Work has been keeping Morgana busy these weeks, but here you go! A chapter for my dear reader!
We have left Cobra and Dalila almost hating each other... almost...
Could it be worse?
A week later, Fairy Tail guild hall...
It was all Wendy's fault. But I can't blame her! sighed the wind dragon slayer, as she was dragged forcefully to the guild hall.
"Slow down!" cried the wind slayer, almost tripping over her feet.
"No! Move ya featherweight-ass!" bellowed the cause of her distress. "Let me see if what says the runt it's true."
Dalila rolled her eyes, letting the iron slayer drag her along the streets of Magnolia. That's all Wendy's fault! she thought again with a sigh.
Well, Wendy could not really be blamed. That was all Gajeel, and the young girl had little to do with the treatment Dalila was receiving. The fact was that, after seeing how Dalila was able to 'taste' the wind, and how particular her sense of smell was, the sky dragon slayer had wanted to talk to Gajeel about it. Maybe it was a characteristic of wind dragons, or maybe it was just an additional power Dalila had, like healing magic.
Team Natsu was just coming back from their next mission - the one Lucy had been called 'jugs' for, thing for what she was still holding a grudge against a certain poison dragon slayer - and they met Gajeel and Pantherlily on the train. Fighting the risk to throw up, Wendy had told Gajeel how much Dalila seemed to have very developed senses.
"Her hearing is getting better, but her nose is truly magical." said the young slayer. "She guessed I was reading a book the night before! She said I smelled of turning pages and adventures!"
"That is true!" had said Charle. "and she smelled that Wendy and I knew each other since I was born! Dalila said that 'our bond is very old, and Wendy's scent is entangled with yours so deeply that you must have met her since you were born'. How is that possible, Gajeel?" asked amazed the cat.
"I-glurb!-have no idea!" had muttered the iron dragon slayer, suffocating the impulse to vomit.
"That's super co-glarb!" Natsu was green, despite Lucy combing his hair for the whole trip. "I want to see that as well!"
"We can go and check her once we are in Magnolia!" had said a very pale Wendy. "But for now... I don't think I can talk much more... urgh!"
Thus, as soon as the train had stopped in Magnolia, the three dragon slayer has sprung up form their seats, and had started running int he direction of Fairy Hills. Gajeel had been the first one to arrive, but only Wendy was allowed by Mrs Ruchio to go and check for the wind dragon slayer.
"Why are they getting so excited all of a sudden?" had asked Gray, looking at the three slayers running towards the dormitory. He glanced at Cobra, who grunted something under his breath, and Gray understood something regarding 'shit' and 'brains'. "Just asking." shrugged the Ice mage.
"Wendy told me that being smell so important for a dragon slayer, and Dalila's nose is a rare case." Lucy nodded. "I wonder if Levy could find something in some of her books. Maybe it is a trait of wind dragon slayers?"
As Gray had just done, the Celestial mage turned to look at Cobra - wasn't him a dragon slayer himself? Maybe he had a better idea - but again the poison slayer growled some intelligible curses, and Lucy decided to let him be.
He had not make any attempt to say he was sorry for calling her 'Jugs' in front of Asuka. Lucy was not expecting him to do so, anyway. As he always did when he knew he had done something that had upset her, Cobra had just started to randomly talk to her - at the rest of the team expenses, of course. It was Cobra's peculiar way to say he was sorry, or at least that he was aware that he should have been sorry. Lucy had got used to it, although she had preferred a more direct approach. But that was all she could get from the poison slayer, so there was no point in digging her heels in.
She only thought it was strange that he had not shown any interest in Dalila's particular skill, or in Dalila in general. She was a new dragon slayer after all, had the same kind of magic as him - she was second generation, too!
