Finally, the work was done. And it really was work, because by this point Azariah was getting nothing out of the wood besides the pieces of bark stuck to his clothes.

Training? That took effort. That took focus. Chopping wood with the flat of his hand was a skill any novice could learn within their first year, and he was well beyond the basics. It wasn't that it had been particularly time-consuming, either, not taking more than a minute or two. He gained nothing from this, and that is what irritated him.

Thus, he motioned for Caspenar to follow him as he left the garden, and the freshly-stacked cords of wood, behind.

"Finally," Porlyusica sighed, emerging from her tiny house. "My poor mandrakes will have to be replanted."

She leveled a glare at Azariah, the help. "Now scram! You've brought enough trouble to my door for one day!"

Not even a thank you. That was it. Azariah had knocked the tree down, granted, but he'd also stayed to clean up his mess. He didn't have to, but he did. Slowly turning around, Azariah stepped over to another tree nearby, about as thick around as his muscular thigh.

"You know," he said, "you can't run from trouble…"

Raising his arm, he whirled and bashed the tree with his elbow. Slowly, wood splintering from the crater he'd made, the trunk gave way and came crashing down, knocking branches loose from the canopy before striking another, hollowed-out tree. This one tumbled down as well, crashing to the forest floor as its tube-like trunk collapsed in on itself.

"...but you can get out of the woods," Azariah finished. "Come on, Caspenar."

As the Fairy Tail "wizard" left a fuming and ranting Porlyusica in his wake, up ahead, another wizard was making her escape.

Stupid trees messed up my top, Lucy seethed to herself. She was cursing the curiosity that came with being an aspiring novelist; she'd wanted to see how Azariah dealt with the tree he'd felled. If she'd just bugged out when she had the chance, she wouldn't be cupping her boobs with her hands to keep herself covered while the back of her top flapped around her ribs. The thing had torn clean in half, all thanks to a rogue branch from Azariah's second falling tree; it had caught her while she'd tried to escape.

Once she reached the edge of the forest, it occurred to her that she couldn't go into town like this. If nothing else, she needed hands to open doors and carry her suitcase. So, quickly checking her surroundings, she whipped off her top and wrapped it into a makeshift sarashi around her chest, cinching the knot under her left shoulder before soldiering on.

I need to find out more about him, she thought, running now that she lacked twigs and branches underfoot. There's no way everyone is in the dark about him. Someone must know, right?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"HA! Good one, Luey!"

"It's Lucy, and I'm serious!"

Lucy was back at the guild hall, having pulled Natsu aside from the job board and asked him about Azariah's deforestation.

"Yeah," Natsu snorted. "Sure. He can knock down a tree bare-handed, and I can breathe lightning."

"And I can speak to fishies!" Happy added, floating beside them.

"Is knocking down trees so hard to believe?!" Lucy started prodding Natsu's shoulder. "I remember that wild riot you started, mister!"

Natsu sat down at a nearby table and waved her words off. "That's different. I mean, I could knock down some trees. I've done it before. Azariah, though? I hit him once in the jaw and he crumbled like a sand castle. The guy's cool, but he's made of paper."

"Then how did my top get ruined?" Lucy gestured to the ragged sash tied around her boobs. "Look at it!"

Natsu shrugged. "Okay." His eyes ran up and down her body, causing Lucy to shrink a little. "Looks good on you."

"Preach!" Cana called from the bar, raising her stein and cinching up her blue bikini top.

"What? No, I meant-" Lucy felt her face heat up a little. "Um… Thank you."

Happy covered his mouth and started chortling. "She liiiikes you, Natsu!"

"I do not! I mean-" Now Lucy's face was sizzling like a hot hamburger. Sure, he had a hot body, but… She wasn't up for relationships with people she'd just met. Embarrassed beyond measure, she slunk away from Natsu, who was scratching his head and wondering what he'd said to upset her.

