Argh! It too to me forever to write this!
But do not worry, lovelies... Morgana has not abandoned her story, and she will gift you with another chapter very, very soon!
XOXO
The next day, early in the morning, on a train to Magnolia...
Cobra was looking at all of that from his window. It was a warm, bright day of April. The sun had rose, tinting the sky of pink and blue, and he could see the fields and the hills around the rail tracks dotted with the colours of the spring. He was back home. Finally. A few days had passed, but it had seemed an eternity to him.
In the sit in front of him, Mirajane was sleeping. She had been dreaming about whips and maids, and Cobra suspected it had something to do with the terrified glance Dorambolt had thrown to the demon right before she practically scared the hell out of him and forced the Knight to take his handcuffs.
Instinctively, Cobra passed his hands on his wrists. Free. Fucking free. He felt free even if he had still a few years of parole in front of him. But it didn't mattered. All is better than that hell of a place, he thought, stretching his legs in front of him - as much as his nauseated stomach would allow him. Dragon slayer motion sickness had been given him a sleepless night.
Another hour passed, during which Cobra tried as best as he could to avoid thinking about how much nauseated he was. There was a maximum limit for nausea? If there is one, I must have passed it a couple of hours ago.
He concentrated on his own thought, thinking about Magnolia, and Fairy Tail, and his team and Cubellios...
But for how much he concentrated, he could not stop thinking about why Lahar had put him among the fairies, to start with.
Fuck. He was placed there just to piss him off - and Makarov and the whole guild - hoping that he lost it. And kill a few fairies in the process, probably.
The thought was making him feeling more sick than he already was. Just a weapon. An infiltrate. And now he was going back right there, were after all the Captain wanted him to be. Either Era, either Magnolia, both places were suited with someone else's intent but Cobra's. And if there was one but one thing that Cobra didn't like was when he felt caged.
Being moved from one place to the other was not helping either. Lahar knew what he was doing, bringing him back behind bars. That is was going to destabilise him, to make him feel out of place when he was back. The fucking cunt knew it. Even if he had been almost afraid to leave Magnolia a few days before, now he was starting to regret going back. He didn't belong to that place. Fuck. he thought again.
Cobra tried to distract himself by looking at the country sliding out of his window seat. I shouldn't fucking think about this bullshit. He was already sick form the rolling of the train, there was no need to make it worse. But the sensation of having to start everything from scratch again, like it was the first time he set foot in the guild hall, made his stomach knot even harder, and he felt his control slipping a little between his fingers.
It was a down hearting feeling, being so feeble. Like a fucking light of a fucking candlestick. Something that could be set off by the faintest blow of wind.
He cursed Lahar and whoever had to do with him. The old whore, and all that international cunt circus!
How much he wanted to murder them all. Lahar, his whole damn corpse of the Rune-fucking-Knights, and his whore of a sidekick, that has in mind the kid and nothing else!
The kid. Wendy. If she could hear him on that moment, probably she would have understood half of the words. How could Wendy be still that innocent, considering that she was part of team Natsu, was a miraculous event to his understanding. Among an ex-criminal, and the fucking stripper...
His memory gifted him with the image of Gray - naked, but that was more not a gift - threatening Lahar with a giant hammer of ice. Seems years ago... Titania was also there... Erza that was holding a sword to the Captain's throat, if Cobra was not to be returned soon, the same Erza Wendy looked upon as an older sister...
Salamander, and Tinkerbell... Those two. Racing towards his house less than a week ago, hoping to see him before they came to bring him to Era. He hadn't asked them all to come but...
They were fucking there.
Maybe there was hope. Maybe the Council was not going to win him. Maybe. Maybe his months at Fairy Tail had made him capable of...
The train rolled angrily, and the screeching of the wheels on the rails burned a hole in his ears. "Fucking hell..." he hissed.
"I see you have not changed in these last days." someone giggled. "That's nice to know, Cobra. Good morning by the way." Mirajane had woken up on that moment, and was stretching out her arms. "Did you sleep well?"
"I didn-glurb!" Cobra put a hand on his mouth, and Mirajane chuckled again.
"Don't you worry. We are almost there. Just a quarter of hour." she said with a smile, pointing at the greenish lacryma screen pending from the ceiling. "In fifteen minutes the we will arrive in Magnolia."
Seeing the poison slayer trying to read the screen, but putting a hand on his mouth just for the effort of focusing, Mirajane took her purse from the sit next to her. "I have medicines with me, if you want to try. I know they do not work for you, but..."
Cobra shook his head. No, medicines where not working on him. Nothing, of any sort. His body just absorbed them as if they were poison. It was the other side of the 'never getting sick' medal.
"No? Well, if you want them, they are here." Mirajane smiled again, patting her purse, and let the slayer take deep breaths, to avoid spitting bile on his own lap.
Poor thing, I see he didn't want to stay in Era, but he looks quite tired by now... He didn't throw up, I guess this is a good sign... Mirajane was carefully putting all the facts together and weighting them, one by one, trying to understand how Cobra was, what might he need... A solid meal, that's it! And a good night of sleep, that would do wonders to him! I am sure team Natsu might wait a while to pick up a new job, so he can recover. Oh well, and Lucy will be busy with Dalila for a few days, too... I bet Master would like her to stay in Magnolia a little while...
Cobra raised an eyebrow. The sudden stir and agitation that had suddenly overflow over the Takeover mage had his interest. He had something else to think about but his turning guts. Yes, Dalila, I wonder how is she! Maybe is she already out of the infirmary? I have not asked Master - I had to, I forgot! Ah, I am so curious to see her in person...
No image of a woman's face passed in Mirajane's mind. Cobra wandered why. He understood that she had never see this new woman, this 'Dalila', whatever.
