predator roars as it tries to eat the Pink Purun in one bite but the little fluffball just spins and jumps around like an uncontrollable bouncy ball.
"puruu! Purururu!" the Father Pink Purun cried out as it is watching its own child try and fight the Forest Wyvern.
The Pink Purun jumps around before it went and rams itself against the Forest Wyvern's right eye which caused the predator to growl in pain because some of the fluffball's fur got stuck right on it.
"purruuu!" the Pink Purun spins around and jumps everywhere before it went straight for the Wyvern's left eye; going for another hit but as soon as it got close; the predator went and swings its tail and hits the Purun who gets sent flying into the sky above.
"Purruuuu~!" the Father Pink Purun cried out to its child before it saw the Forest Wyvern coming and had no choice but to flee with the rest of its kind.
The Pink Purun flies in the air as it flew straight from the forest before to the barren land where it landed on a big pile-up of brown and red Puruns that were having a nap together.
"puruu…." The Pink Purun cried out as it looks around and saw where it was. The little fluffball jumps down from the sleeping pile of Puruns before it started to cry out into the air; trying to hear a call from its father so that it could get home. "Pururu~! Pururu~!"
After that; time goes on as the Pink Purun has been trying to find its path home. It encounters many things at the barren wastelands; other Colored Puruns, small critters, and predators that it ran away from.
The Pink Purun had spent nearly days in the barren wasteland, trying to find its home forest but as night came. It was getting lonely and cold.
"purruuu….." the Pink Purun let out a soft cry as it walks along with the land; too tired to jump.
The Pink Purun went off to find any possible shelter for it to sleep in the night; but soon found light coming from somewhere to which instinctively followed and after a minute, the Purun finds itself near the area of what appears to be a camp of some people who are resting.
"purruuu…" the Pink Purun went to the camp and saw that all of its occupants were asleep in their tents. The little animal looks around and saw some leftover scraps of food in a bag that it runs and started gobbling up all of it; desperate for food to regain its energy.
The Pink Purun is occupied with eating the leftover scraps of food that it didn't know that one of the campers had woken up and saw the little creature.
When the Purun was stuffed after eating all the leftover food; it had planned to leave but soon saw one of the campers that held up a cage that he swung right upon the fluffball whose world went dark.
Time passes as the Pink Purun now finds itself in a cage and in a warehouse full of caged animals of many kinds.
The Pink Purun looks around and soon saw someone coming with a whip in his grasp.
Flashback
The Pink Purun instantly wakes up from a frightful dream as the small fluffball looks around and finds itself still in Cosmos' arms. The pink haired executioner however is asleep while sitting on the chair.
The small fluffball looks at Cosmos for a moment before the small animal snuggles close to her and just falls back asleep.
Cosmos and Purun falls asleep together as they snore lightly into their dreams.
Flashback
the Pink Purun is now in an alley and is heavily injured with bloody wounds that are turning its pink fur red.
"Pu…ruuu…" it let out a weak cry as the Pink Purun looks like it wasn't going to make it.
The small fluffball shivers and shakes its weakened body soon gets gently picked up by a pair of hands. The Purun looks at whoever has caught it and sees that it was Cosmos who looks at the small animal with a worried and sad face
The animal then gets treatment, food, and a bath by Cosmos who cared for it. the Pink Purun looks at Cosmos who smiles and gets reminded of its deceased mother.
It started to cry in tears as the Pink Purun lunges at Cosmos who caught and soon hugs the small fluffball with love and care.
Flashback
The day passes as the eve came with the sun setting off the horizon.
Cosmos and Puru were still in Bash' Candy store as they were told to wait there by Natsu and the others who were planning to get rid of the one that had captured the Pink Purun and had practically mistreated it.
"I wonder how much longer it takes for the Captain and the others to get back?" Cosmos asked as she sat behind the cashier while just having Puru on her lap; the little fluffball gets constant pets and strokes from the woman.
BOOM!
Before long, a sudden explosion was heard as it surprised Cosmos and scared Puru.