Sliding up to the bar, not even thinking about jobs right now, her head was face-down on the countertop trying to figure out the whirlwind of questions buzzing around her head. She was soon joined by Cana and Mirajane.

Cana nudged Lucy with her elbow. "Hey. Hey Lucy."

The blonde felt the cool pewter of a tankard pressed to her arm.

"What ales you? Pff, hahahahaa!" Her pun delivered, Cana drained the tankard's contents and slammed it on the countertop. "Seriously, what's up? You look stressed."

"Is it your top?" Mirajane asked, retrieving the tankard and rinsing it out. "I know a couple of tailors in town who could fix it."

Lucy sighed. "Ask me how I ripped it."

"Okay," Cana said. "How'd you rip it?"

"I got it caught on a tree that Azariah punched down."

Cana's eyes widened. "No way. Seriously?"

"Natsu didn't believe me, either."

"Lucy," Cana said, laying a friendly arm across Lucy's bare shoulders. "The thing you need to know about the men here is that they're all idiots. The only three that aren't are the guild master-"

She eyed the large wooden doors. "-and two S-Class guys who're never here. So yeah, Natsu's going to think you're pulling his leg. Don't let it get to you. I just didn't think the buzzkill had it in him."

"What's up with that?" Lucy asked, looking at Cana. "Is he really that weak?"

Mirajane shrugged. "There's a lot about Azariah that people don't know: where he came from, what his magic is, what that green thing really is. But…"

The two barflies followed Mirajane's gaze to the door, where Azariah and Caspenar were making their way to their little corner.

Mirajane smiled. "We could always just… ask him."

Cana frowned. "How?"

Mirajane giggled. "Watch and learn, girls." She retreated to the back rooms for a moment before returning with a slice of chocolate cake on a plate. "Oh Azariii-aaah!"

The sun-tanned man knew his name; he turned.

"Could you come over here?" Mirajane said, beckoning. "There's something we need to ask you."

With a nonchalant shrug, Azariah strode over to the countertop, his pet peeve-maker flittering five feet behind him.

"Greetings-"

Lucy shot a glare at the imp that made him pause.

"-Lucy girl!"

Lucy sighed at that; it was better than the alternative.

"And greetings to you, Big-Booby Card Reader!"

Lucy wanted to throw something at the imp but Cana flashed a wry grin, taking a tarot card from her brown satchel. "Know what I see in your future?"

"What does you sees? YEE-EE-EE-EEKH!"

A bolt of lightning leapt from the card and zapped Caspenar good, the imp going limp and falling to the floor.

"You know what?" Cana said, putting the card away. "Never mind."

"So, Azariah," Mirajane said, leaning on the bar in such a way as to rest her well-endowed, pinup-model chest in full view. "Lucy was wondering…"

Lucy glanced at Mirajane's eyes, seeing a… caged desire in them, almost like another side of her was lurking behind those two cerulean orbs. That wasn't something she noticed in the mag photos. She'd ask later, once Mira tried her hand at asking Azariah the question-

"What does a girl have to do to go to bed with you?"

Lucy yelped while Cana burst out laughing.

"Ha-haaa! Sheesh, Mira, at least buy him dinner first!"

Lucy's face had turned beet-red. "I should've stayed at the inn today…"

"Don't worry, Lucy," Mira said. "You'll get used to it. The guild isn't much for shame while Erza's not here."

"Oh, like that's a good thing?"

"It's a thing," Cana chuckled, sipping her drink before looking at Azariah. "Still haven't answered the question."

Azariah shrugged. "Knock first, I guess."

"Knock? On what?" Mira asked, her smile never faltering.

"The door."

"Door? You mean, you have a house?"

Azariah shook his head. "Nope."

"An apartment?"

"Nope."

Mira frowned playfully. "So, we would just knock…"

"Leave me out of this!" Lucy whined.

"On a door that's not on a house or an apartment… Now how does that work?"

Azariah turned, looking over his shoulder. "Good question."