"Uhm, Cobra, I think I should tell you - even if you will see by yourself soon." Mirajane suddenly spoke. "The Thunder Legion found this girl - this woman - buried in an old mine in the Blue Mountains. She had been there for a while, let's say, and-" "What the fu-blurb!"
Mirajane rolled her eyes. Soul Hearing magic. The perfect way to take away the pleasure of drama! she pouted.
"Before you throw up voicing your stupor, yes, she had been asleep for a hundred years, and yes, she is a dragon slayer. And yes, she had met Mavis Vermillion, First Master of Fairy Tail, back at that time." Mirajane nodded thoughtfully. "She was pretty worn out when she woke up. But Master had asked Lucy to take care of her for a few days, and help her fitting in. Things had pretty much changed since when she... well, since X690."
Cobra nodded slowly. The news was not making him happy not sad. It meant nothing. Another kid the old geezer has taken under his roof, uh?
"Master doesn't know if she will stay at Fairy Tail or not." Mirajane added sadly, fumbling with the lace of her dress. "But she has no one left in this world, so..."
Everyone she knew is dead, by know. Mirajane completed sadly in her head. Her soul, and the ones of the demons entangled with hers by her magic, all sniffed and sighed. They were pitying the girl - this 'Dalila' - but Cobra was back concentrated onto not emptying his stomach on the floor of the wagon. Having a hole under his feet because of the acid was not in his plans, thank you very much.
"Magnolia train station, two minutes! Magnolia train station, two minutes!"
Mirajane clapped her hands happily and stood up. "We are here!" she chirped. "Come on! Everyone in the guild was waiting for you to come back."
Cobra had wanted to correct her. They were not yet arrived, or he would have felt his guts going back were they ought to be. He overlooked the last part of the sentence. The only important thing right now was to get down from that hideous trap that normal people called 'train'.
Finally, the train stopped its run.
About fucking time, thought the poison slayer, finally able to breath.
"I am going to the guild," said the barmaid as they exited the station, "I have left Kinana alone, and I guess Master would like me to report, you know, how it went with Lahar." The mental image that accompanied the last part of the sentence and the dark chuckle that passed through Mirajane lips was enough to lift Cobra's mood a little.
"I am coming to the guild as well." he said.
"Yes. The others will be happy to see you."
Cobra could not be sure of that. All he knew, was that the demon really believed what she was saying. What he felt on the train - of being the forever outcast, the one that was never going to be completely part of the guild - was still there, pulsing heavy in his chest, but... But he didn't want to go home. Not yet. He wanted to see Cubellios, hearing his voice, and, even if he was never going to admit out loud, he wanted to see his team as well.
So, they started to walk together in the streets of Magnolia, directed to Fairy Tail.
At the very same moment, Fairy Tail guild hall...
Master Makarov was desperately trying to hush them away. "Stand back, you brats!" he hissed. "If I see any one of you nagging to her..."
"Is she pretty?" whispered Max to Bickslow for the tenth time.
"Beautiful as the mountains at dawn." the Seith mage cackled. "Her eyes look like to pools of diamonds and man," Bickslow whistle, moving his hands in the air, shaping imaginary curves. "What a bo-ouch!"
"Would you shut up?" someone growled next to him.
"Sorry boss!" chuckled Bickslow, as Pappa flew above his head shouting 'body! body!'
The lighting dragon slayer rolled his eyes and went back to his beer. Obviously Bickslow was doing all he could to piss the blond off.
Truth it was that Dalila was pretty - very pretty, if you asked him, and she was a dragon slayer!
Sure she is going to get a lot of attentions, mumbled Laxus in his head, watching the guild around him.
It looked like a normal day at Fairy Tail, but the guild looked more crowded than usual. Macao, Wakaba and Nab were sitting on the table right in front of the hallway, and Romeo had been going from the table to the counter, keeping asking Kinana when was the new dragon slayer coming. Jet and Droy, who had been back from a job the day before, had been updated by Levy about the news, and now were muttering among themselves in a corner.
Laki and Juvia were sipping some tea, the water mage sad because Gray had escaped her attempt to having breakfast together. "Come on, Juvia..." Laki was patting on her shoulder. "Who wants to fill in their stomach with a man that is dressed in a birth suit?"
Gajeel and Lily had entered the guild door a while before, and the iron dragon slayer had been munching metal even since, loud enough to move Cana from her corner to his grandfather side. And right now, the drunk was pestering Makarov with sneering observation about how much was going to cost another dragon slayer to the guild. "Just think if she is like Natsu, Gramps!" She was laughing, holding her belling, and almost rolling on the floor.
"I hope she is not!" grunted Makarov, not daring to imagine how would it be to have two Natsus in the guild hall at the same time.
Speaking of which...
"Fire dragon's r-" "Natsu!"
Of course. Team Natsu was present, except for Wendy and Lucy, in charge of helping Dalila leaving the infirmary for the first time. Erza had been restraining Gray and the fire dragon slayer for the whole morning, with severe threats and promises of punishment - even calling Mirajane in question - that also the lighting dragon slayer had been shivering at the thought. Titania needs to calm down... But Erza wanted only to make sure Dalila was not invested by a blazing fire, or by ice shreds, that was all, and inside himself Laxus thanked their good star they had the Requip mage in their guild.
Sure, there were the Strauss siblings missing, and well, Cobra was not there. Laxus shrugged. Gramps had told him that the poison slayer had been taken to Era, and even if Laxus did not like the Council just as much as any other member of Fairy Tail, he could not say he was not pleased the poison slayer was out of his way when he was at Fairy Tail. Mira had been able to take him back, that was what Makarov had told him yesterday evening, They should be arriving this morning...
Bickslow was whispering something in Max's ear, that had Laxus growl again.
"You know, he is only trying to make you snap." a cool voice said next to him.
"I know, Freed, I know." grunted Laxus, glaring one last time at Bickslow and deciding to show to the Seith mage how much he had suceeded in a while.