It's possible that he has really taken their very first encounter personally... Even though it was not her fault... Or maybe he doesn't like her... Lucy pondered. I doubt she is dangerous or something... If so, he would tell us, she glanced at him, and seeing him conversing with Erza about a mission the Requip mage had seen on the board, the Celestial mage shrugged. He hasn't to be friendly to everyone in the guild... I think there are people he had never spoke with in these months... But Dalila is really nice, I wished they could at least be in good terms...
Cobra's eye turned to her and he glared at her.
Ok, ok! she giggled, Not being at each other throat, then?
Lucy stretched her arms out. It was such a nice evening, and her pockets were full with the reward for their job - or well, half of it, which was still a good sum anyway. She didn't want to fight with the poison slayer. Do as you please Cobra... Right now, I only want a slice of Mira's special cake!
Cobra heard Lucy's soul purring at the thought of the giant slice of cake she was about to eat. The mission had been easy, and they were home a couple of days before they expected. Moreover, Natsu had not talked with him about the wind dragon slayer again. Thank fucking god! he thought, as they all entered the guild.
But he had to take back his thanks to deities, because what he saw in the middle of the guild hall made his nerves almost get the better of him.
Because, who could be in the right centre of the guild hall, in the middle of a group made of solely dragon slayers, blindfolded, smiling like the idiotic ass she was?
"Stop it!"
"Nay! Let's see if yer really that good!"
"She is good, Metalhead!" cried Natsu with a huge grin. "She has guessed again!"
"What the hell ya want, fire breath?" "You want to make me, uh?"
"You two, stop this now!" hissed Dalila, turning and facing the two of them, despite the fact she was blinded. "And are those flames the ones I smell, Natsu? Put those away!"
"You really can recognise flames now..." muttered Natsu under his breath, as he shoved off the flames dancing on his fist.
Levy was there as well, on a table full of books and papers. She was working on a translation for the Council, and the job was easy, but the book she was working with was long an boring. The Script mage was more than happy to have a little distraction, and having put down her pen, Levy was now looking at the group chuckling. When she saw the rest of team Natsu entering, she waved, moving the books on the table and making some place for them.
"Hello Levy-chan! How are you?" asked Lucy, sitting next to her. "What are they doing?" she pointed to the group of slayers, moving in circle like idiots, and squirming in happiness every time Dalila guessed which one was in front of her.
"Testing Dalila sense of smell." giggled the Script mage. "They arrived here ten minutes ago, and had been like that since then."
"Mh-mh... I see..." mumbled the Celestial mage, looking a little puzzle Natsu hiding behind Wendy, only for Dalila to smell his presence anyway.
Cobra had disappeared, and Lucy spotted him on the bar counter, next to Kinana. She was already serving him some alcohol, and Lucy saw his eye glaring at the noisy group in the centre of the hall. Come on, Cobra! It's not like that the guild was going to be silent! she giggled.
"Mmh, I still do not understand why are they making all this fuss." Gray raised an eyebrow. Dalila had a good sense of smell. So what? "I mean, it is normal, she is a dragon slayer, after all!"
Erza raised an eyebrow. Now Natsu had grabbed Happy and Pantherlily by their tails, and was shoving them in front of Dalila's face. First Happy, then Pantherlily, and when Dalila guessed which cat was which, he was laughing and grinning and praising her, and repeating it all over again.
Pantherlily had turned to Gajeel, slightly worried. "Gajeel, could you please..." but the iron dragon slayer had an extatic expression on his face. "My turn!" he bellowed, snatching the cats from Natsu. "Now, ya featherweight, I am not going easy on ya..." he chuckled, lifting first Pantherlily and then Happy.
Happy sighed. "I am afraid this will go on for a while Lily..."
The other guild mates were assisting dumbfounded at the scene, laughing and pointing the dragon slayers, chiming as kids with a new toy.
"It is actually cute." mumbled Lucy, looking at Natsu's huge grin. "It like they are with a child, or something..."
"In fact it is!" Charle had flew in between them, happy she had escaped the sort of Happy and Lily. "Wendy has explained me that, since Dalila had just become a dragon slayer, it is like she was a toddler for them."
