Nose to the ground the wolf sniffed as it jumped from rock to rock following the scent it had caught not long ago. Looking up it turned its head looking for the others who were at one time close. Not finding them it moved back down the path it had taken spotting them not far off.
"Come on keep up," the wolf shouted as the lone girl in the group growled in anger.
"Nolan not all of us have the ability to move as fast as you," she growled as she stopped to pull back her black and blue hair as most of it had fallen out of the ponytail she had placed it in this morning.
"Yeah you could slow down a little," Kellen shouted from the back of the group as nine little totems, which were floating around the four others, nodded in agreement.
"I'm losing the scent," Nolan growled which sounded more animal like as he was in his take over.
"What scent?!" Aura screamed as she stayed still feeling her brothers knock into her suddenly. "We've been hiking all over these mountains for three weeks. We should be half way home by now. And we have nothing!" She raged as her brother shifted back to his human form.
"Hey I'm not the only one who agreed to this hunt," Nolan shouted as he looked over his siblings. While it was true that he had a tendency to push them hard, normally they were up for the challenge.
"Maybe but once we realized that he defected to Pergrande we should have just waited till he popped up again not chased after him while he tried to reach the country," Rainer pointed out as he leaned against the rock wall on his left.
"Hey we can't let him reach the capital, the queen is counting on us," Nolan spoke as he closed the gap between his siblings and him.
"Well so was aunt Lucy. You promised her we'd be back in time for the celebration and even if we caught him this second we'd still be three weeks late," Lucca muttered.
"I told her we'd try," Nolan defended, after all he was a member of the Haroworth clan and they always kept their word.
"We already missed Jude's first go in the games, he's the next head of the family. Auntie wanted us there for support," Kellen sighed as he rubbed a hand over his face as his red eyes filled with disappointment the mirrored the rest.
"And in case you forget the three of us should be home for the festival of souls. Dad shouldn't have to do it on his own," Rainer said gesturing to the two others who had the mark of Seith mages with faces that mirrored his own.
"I can't catch this guy on my own," Nolan finally sighed as he thought over the last three months.
They were after a former council member who had gotten his hands on some sensitive information. As Fiore's best bounty hunters, the Quints took on the task without blinking. But they had chased this guy all over Ishgar and hadn't seen civilization in over three weeks.
"We know, but your being stubborn about this Nolan. We have no idea how he got through Penna's land. That in its self is dangerous, he wasn't a registered mage so we have no idea what we could be up against," Aura spoke sense as she broke her brother's concentration.
The marsh lands of the poison dragon were still toxic. In fact, every section of land that each of the council seats held were still inhabitable, only their slayers and hatchlings could ever hope to step foot on them without dying, let alone survive long enough to cross them.
"Look the festival of souls is two weeks long, give me one more day and if we can't find him we'll rush home," Nolan plead, he was very proud of the fact that they got their mark every time. He didn't want to let it go.
"And we'd still miss the whole thing," Kellen complained.
"Come on his scent is getting stronger it's over there," Nolan said pointing upward. He watched as his siblings looked between them and had a silent conversation among themselves.
"Two hours, and we split up," Rainer said breaking the silence as he glared at his brother.
"Fine, meet back here in two hours," Nolan ordered as he transformed back into his wolf form before jumping off.
"He's going to get himself killed," Aura sighed as she took off after her brother.
The two-hour mark had come and gone and no one had heard anything from Aura since she had disappeared after Nolan. The men were anxious as they knew if anything happens to their sister, their father would pummel them with help from most of their uncles and aunts.
"We should go look for her," Kellen growled again as he continued his pacing two little totems bouncing in the air behind him.
"She'll be here don't worry," Nolan grumbled as he felt the stones around them rumble.
Instantly the hairs on the backs of their necks stood up as they all felt a burst of familiar magic explode in the air. The comfort it usually brought was gone and only left pure fear. Looking around for the cause they all went stark white as the recognized a single agonizing cried filtered over the trees.