"I am so... Grr!" Evergreen glared at the Seith mage, but for a very different reason. "He went to see her without us, Laxus! This is not fair!"
Evergreen had been quite angry knowing that some of the guild had sneaked in the infirmary to meet Dalila. Wasn't it the Thunder Legion who had rescued her? So, it was their right to meet the new dragon slayer for first!
"Yes, Ever. But Gramps was not happy about that, and-would you stop that? Lighting dragon's fangs!"
Finally giving in ignoring Bickslow and Max, Laxus threw a long, brilliant lighting in their direction. The Seith mage was prepared - he had been waiting the whole morning for things to spice up a little! - and he leant back, dodging the attack.
"Stop! Lighting fangs! Stop! Lighting fangs!" chirped his babies above him.
On the contrary, the attack was too fast for Max. Without even realising what had hit him, the Sand mage described a very nice parabola in the air above the heads of his guild mates. The trajectory ended right on Cana's barrel, making it slip from her grasp and rolling towards Gray. The Ice mage thought better than move out of the way, though. "Ice Make: Fist!"
The barrel was torn to shreds, its content went spread on the floor, counter, tables and mages around. Splinter flew in the air, and with them, the cards of a very, very mad Cana. "That's it!" she cried, standing up and throwing Max back to the Thunder Legion table.
"Cana, the chair!" cried Kinana horrified, but Cana, in her blind fury, didn't hear her. The mage tripped over said chair, slid on the floor wet of alcohol, and the force of her fury was converted into speed.
Bickslow watched with great amusement Cana ending up against Erza, and cackled as the mad man that he was when the Requip mage lost her balance and ended up with her butt on the floor, dragging down with her the nearest person she had.
Which, unfortunately for them, happened to be Natsu.
"Hei!" cried the fire dragon slayer, covering his fists with blazing flames.
"Oh no!" Laxus heard Freed cry in panic next to him. "That barrel is full of-"
Whomp!
Alcohol. The word Freed had no time to pronounce was 'alcohol'.
The flames caught on the liquor spread on the floor, and a huge, yellow blame blew in the air.
Everybody started screaming. Juvia tried to plug water on the roaring fire, but she was distracted by a naked Gray running for his life at the opposite side of the hall. Kinana and Laki escaped behind the counter, and they had time to grab Romeo by an arm before the fire invested him. "Hei!" protested the boy. "I am a fire mage as well!"
Laxus felt his blood run cold seeing Erza turning into her Fire Battle Armour, and by the look in her eyes, the dragon slayer knew that someone was going to die soon.
As Master Makarov tried to put order again, half of the floor was on fire, and the other half that was probably going to be destroyed in another creative manner soon, Freed screeching and drawing runes in the air with his sword to defend himself and Laxus from the flames and a disturbing amount of magical attacks filling the air, no one noticed the figures slowly emerging from the hallway, nor two of the guild members entering the front door.
A few minutes before, right out of Fairy Tail infirmary...
"Are you ready?" asked Lucy, holding Dalila's hand.
The dragon slayer nodded weakly. Maybe it would have been better to wait another day. I still can't walk properly...
From her other side, Levy was speaking softly, helping Dalila, one step after the other. "Everyone wants to meet you, you will see!"
Behind them, Porlyusica watched carefully as the thin girl moved slowly towards the hallway. She glanced at Wendy and Charle, that were surveilling closely every movement of Dalila. The young dragon slayer was ready to step in with her magic, to give Dalila a little bit of strength, even if Porlyusica had forbidden her to do so. "It is important that her body recovers by itself." had explained the old healer. "There is no need to accelerate anything."
Wendy had agreed, however, she felt it was better to be ready. She is about to meet Fairy Tail, after all... was thinking the young girl, noticing how much Dalila looked tired already, despite doing her best to smile and chat with Levy and Lucy.
Dalila was well aware she had barely the strength to reach the guild hall. It was even difficult to lift the feet from the floor. Don't trip on your feet, don't trip on your feet... She repeated in her head like a mantra or a magic spell.
Levy had lent her some of her clothes for the day. Trousers, when she had been used to skirts for all her life, felt strange on the body. But the skirts Levy was owning too short for her, so Dalila had been much happy to wear a pair of black trousers and a white jumper.
"Master is there as well," was saying Lucy, carefully leading the way, "and tonight Levy will bring you at Fairy Hills!"
"I am sure you will like it!" exclaimed Levy. "I think the governess, Mrs Ruchio, has already assigned you a room!"
"Thank you very much!" smiled Dalila. "Is it far form the guild?" she asked then, taking another small step.
"Not much." Levy thought about it. "In fact, it is about ten minutes - maybe even less! I usually read on the way home, so time goes pretty fast..."
As they advanced, Lucy frowned. She was hearing some screams coming form the hall. They were almost at the entrance of the hallway, and from their position, she could see someone flying all across the guild. Oh damn! though the Celestial mage, terrified. Not today! Nothing and no one has to be on fire, or flooded, or frozen...
From her spot, Wendy sighed. She had just heard Cana swearing - thankfully Dalila was too busy paying attention to Levy and to her own balance, to notice.
...or electrocuted, or turned into stone... Lucy continued the list in her head ...or covered in alcohol, or sand, or...
But, as soon as the group took one last step, finally entering the guild hall, the Celestial mage realised her prayers had gone unheard. "Oh my stars..." she sighed. The guild hall was looking like a battle field more than usual, with Master Makarov, in the middle of it, red in the face, waving his - now huge - arms around. "You scamps! Absolutely undisciplined..." Slam! Droy had been hit by the huge hand, and immediately started to sob loudly.
Dalila eyes took in the whole scene, and went wide with... Wait, was that table on fire?
She had not enough eyes to take in every single detail. Part of her wanted to laugh, and the rest was very much concerned.
Charle sighed under her breath, burying her forehead in her paws. "Why is it always like this!" Dalila heard the cat muttering.