Erza raised both her eyebrows. "A toddler?" she asked, glancing as Dalila jumped happily up and down having guesses the order of the cats again. "But she is twenty-two!"
"But it is true." Levy interjected. "I have read about this. It's kind of instinct - well no, more an influence from them being dragon slayer. Yes, think of how would you behave if a toddler had just started to walk, or talk!" Levy glanced at the group. Their idiotic smiles were cute, but she was not used to see Gajeel acting like he had really a small child in front of him. Lu-chan is right, it's kind of cute... Ok, Levy stop!
"They are a little carried away now," Levy shrugged, trying to hide her blush "They will be back to their usual selves soon, don't you worry!" It's kind of sad, I liked Gajeel acting like this... Ok Levy, you must really stop now!
"Oh!" Lucy chuckled. "Now it makes more sense." Yes, she would have behaved just in the same way, making the child walk towards her or speak to no end, just for per pleasure of seeing him or her learning. Yes, I would do the same... And Natsu is like this with children, then... she thought, looking dreamingly at the fire dragon slayer, He is really cute, encouraging her so much... Looks so talented... LUCY STOP!
"Tks." Gray sneered. "Maybe it's instinct, but even so, Natsu looks like a-" "Gray-saaaaama!"
Gray gasped, finding a certain Water mage sitting right next to him. He jumped up, but before he could move a step, Juvia had seized him in her arms. "Gray-sama, your t-shirt!" "Let me go!" "Juvia will help you putting it on! Not that she doesn't like Gray-same without a t-shirt!"
"Well," Levy ignored Gray whines, "how was the job, by the way? I thought you were going to be back in a couple of weeks."
"The job was easy." Erza smiled, leaning onto her chair. "It would have been better if a certain someone," she glared at Gray, too preoccupied to keep Juvia hands at distance, "had not started a fight with a certain someone else, and half of our reward went to pay the damages."
"Oh really?" Levy frowned. "I am sorry guys."
"Natsu and Gray have been a lot more sorry, trust me." stated Erza solemnly.
"And you, Lev?" asked Lucy, who didn't want to think about her halved money too much. "How have you been? Are there any news?"
Levy put up a smug face. Lucy light up instantly. That face meant one thing: gossip. "Spill it." whispered Lucy, leaning over the Script mage. Erza and Charle, despite not being ones for gossiping, leant over as well.
"There is no point in whispering." giggled Levy. "Just, the Thunder Legion is back." she said, pointing with her chin to a table in a corner. "They came back yesterday. Guess who has yet to go on the second floor?"
"Wait, what?" the three mages went eyes wide open. "What do you mean, they haven't been on the second floor?" asked Erza.
Levy bite her lips trying to hide a smile, and shook her head. "They took a table down with us mortals, both yesterday night and today. I have heard Bickslow complaining because Laxus was not choosing another job."
Erza frowned. "That's strange...".
Oh, but the glance Levy exchanged with Lucy! To them, it was not strange, not at all. Both of them remember very well that, after Dalila had finally woke up, it had taken three days from Master Makarov to convince the Thunder Legion to leave Magnolia for a job. Or, better saying, it took Master Makarov and three of the members of the Thunder Legion to convince their fourth member to pick a job request from the board.
And if Laxus usually took long jobs, this time they had been away only three weeks.
"Why are you two smirking like that?" asked Charle pointedly. "Are you hiding something?"
"No no!" cried the two girls in unison.
Lucy lift her gaze, and searched for Evergreen. She spotted her sitting at the Thunder Legion table, fanning herself and looking at the dragon slayers int he middle of the hall. Next to her, Freed was talking to Bickslow, who was clearing sleeping. Only his dolls were running back and forth on the ceiling, calling one another and bursting into laughs, like their names were some hilarious joke. Evergreen turned her head, and The Celestial mage waved a hand. Evergreen responded with a wink, then rolled her eyes, and waved her fan discreetly, pointing Laxus. Who, Lucy noticed, was totally caught by the scene the four dragon slayer had put up in the middle of the guild hall.