With that, he picked up Caspenar's twitching body and walked away.

Mira giggled. "He's such a stiff."

Cana watched him leave, eyeballing his pants. "'Stiff' is what he isn't, Mira."

Lucy was ready to pull out her beautiful blonde hair. "Can we focus, please?"

"What do you mean?" Cana said. "He answered the question, didn't he?"

"He-" Lucy's objection died in her throat; her eyes lit up with clarity. "Yeaaah. He did, didn't he?"

"M-hm," Mira said. "Azariah couldn't get a joke if it was gift-wrapped and handed to him. If you want to know about him, just ask him."

"Right," Lucy said, "because that worked for everyone else here, right?"

"Well, you're new. That makes you the X-factor."

"I mean… Maybe?"

Mira shrugged. "It's worth a try. At the very least, maybe he'll finally loosen up to someone."

Cana grinned. "Like how you want to loosen up for him?" she asked, waggling her eyebrows.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Mira said, turning and walking away.

Cana eyed Lucy's ad-hoc top. "Hey, speaking of getting naked, if he wrecked your top, why don't you use that against him? From what I hear, the only reason we don't get complaints about him is because he picks up after himself on the jobs he takes."

Lucy got a devilish glint in her eye. "Now that is something I can work with. Thanks, Cana."

"You owe me a drink."

Lucy slid out of her seat. "Deal, as soon as I get some jobs done."

Her plan in mind, Lucy crossed the hall and sat down at Azariah's table. His eyes were closed and his fingers drummed the surface, almost like he was waiting for something.

Caspenar weaved around him. "Greetings again, Lucy girl!"

Lucy ignored the creature. "So, Azariah," Lucy said, "how's your day been so far?"

He opened his eyes and glanced at her. "Uneventful."

"'Uneventful,' hmm?" She leaned on the table with her elbows. "Nothing out of the ordinary? Just another day in the life of a lumberjack?"

He opened his eyes again and frowned. "Lumberjack."

"I mean, what else would someone be doing…" She leaned in and showed off her grin. "...deforesting the forest, hmmmm?"

His eyes closed. "Nothing to tell."

"'Nothing to tell,' hmmmmmmm?" Her well-manicured nail poked the chest of his shirt. "Listen, buster, you might be able to skate with that, but not with me. I'm a writer. Well, I wanna be, but the point is I know word choice and I know when someone's trying to bamboozle me through implication. Not gonna work, mister. Not a-"

"Fine, what do you want?"

She was taken aback by how quickly he changed his tune. "First I want a new top, since your little woodcutting stunt ripped this one to shreds, and second…"

She pulled out her keyring and held up one of the golden ones, its bow stylized with horns and its bit shaped like a double-bladed ax. "I want you to spar with one of my spirits. I haven't summoned him in a while and there's really no one in the Celestial Spirit World who can compete with him."

He shrugged. "Fine."

Lucy blinked. "Really?"

Azariah nodded and stood. "Come on, let's get this over with."

Lucy's eyes narrowed. There had to be a catch.

He led her outside, attracting surprisingly few from the guild to watch. She figured more people would be out here to see his fighting prowess, but all that came were Natsu and Happy.

"Isn't anyone else curious?" she asked, before waving the golden key in front of her. "Open, Gate of the Golden Bull!"

Natsu pursed his mouth and shook his head. "Pretty sure it'll go the same."

"TAURUS! Wait, what?"

A blue spell circle appeared in front of the key and a large, black-spotted white minotaur rose from the ground, braying proudly, a massive double-bladed ax strapped to his furry back.

"Awww," Happy whined, "I was hoping for the fish lady…"

"YOU CANNOT EAT AQUARIUS!" Lucy squalled.

Azariah stood stock still, unblinkingly staring at the monster now towering over him. "Huh."

Taurus spun and looked to the mage who'd summoned him. "What can I do for you, Miss Loo-oooo-cy?"