"Out of the way!" The scream coming form above make the group of girls lift their gaze, and they saw Natsu being dragged by Happy high towards the ceiling, well decided to burn everything that was on his way. He was clearly running away from Erza, after all. In particular, the cry was meant for Pantherlily, who had flew up there to try not to have his juice spilled for that day.
"Let my fuckin' cat alone, ya scum!" metal scales were thrown in the direction of the fire dragon slayer.
"Gajeel!" cried Levy angrily - as if Gajeel was the main problem in the overall confusion.
Dalila felt Lucy clinging at her side. "Let's go!" she said quickly. "Let's go back, we can come another time - any other time, really - before we get dragged into this!"
The Celestial mage was about to guide the whole group back into the infirmary - Charle was already marching halfway into the corridor - when what Lucy was fearing... happened.
Bickslow babies decided to run after Cana, right after she had just captured Gray in one of her cards. Pippi stole the card, and started run all around the hall - scaring Happy to death, and making him drop Natsu above the sobbing Droy.
"Graaaay-saaama! Wave of love!"
Well decided to save her lover from the Card mage spell, and maybe hoping to have the card all to herself, Juvia sent a huge wave of water after Pippi. The wooden doll, scared, zigzaged all across the hall, with the mass of water trailing behind him.
The good thing, thought Lucy, was that the fire was turned off in an instant. The bad thing, realised the Celestial mage a second later, was that Pippi had just passed above their heads. they would get at the end of the day without being burned alive.
This is the day I die, had only time to think Dalila, before the wall of water came down towards them.
The impact separated them. Levy and Wendy were sloshed away in the corridor, tripping over Charle, and hitting the door of the infirmary with a sound thud, Lucy was threw under a nearby table, and Dalila... Her feet left the ground, and the mass of water dragged her with it.
Dalila could do nothing but shut her eyes, waiting to be smashed onto a wall Oh my, oh my, oh my!
But when the impact came, it was not with a wall. Dalila felt herself hitting something - no, someone - that was dragged with her in the crazy course of the water wave, and she hung onto it with all her strength, the only solid thing among a world black and liquid.
They rolled one, two, three times, bumped against tables and chairs, and finally ended up on the floor.
Drenched to her bones, it took a moment to the wind dragon slayer to realise she was pressed against a breathing chest. She coughed, fighting to catch her breath. Under her hands, she could feel she was tugging to a t-shirt. A chest that had started to rumble in an unusual, rather strange way...
The sound reached her ears, and she recognised a menacing, impossibly low growl coming from under her.
Dalila snapped her eyes open, and blinked a few times, ready to meet the eyes of the person she had clung to. But she didn't saw what she expected.
One eye only? was her first thought. Oh my goddess! was her second, as she felt the growl intensify, until it became a full roar.
"Do you fucking want to stay here the whole fucking day?"
The wave had invested him as well, and now water was slowly dripping from blood-red locks and trickling down his bronze skin. One daring water drop traced the sharp cut that was in place of his right eye, and Dalila saw it going down to his cheek, and finally meeting a raised lip, showing a threateningly pointed tooth.
"Well?" screamed Cobra, as Dalila was froze in fear. He hadn't cared much hadn't he be just dragged with his butt on the floor, with a woman straddling his hips and looking dumbly back at him mouth open and eyes-wide.
Seeing that her mind was still wrapped around the fact that she had been thrown all around the room by a wave and crashed onto the last person she wished to, Cobra got hold of her arm and pushed her away. "Fuck off, Snow White!" he yelled standing up.
Fucking cunt! thought the poison slayer, glaring as the woman struggled on the floor, trying to stand up. What the fuck has this freak? he glared at her, seeing her crawling on the wet floor and helplessly trying to pull herself up on a chair.
...Why on Earthland... legs won't work... wait a few more days... He raised an eyebrow when her soul reached him, a soft echo from far away, like a voice carried by the wind. ...ask Wendy help, and where is Lucy?... Should have listened to Porlyusica... Hurts so much...
Oh no, oh no! Lucy's thoughts reached him with their usual strength and shrill tone, as the Celestial mage crawled from under the table. Cobra is here? Not Cobra, right? Look at this mess...
Cobra was busy studying at Dalila that was, slowly and painfully, pulling herself onto a sitting position, momentarily forgetting about the poison slayer heavy stare. Maybe this way... arms not working either... she was thinking. But her mind shut down a second later, when a raging, absolutely non-human screams sounded in the guild hall.
"Water on the floor! The pavement half burned! Glasses broken, and a barrel lost! What have you done here?" "M-Mira..." "Answer me!"
Dalila stood in shock as she saw a pair of huge, azure bat-like wings appear on the back of a woman with long, white hair. And blue horns, and light blue scales over her arms and legs... I knew I was going to die today! Dalila cried internally, looking frantically around for Lucy.
Actually the Celestial mage was cradling on her four, as silent as possible, hoping to escape Mirajane's furious eyes - who knew why the barmaid was always ending up on women for her punishments? - and the only person into Dalila's sight was the one-eyed, red-headed dragon slayer, standing in front of her.
Cobra had not moved an inch, and a mischievous smirk was plastered on his face. Dalila winched - she could not know that the poison slayer was enjoying Mirajane's thoughts of revenge - and swallowed. He was tall, and he looked even taller from Dalila crouched position on the floor. He had still his fangs bared, and had yet to stop glaring at her. He slowly he folded his arms in his chest, and Dalila could still hear him growling.
Is this Cobra? Dalila ranked him up and down, and fought back a sneeze. A smell of alcohol, and something else that she could not identified but that made her throat arse and her eyes water, had crawled up her nose. I don't want to get poisoned! her mind screamed to her, looking for a way out. But what could she do, weak as she was, unable even to stand, under the purple, slithery eye of the poison dragon slayer?