"was that?" Cosmos muttered out as she looks to a nearby window and saw smoke and fire flying into the air somewhere a bit far from where she is. "a fire?"
Cosmos looks at the smoke flying into the air and a few minutes later; she hears the door's bell ringing as someone came and it is Natsu, and Kama.
"we finished up with those smugglers." Said Kama while dusting off some black smudges on his wrists and arms. "have you prepared the necessities for you to travel?"
"y-yes" said Cosmos with a nod. "t-that fire w-was?"
"my work," Natsu answered while crossing his arms. "I had to let loose there."
"let loose?" Cosmos asked with a confused face.
"let's just say that Natsu hates people mistreating animals like they're nothing." Said Kama while raising a hand to the side.
"I see.." said Cosmos before she went and smiled at Natsu. "thank you very much, Captain Natsu. Those evildoers really deserved it after what they did to Puru."
"it's nothing." Said Natsu before he glanced to the side and his jaw dropped. "w-what the…"
"huh?" Kama looks at Natsu's reaction before he looks at where he is looking and his eyes widen. "n-no way…"
"o-oh yes…I forgot to mention one thing about the Purun…" said Cosmos while scratching the back of her head and letting out an awkward giggle because Natsu and Kama sees that all the candy in the store were all emptied out. "they have a strong appetite for sweets…and since this is a candy store…ehehehe"
"HOW CAN SUCH A SMALL THING EAT SO MUCH!?" Natsu and Kama shouted as they pointed a finger at Puru who got scared and soon jumped to Cosmos' hair where it perfectly blended and hides within.
"Bash is going to kill me!" Natsu exclaimed as he pulled his hair because his mentor and foster caretaker is going to rip him apart for letting a creature that eats sweets into his candy store. He then looks at Kama. "hey! Help me get the money to pay for all of this!"
"why me!?" Kama exclaimed.
"she's your subordinate and her mistakes are your mistakes!" Natsu shouted while pointing a finger at Cosmos who is slowly taking sidesteps towards the door. "Fork over the cash before Bash gets home and kills me!"
"Like hell do I have that much money!" Kama retorted. "and the knights' rules don't apply when we're off duty, dumbass!"
While the two argue, Cosmos made her way to the door that she slowly opens while trying her best to not make the hanging bells ring.
"w-well then…I should prepare for my departure immediately…" said Cosmos with an awkward smile. "goodbye, captains…"
Cosmos left immediately as she closed the door and that made the bell ring a bit, getting the attention of Natsu and Kama who looks at where she had left through.
The Pink hair executioner is making a run for it as she just runs for her house.
"WAIT RIGHT THERE!" Natsu shouted as he burst out of the candy store and chased after her. "COME BACK AND PAY FOR THE CANDY!"
"I'M SORRY~!" Cosmos cried out while running away at full speed.
Natsu chased after the pink haired woman while Kama stayed behind at the candy store and watch them leave.
"what's going on with them, captain?" a voice called out as Kama turns to see his teammates and Natsu's teammates coming by. Kamika who had spoken watches as Cosmos ran away from Natsu who just chased after her. "we just came back after clean up and then we see them running away."
"yeah, what's going on-tai?" Uosuske asked. "a game?"
"or is the captain gunning for Cosmos?" Neppa asked before chugging up a bottle of a drink that he brought with him.
"man, wouldn't that be something to see?" said Dan while crossing his arms and his lips forming a smirk. "who knew that the Captain has a thing for girls with the same hair color as his own."
"his hair is Salmon though…." Rookie muttered out.
"no one really cares about that." Clay stated while adjusting his glasses as Tim just nodded in agreement with a smile.
Kama facepalms and sighs while shaking his head
"COME BACK HERE!" Natsu shouted as he just chased after Cosmos no matter where she run off to.
"I'M VERY SORRY~!" Cosmos cried out while running away at high speed.
The two just keep on the game of cat and mouse that just gathers the attention of the entire kingdom itself.
That's a wrap!
Bye bye