Lucy aimed Taurus's key at Azariah. "This guy wants a piece of you! Give him the business!"

Taurus's fist smacked into his hand. "We-ell, don't mind if I doo-ooo. And I gotta say, your body's lookin' fine today, Miss Loo-oooo-cy."

"Will you just shut up and deck him already?!"

Azariah still hadn't moved when Taurus rounded on him.

"Better get moo-oooo-vin', pal!" said the Zodiac Spirit. A hard right cross saw Taurus's fist ram straight into the side of Azariah's sun-tanned face. The mage reeled from the blow, stumbling to find his feet.

…before crumbling like a sand castle. He lay face-up on the ground, his eyes half-open, his mouth emitting a soft "Uhllllllll…" sound.

"Aaall right," Taurus lowed, turning back to Lucy. "Now how 'bout-"

"My turn!" Natsu shouted, rushing to Taurus and kicking him in the face.

"Natsu!" Lucy squawked.

Taurus was sent tumbling down the street like a runaway wagon wheel, crashing through a cabbage cart and obliterating the door to a pottery shop. The bull's eyes were spinning as he started to glow.

"I didn't even get a smoo-oooo-ch," he lamented before dissolving into golden dust.

Pulling at her hair, Lucy stomped over to where Natsu was congratulating himself. "Why did you do that?!"

"Well," said Natsu, "since Azariah wasn't up to it, I figured I could get the job done!"

"But that wasn't…!" Lucy's anger fizzled out as she realized Azariah was still on the ground, Caspenar hovering above him.

"Why you lies there, Great One?"

"Is…" She pointed at Azariah. "Is he going to be okay?"

"Yeah, he'll be fine," Happy said. "Azariah got hit by Natsu once; he was fine the next day."

"Okay, but…" Lucy sighed. "I feel bad for sicking Taurus on him."

"Hey, I still feel bad for decking him," Natsu said, looping an arm around her waist. "Guess that means we could feel bad together!"

For a moment, Lucy wasn't sure how to react. She wanted to smack Natsu's hand off of her, as he was getting way up in her personal space, especially with her barely-clothed right boob pressed up against his pec. However, before she could voice any kind of objection, Natsu had already let her go and motioned to follow.

"Come on, Luce." He headed back into the guild hall. "Let's find you a job."

Lucy hesitated to follow. She wasn't sure about Azariah, even with Natsu's assurance. He was seriously…

...back on his feet with nary a scratch. "What the hell?"

Azariah rubbed his jaw, unmarked by Taurus's punch. "So-"

"Nuh-uh!" Lucy interrupted him. "First, why? Second, how?!"

"Is his power!" Caspenar said proudly. "Power of healing hands!"

Lucy cocked her head. "Is that his magic?"

"Yeah," said the tanned mage with a nod. "As for why, if Natsu knew, he'd be hounding me day and night to fight him."

"If he knew…?"

"Everything. Please, don't tell him where you saw me or about my healing hands."

"Ugh, fine, but you still owe me and I never got a spar for Taurus."

Azariah pointed at her. "I could heal that cut on your back."

"On my…?" Lucy reached back and felt herself. Sure enough, her fingers traced a crusty line from her left shoulder blade to her hip, right where the branch had ripped her top. "How come no one told me?"

"You not notices, so no one cares," Caspenar explained. "Is Fairy Tail way!"

"Okay, I'll settle for that."

Azariah was already healing her, his hand glowing as he ran it down her back, erasing the cut and dried blood all at once.

"Thanks," said Lucy, prodding his chest, "but don't forget: you still promised me a new top."

As she walked away to join her new teammates on her first wizarding job, Azariah sighed.

"They don't need to know," he murmured. "I've seen enough violence for one lifetime."

"Great One, why you talkings to self?"

A/N:

Aaaah, though one power is kept hidden, another reveals itself to Lucy. What else might Azariah be concealing from his guild? Might this power explain his secrecy, lest his healing encourage more in-house rioting?

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