As soon as she thought that, much to her horror, Dalila saw his smirk deforming into a grimace of anger. "I can hear you..."
Dalila flinched, but before she could utter a word, she felt a pair of arms lifting her from the floor, and she travelled above her usual eye-level, and tugging her against a growling, ample chest. Another one? What the hell is going on today?
The wind dragon slayer turned, more confused than when she was invested by the water, and found herself looking at the spiky blond hair of Laxus Dreyar.
Laxus had seen the enchantment of Juvia one second before it flooded their table - Freed runes had been cast for fire, not for water - and jumped away just in time to save his beer, and see Dalila being carried by the wave and crash onto the poison dragon slayer.
Avoiding Mirajane - who was currently dragging Juvia and Master Makarov by an ear into the kitchen - he had made his way towards the wind slayer. So thin and wet, Dalila looked like a lost puppy who had been thrown into a pool, even if she was trying fiercely to stand on her feet. And this freak is doing nothing to help her, had thought Laxus, scoping her up in his arms. She was light as a feather, even if her scent was much less strong than usual.
Cobra narrowed his eye at Laxus, looking, if possible, even more intimidating. "What the actual fuck do you want."
Laxus growled more, tightening his grip on Dalila and moving a step forward. "What the fuck think you are doing, you poison freak?"
Laxus chest was reverberating his words, and Dalila could already perceive a certain dryness in the air. This was too much swearing in a row... The wind dragon slayer couldn't help herself to think. "Ehm, Laxus, thank you!" she tried to ease the growing tension with a small smile. "I am ok! You see me, I am fine!"
But Laxus had no intention of letting this pass. If this freaks gets around her again... The lighting slayer moved another step towards the poison slayer and around his closed fists the air cracked. That was scary.
No no no! Not here, not now! thought Dalila panicking. There is water everywhere! We are going to be electrocuted!
Cobra was staring back at Laxus with an intensity that could have burned a hole in a wall of steel. And then, he suddenly relaxed. Only to wear a mocking expression even more unsettling than his scowl. "I see..." he smirked, and when Laxus growled again, he smirk only grew wider. "I see..." he repeated, amused by something. Then the poison slayer landed his gaze onto the form in Laxus arms.
Her skin looked even paler paired with the white sweater she was wearing, and she was doing nothing more than letting her huge, silver eyes running in between the two slayers. Her mind was working fast so that she could have a way out from between them, as quick as possible. She was the new dragon slayer Mirajane had talked about on the train, Cobra realised. A poor excuse for a slayer, was his first thought about her. Not even able to stand up by herself... he sneered.
"What the fuck do you want?" barked again Laxus.
Dalila squirmed, almost squeezed in between the two.
"Laxus it ok, could you put me down?" she hastened, patting his shoulder with her hand, hoping to be able to make it to a safe place before she ended up electrocuted... or poisoned. Almost flooded has been enough for today!
This time she gained the lighting dragon slayer attention. "Are you ok?" he asked cautiously, weighting her in his arms and glancing every now and then back to the poison slayer.
"Yes, sure!" Dalila tried to smile and wiggled her legs. "You can put me down, don't you worry. Thank for... For helping me up!"
Laxus didn't seem quite convinced by that, however, he slowly lowered her. Only to stop at a sly, mellifluous voice. "Yeah, Laxus... Listen to Snow White. Put her down." Cobra sneered, imitating Dalila conciliating tone.
Snow White? The wind dragon slayer snapped her head towards him, frowning. What does he want?
"Dalila!"
Thank you Lucy-thank you Lucy-thank you Lucy! Dalila was never more happy that someone pronounced her name. "Lucy!" she cried and waved her hand.
"I am-oh my-Cobra!" Lucy turned to face the poison slayer. "You are back." she pulled out a small smile, but the poison slayer didn't respond to it. He snarled, and just... To Dalila surprise, the poison slayer just turned, leaving the three of them there.
Dalila saw the look of pain in Lucy's eyes. That morning, Lucy had told her that Cobra had been taken back to the Council in Era for not specified reasons, and that luckily he was expected to be back that morning. "Maybe you will meet him!" had said the Celestial mage with a hopeful smile. "He is my team, after all!"
Well, we did meet. Thought Dalila sadly, looking as the poison slayer walked all the way to the bar counter and took place on a stool, as if the rest of the world around him dhadn't existed at all. The few that were on his way quickly moved. No one dared to lift their gaze looking at him, and he didn't say hi to anyone.
From behind the counter, two girls with purple hair emerged. One ducked away immediately with a small cry of fear at the sight of the poison slayer, but the other one smiled brightly instead, tending both of her hands to the mage. But Dalila saw her smile fade as quickly as Lucy, when the poison slayer just made a quick gesture with his hand, taking a sit a bit further from her.
"Don't mind him, blondie." grunted Laxus, breaking the silence.
He had followed Lucy's eyes, and had understood. The Celestial mage had been on the front line to help Cobra back in the guild, and now, after she had been so preoccupied for him for days, and this was his payback? Asshole, thought Laxus, knowing too well that Cobra was going to hear him perfectly.
"He is going to be ok." shrugging, Laxus finally put Dalila's down. The wind dragon slayer had to balance herself, leaning onto him a little longer than what she had wished. It was a little embarrassing, even if the lighting dragon slayer had the gallantry of holding her hand, as she steadied herself on her feet again.
"Yes, sure..." mumbled Lucy. She had wanted to talk to him a little - even just a little, even just 'hi'. To make sure he was ok. She shook her head, trying to focusing on Dalila again. She was going to talk to Cobra in a while. Being washed and thrown on the floor must not be exactly the welcome back he was expecting... she thought, before finally turning and pulling out her smile again.
"Lucy, I am sorry I kind of bumped into him." mumbled the other girl, adjusting her wetted hair. "I really didn't see-" "Oh, you must be Dalila!"