Gasping for breath Aura attempted to open her eyes, but her left wasn't working. Groaning she waited as her vision cleared before moving. Gazing up at the ceiling she recognized the infirmary at the guild, whose ceiling had been signed by every single one of the new generation over the years. As it was tradition to sigh the first place you looked when you woke up in the infirmary. Hearing a rustling next to her she turned her head to find her father asleep in the chair next to her. His hair that matched her own in color looking like it had a rake taken to it multiple times a day, and his clothes were dirty and mussed.
"Daddy," she called out waking the seith mage as Bixlow nearly jumped out of the chair to kneel next to his daughter.
"Hey pumpkin, how ya feeling?" He asked as he pressed the crystal next to the bed so Wendy would come. Gently he placed a hand on her head like he used to do whenever she was sick as a child.
"My eye hurts," she groaned as she watched as her father paled and looked away at the mention of her eye.
"Yeah… can you tell me what happened?" He said changing the subject as he turned his head to look back at his youngest child.
"I..." Aura began before it all came flooding back to her gasping she bolted upright in bed ignoring how her head spun at the sudden change. "I have to talk to Aunt Lucy and Layla," she said quickly as she tried to get up but her father placed his hands on her shoulders stopping her.
"Pumpkin I don't think," he began but was cut off as his daughter began pulling the IVs out of her arm.
"No, I have to talk to them now," she demanded as her shout brought her awaken state to the attention of those in the hall
"What's going on here," Lisanna asked as she raced into the room her sons on her heels as she watched her daughter fight her husband trying to pull out the IVs.
"I need my keys," she demanded as she looked around panic gripping her at not finding the familiar silver trinkets.
"Their right here," Lucca said handing his sister the ring he had been keeping watch over.
"Open gate of the little dog," Aura called out after finding the key she was looking for.
"Pun pun!" The spirit said as it appeared. Though the same size as Plue the little canis minor spirit was all black, ear like flaps stood straight up like a cat's ear which moved left and right as the spirit shook.
"Hey Jiji, can you please tell Aunt Lucy I need to talk to her, Layla, and the council right away," Aura asked as the spirit saluted with a nod before disappearing.
"Aura, you need to rest," Lisanna insisted as she joined her husband in their attempt to keep their daughter on the bed.
"No, I have to tell them!" Aura shouted her panic-stricken voice piercing the air.
"What is going on here why is she out of bed?" Wendy demanded as she walked in to the room Gale running into her legs.
"Aunt Wendy I need to talk to the council," Aura insisted as she tried to stand again but her parents successfully kept her down.
"Can it wait?" Wendy asked.
"No," Aura said as Wendy looked over the girl.
She was shaking but that could be due to her attempts to stand, but the fierce determination on her face never wavering.
"Alright but I am getting you a wheelchair and you are to stay in it the whole time," The sky dragon slayers ordered as she bent down to pick up her daughter handing her to Kellen as she called out for a wheelchair to be brought and the council to gather.
"That's fine, but um... I can't open my eye," Aura said as she watched Wendy stiffen before walking over to a cabinet and pull out a mirror.
"Here," she said as she handed Aura the mirror.
Holding it up Aura gasped in surprise as her breath quicken. It was gone. Her left eye was completely gone. Four long jagged lines crossed her face from the tip of her hair line over her eye, the right side of her mouth and ending at her chin. The wound was healed but it was evident that the scar would remain.
"I did everything I could, but we couldn't save it. Laxus and Erza called in a few favors, I have a selection of magic eyes that we can give you but we thought you should choose which one," Wendy offered as she took a few deep breaths as she watched the Aura shake again but silent tears streaked out of the right eye only.
"Pumpkin," Bixlow spoke sitting down next to his daughter as she took several deep breaths.
"I can't fall apart now," she finally said as she stopped shaking.
"No one would blame you if you did," Lisanna offered pulling her daughter to her as she rubbed her back.
"No, I have to tell them," Aura cried as she clutched her mother while her sobs filled the room.