Dalila turned at the cheerful, sweet voice, and found herself in front of the white-haired woman that had turned into a raging monster a minute ago.
"Ye-Yes!" croaked the wind dragon slayer.
"Nice to meet you, dear!" chirped Mirajane, stretching out a hand. "My name is Mirajane Strauss, and I am a barmaid!"
Dalila took her hand and shook it lightly. "Nice-glom-nice to meet you, too. I am Dalila von Altzner."
"How do you feel?" asked immediately Mirajane. "I am sorry you had to face, such a... such a..." she looked around concerned, trying to find a word to describe the mess reigning around them. "Well, this is Fairy Tail!" she giggled at the end. "Welcome to the guild!"
"Thank you!" Dalila bowed her head, as Mirajane seized immediately her by the arm, looking at her up and down. "Oh my, you look way too thin! You would like something to eat, right?"
Dalila nodded carefully, and a growl from her stomach only confirmed the words of the barmaid.
"Well then!" smiled Mira, winking at Lucy. "Then, let's give you something to eat!"
Dalila soon forgot the incident with the poison dragon slayer. After she and Cobra had collided, Dalila had been dragged by Mirajane to Lucy and Erza's table, and she new slayer had spent her very first day at the guild hall.
If Dalila had thought she was going to fall apart there and then and cry, she was wrong. So many mages had come to introduce themselves, talking all at the same time - and how loud! - that she had not been able to think about anything else for the whole day.
First of all, after a few minutes, Juvia had come out of the kitchen - a little dizzy and beaten, Dalila noticed - and excused herself for the wave. "Juvia is very sorry, Dalila!" had bowed the blue-haired mage. "Juvia will dry you now!" and with a snap of her finger, the water mage called back to herself all the water around the guild. Also the one in the drinks of several guild members, but no one dared to protest. It was better like that than dripping water on the floor, that Cana and Gray had been put to clean, under the careful watch of the demon-barmaid.
Mirajane had made sure Dalila had a substantial breakfast and lunch. She had made a point of making Dalila eat it all, despite the wind dragon slayer small protests, soon stopped by Lucy. "She will eat all of it, don't you worry, Mira!" had shrieked the Celestial mage, squeezing Dalila's hand under the table.
"Never, ever cross Mira." had whispered then in Dalila's ear, looking as the barmaid happily returned on her spot behind the counter. "If she says that you have to eat it, you eat it."
Levy had emerged from the infirmary with a furious Charle and a stumbling Wendy. The Script mage had introduced Dalila to two of her old times friends, that had just come home from a job. "These are Jet and Droy!"
Jet had speed velocity, and Droy, who was huge and round, something related to seeds and plants. They had been very kind, but immediately have been shoved away by a girl with short, purple hair. "Now it's my turn! Hello Dalila! My name is Kinana. I am a barmaid, just like Mira! How do you feel?"
"I am very good. Finally dry." smiled Dalila.
The woman had blazing, gentle eyes, and a soft, kind smell. "Wonderful! Maybe I could bring you something to drink?"
Lucy and Wendy had been pointing the mages fighting across the guild. "Ok, over there is Wakaba... And those who are fighting are - well, you know Natsu and Gray already - and there is Max Alors, he is a sand mage, and then, oh is that Freed?"
In the moment Lucy had pronounced his name, the green haired mage she was pointing at was thrown exactly on their table - Dalila believed by now that she had to get used to people being thrown around randomly, but in fact she jumped and almost fell out of her chair for the surprise. Like she hadn't just flew all across the guild, ending up right on one of their members!
That was the perfect occasion to meet the rest of the Thunder Legion. A girl with an ample chest and a crown of brown hair squeezed her in a tight hug. "Dear, it is so good to see you finally awake! My name is Evergreen!"
"And I am-mph-Freed Justine!" the man who had so unceremoniously landed on the table was now bowing with great elegance to her. "How do you feel, Dalila? We have been worried about-" "Cut it up, man!" A bellowing, armoured man - Bickslow, Dalila knew his name by now - threw an arm on Freed shoulder. "He needs a while to loosen up, doll!" he whisper-cried to Dalila.
"I do not need a while to loosen up, Bickslow! And take your arm away from me!"
"Loosen up! Loosen up! Loosen up!"
And then, slowly, as the hours passed by, Dalila had met many other mages. A girl named Laki, who was also staying at Fairy Hills, a boy named Romeo, his father Macao, and their friend Wakaba... So many new faces that it was hard for her to remember all their names.
On top of that, she was feeling hundreds of different smells coming up to her nose, wood, and booze, and beer and sweat, but also sweeter scents, like cinnamon, and vanilla, and different kind of flowers she could not identify. That had contributed in keeping her busy for the day. That, and the noisy fights and quarrels of the mages in the guild. It seemed like on each side she looked, two of them were already throwing one against the other. She had been deafened a whole argument in between Gray and Natsu from the other side of the guild, before Erza decided it was too much to bear and went over to calm them down.
"Ehm, does this happen often?" had asked Dalila preoccupied, looking at the Requip mage holding the Ice mage and the fire slayer one in each hand, and then crushing them together. Several times.
Lucy nodded. "Yes. But it's the only way to calm them down, trust me."
From his spot on the counter, Master Makarov had been surveilling her and the other mages for the whole day. If the Master was worried that it was much for Dalila to bear, he was glad to see that the wind dragon slayer was friendly to everybody, and looked perfectly at ease. I guess the novelty of this all must be the thing that keeps her mind occupied, he thought. For now, this is the best we can hope for.
Cana had been truth to her word of two days before, and had come as soon as the wooden floor was sparkling again - thanks to Laki's help too - and the Card mage had tried to make Dalila drink. But after the first gulp of beer, which Dalila took only not to delude the Card mage, she had started to sneeze terribly, sending said mage, the mug of beer, and Lucy on the floor. "Oh my gods, I am sorry!" had cried Dalila, standing up and helping them on their feet.
"That's a sneeze!" had cried Cana, lifting her own mug of beer, miraculously survived to her fall.
And so on and so forth, the day had passed, and before Dalila had realised, evening had come.
"Now, you go to Fairy Hills, dear." had said Makarov before she and Levy left the guild. "Levy will take you there, and show your room. See you tomorrow!" Dalila had bowed and thanked the Master for his kindness, to which he just waved his hand, saying them goodnight.
Lucy was going to stay at the hall a little more. "I want to talk with Cobra." she had said to Dalila, before she and Levy left. "I think he had had some difficult days this week. I should go and keep him some company."
Dalila had nodded, and searched the poison dragon slayer with her eyes in the guild. She spotted him sitting on the a stool, sipping something from a glass. He looked bored, and uninterested in everything that was happening around him. Even so, Dalila had the clear feeling he was more than aware of his surroundings. She shrugged. It had not been my fault if I fell on him.
She thought she saw one of his pointy ears moving slightly, but it might be just an impression given from the dim light of the candles, she thought, before Levy called her form the guild door and Dalila rushed behind her.
"This is Fairy Hills!"
Dalila looked up at the grand building Levy had just brought her in front of.
"Many of us live here! Me, Evergreen and Erza, and Wendy of course!" the Script mage explained, leading Dalila inside. "We all have out own room and private bathroom... Ah, Mrs Ruchio!"
A small woman, dressed in a bright yellow gown, with round spectacles and a tight bun right on the top of her head came rushing towards them. "Miss McGarden, here you are! It is quite late, young lady, I was about to close the gate!"
"Ehm, sorry, we made a little late tonight." said the girl sleepishly, "Anyway, I brought you a new tenant, Mrs Ruchio!"
The small woman moved a few steps in Dalila direction, and the wind dragon slayer bowed slightly. "Good evening Mrs Ruchio. Thank you for taking me as your tenant!"
Mrs Ruchio eyed Dalila from head to toe a couple of times. "Yes, sure, Mrs von Altzner, right? Makarov told me about your situation!" she said, adjusting her spectacles on her pointed nose. "You are more than welcome here at Fairy Hills!"
Levy clapped happily her hands. "Then, can we do a tour of the building?"
"I am afraid it is a little late for it, Miss Mc McGarden." scolded Mrs Ruchio. "But surely tomorrow there will be plenty of time for that! Now," she said, looking at her clock, "Maybe Miss McGarden can show you your room? Second floor, number three!"
"Sure Mrs Ruchio!" Levy bowed, as Mrs Ruchio took a key out of her purse and handed it to her.
"Good!" The small woman bowed, and the bun on her head trembled, menacing to fall on her forehead. "Then I will retire for the night. See you tomorrow, young ladies!"
"Goodnight!" said in unison Levy and Dalila, seeing Mrs Ruchio disappearing in a nearby room.
"Come on." Said Levy. "Up to the second floor is a long way. Maybe we can stop in the middle, so I can show you something..."
Dalila nodded, even if she wished she could have postponed the tour to the day after. She was feeling very tired, and confused from the long day.
It had been a pleasant walk from Fairy Tail to the dormitory. Levy had pointed to the wind dragon slayer all the shops they were meeting on the way - "That is a good bookstore - over there is a nice cafè, but it is expensive... This is a clothes shop, it has nice sales - by the way, tomorrow Lucy is coming over, you need some clothes, right?"
Dalila had nodded absently, taking in all that Levy was telling her, again wishing she had more eyes to see all that was around her.
The streets of Magnolia were quiet in the dusk of the night, and huge lamps were lighting their way. It must be very late, had thought Dalila, but even in the darkness, she could make out how much the city differ from the town she used to live in. Of course, one hundred years have passed... she had thought, feeling a slash of pain in her chest.
And then, they had reached the green garden of Fairy Hills, and Dalila had sighed in relief. The building looked solid and old, a design that was common when she used to live one hundred of years ago. It was a comforting sight, somehow.
Now, Levy was leading her up to the stairs, and Dalila was pleased otot see that also the interiors remembered her on one of the old villas that were common in her time, with wooden floor and ceiling, and creamy walls.
"The lobby is downstairs, we have passed it before." was explaining Levy, as she led Dalila up to the stairs. "It is a pity we can't see the common bathroom - but it's majestic, you will like it so much! We should go there one of these evenings."
Dalila was looking at everything Levy pointed - the recreation room, the corridor of the first floor, where Juvia, Wendy, Erza and Laki were living, at the second there were Evergreen, Levy, Cana, and the former room of Bisca, which Dalila was about to occupy.
"Here you go!" chirped Levy, when they were in front of her room. "Do you want me to come with you inside, in case you need something?" asked Levy politely, taking the key in her hand and opening the door.
"Yes, please, come in!" Dalila smiled weakly. My new room...
The blonde stepped inside the room. It was big, with the same creamy walls that were in the rest of the dormitory, and wooden floor and ceiling. On one side on the room there was a huge king bed. A small night table on the side, with a lamp on it, and a wardrobe on the opposite wall, was all that the room contained.
Dalila felt her heart shrunk. It looks so... empty...
Like Levy had been able to read her mind, the Script mage spoke in a quiet, soft voice. "Maybe it looks empty now, but Mrs Ruchio allows us to decorate our room as much as we like. As long as we restore it to its original state when we leave. I remember Bisca's room was packed with... stuffs and animals." Levy giggled. "But you see, now it is perfectly clean. Ready to become your room!"
That was encouraging, from a certain point of view. "Thank you, Levy." Dalila smile was a little less weak now. "I will decorate it soon."
"Good. Now I guess I should let you sleep." Levy gave the key to the elder girl. "Well, see you tomorrow, then!"
"Thank you Levy! See you tomorrow!"
Levy closed the door behind her, and Dalila was left alone in the room. My new room... she thought again. She walked a few steps, then thought better of it, and took away her shoes. Well, Levy's shoes. She had so small feet, Lucy's boots had proved too big to her that morning. She considered that maybe tomorrow she could have bought a new pair for herself. And clothes, too...
She neared the bed, and caressed the duvet. It was soft and smooth to the touch. The cotton they used must have been of another type, with respect to the one she was used to.
Dalila sat carefully on the bed, and almost cried in surprise when the mattress sunk under her weight. "What the...!"
That was different indeed. She considered in again, sitting slowly, and when she was sure the mattress was not going to eat her, she let herself fall backwards, letting out a long breath.
Well... Here I am.
Yes, there she was. There, at Fairy Hills, in Magnolia, a town she had never heard of before. One hundred years after all that she knew. Sinking in a bed that seems to come from another world...
Strangely, that simple idea of having to sleep on a bed that was completely different from everything she had known before, tied a lump in her throat.
Dalila didn't hold back tears now. Tightening her legs on her chest, she let them fall on her cheeks, and sinking in the cover under her.
When she finally fell asleep, it was well past midnight.
Meanwhile, Fairy Tail guild hall...
Kinana had asked Erik if he wanted to dine at her place, but he had said no. After a while, she had asked him if he wanted to dine at the guild - it was already past eight, but he had said he was not hungry.
Now it was almost midnight, and the poison slayer had just left, without a word. Kinana had looked worriedly at his back, as he had closed silently the door behind him. Surely he had nothing to eat at home, or very little, and it was to late to go shopping. He has barely looked at me for the whole day...
Kinana was worried for him. Cobra was always quiet, but never \textit{that} quiet. Not with that sour and dull look in his eye. At least, with me he talked...
She tried to clear her mind polishing some remaining mugs and trays, and checking that Cana had not drank too many barrel for that day. I hope tomorrow he will be better, she thought, counting the barrels for the third time.
She heard a stool moving from the bar counter, and someone coughed lightly to draw her attention. Literally.
"Ah, Reedus!" smiled Kinana. "Wine as always?"
Reedus Jonah, Pic mage of Fairy Tail, took off his hat and bowed his head to Kinana. "Good evening to you, Kinana. Yes, I am taking the usual, thank you!"
"Just come home from a job?" Kinana asked, fetching a bottle of wine from a cupboard.
She liked Reedus. He was always so gentle and calm, drinking the finest of wines without getting drunk, Which is a little uncommon here at Fairy Tail! she giggled, pouring the whine in a glass.
"Yes, I have just come back." responded the mage. "The job was in the nearby town of Loxhotus, but it took a lot of time to finish. I had some picture commissioned, and I needed to do a lot of sketches before the client was satisfied." Reedus started to talk about the job he just did, and Kinana leant over the counter, listening. "... at that point, I was so tired, but the client wanted me to redo all of it, but finally he was satisfied! Then there was this thing with the model..."
All of this sounds so normal... Kinana thought, smiling and giggling as Reedus mimicked a woman he had to portray. A normal mage, taking normal jobs... Without destruction bills to pay, or serious injuries to heal...
She needed that. It was like being able to jump and run, after being the whole day tip-toeing. She felt a little guilty for Erik, but they both knew how hard it was to cope with their past sometime. And even if they had never spoken about that, the barmaid knew they both understood the value of small, normal gestures.
She wished Erik was with them, hearing Reedus talking, calling him 'dauber' as he sometimes had done, and seeing Reedus chuckling at it. In almost eight years, I have never seen Reedus angry once... she mindlessly thought.
"It all ended well!" Reedus chuckled, lifting the glass full of wine and admiring the flicking light becoming reddish and dull.
Kinana laughed. "I am glad you completed the job successfully, even if it was a tiring one!"
"It was not bad." Reedus took a sip from his glass. "And how about you? I have been away for a couple of weeks. Are there any news?"
Kinana sighed. Her face clouded, when she begun to say. "Well, yes. It is about Erik - now everything is fine, but..."
Reedus listened attentively to her. The recount in broad terms of what had happened in the last week, both in Era and at Fairy Tail, let the Pic mage impressed and disoriented.
"I am really sorry for Cobra, Kinana." was the first thing he said to her, "Maybe he needs a few days to go back to his routine. He knows that we all have done everything in our power to take him back to Fairy Tail."
"Do you think so? You don't think he is angry or something?" asked Kinana with teary eyes.
"Angry? Oh my brushes and canvasses, not at all!" Reedus smiled softly. "How could he be? And why?"
The barmaid shrugged. "I don't know... He didn't even looked at me when we were speaking today."
"Kinana," Reedus went serious. "I don't know Cobra as much as you do, but I can say this. I have observed him - don't look at me like that, I am a painter, observing things is my job! - and I think that.. he is of those poeple that need time to sort out their feelings, before expressing them to someone else. And this is just part of his character, and it's a perfectly common trait. The first thing he did when he came back to Magnolia was coming here, right?"
Kinana nodded. 'Sort out feelings, before expressing them' was a perfect way to describe Erik's character indeed. "Right. Reedus, you are perfectly right!"
"And he was here the whole day!" Reedus beamed. "From what you told me, it looks like he wanted to stay in your company, not be alone... Maybe he was not talking, but your presence next to him was making him feel better."
"You... You think so?!"
"I am one hundred percent sure of it!" Reedus looked down at the half-empty glass. "You know, people can talk with just their presence... Words are superfluous sometimes."
Kinana nodded, more decisively now. "Yes, Reedus, I think you are right." she said finally, with a big smile. He always knows how to make one feel good! Always so grounded and kind...
Reedus lifted his glass. "So... To Cobra that is back to us and to the new dragon slayer!"
Kinana laughed, feeling like a weight had been taken off her chest. "Yes! To Cobra and Dalila!"