Oh my starts! Lucy thought, covering her mouth with a hand. He is staring at her shamefully! Even the chaste Celestial mage knew that Laxus had a great success with women - well, there were good reason for it! - but he had never seemed so interested in someone. Evergreen was right!
"He is staring at her, isn't he?" chuckled Levy.
"Yes." Lucy giggled. "Staring hard, I would say... We have lost him, Lev."
"Who is lost?" asked Erza.
"Shh!" Levy motioned to keep quiet. "Or he will hear to us!"
"But 'he' who?"
"I doubt he is pays attention to us, Levy-chan." Lucy giggled again, glancing in the direction of the Thunder Legion. "As I told you, we have lost him."
And in fact, Laxus had done nothing else but staring at the wind dragon slayer since the other three slayers had dragged her inside. And even the evening before. Damn, he had not seen her in three weeks. Laxus had left a little kitten drenched to her bones and unable to stand on her feet, and had found a woman with a bright smile, that was already able to smell like a real slayer. He could even feel her magic already surrounding her. I know she was a smart one.
A smart one and a pretty one. Now that she was wearing some clothes, Laxus was starting to regret not having peeked like Bickslow had.
"So, when are we going on a job again?" asked Bickslow with a yawn.
"Yes, Laxus, the last one was not that interesting after all." stated Freed, bothered that Bickslow seemed not to have paid any attention for the whole time to his recount of the last rune book he read. "Maybe we could ask Mirajane if she has something interesting for us? Not that it isn't nice to stay home a few days, but..." but it's not like Laxus to pick a three weeks job, and then come home and just stay on the ground floor, not even bothering to look at the board request! completed Freed in his head, but didn't dare to say out loud.
"Yeah Laxus, let's ask Mira!" Bickslow slammed his hand on the table. "I want to fight someone seriously! Even Natsu is not up to fight tonight!"
"Mh-mh." Laxus was not responding. Dalila had just guessed in the right order - Gajeel, Natsu, Wendy, Happy and Pantherlily - and that was good. After three weeks only. Whoah, she is good indeed!
"Laxus? Do you heard me, boss?"
It was like he was talking tot he wall. Laxus took a gulp from his beer. Has she already started to eat her element? She must have, I feel she is using kind of her magic right now...
"Laxus!"
Bet Wendy had taught her... The kid eats air, after all...
"Laxus!"
"What?!" roared the blond. "Bickslow, do not shout in my ear!"
"Then fucking listen to me!" grunted the Seith mage waving his arms. "When. are. we. going. on. another. job?"
In the middle of the hall, Dalila was giggling. "I heard Laxus and Bickslow fighting from here."
"And you smell them, Dalila-san?" asked Wendy expectantly.
"Not exactly, but I will smell an electrocuted mage in a while."
While Bickslow and Laxus were yelling one to the other, all the females at Levy's table exchanged a knowing glance. "Gray-sama! Let Juvia help putting on your pants!" well, all the females but one.
Ignoring Gray whines, Lucy whispered. "Well, also this is acting on instinct, Levy-chan?"
"No, that one is simply Laxus being Laxus." Levy pointed at the group that was still dancing in the middle of the hall. "About that, the fact that Gajeel and Wendy have been teaching her just adds up at their excitement. They'll be back from their little world in a few minutes."
But on this, Levy was wrong. After freeing the cats, and playing again for some minutes the game 'guess who is in front of you', the slayers had grown tired. "That's too easy with just the three of us!" bellowed Gajeel. "Ya have to guess the rest of the guild members too!"
"Yes, Dalila-san, let's make a tour!" Wendy clapped her hands.
"A tour?" Dalila asked suspiciously.
When Natsu, Wendy and Gajeel had come to Fairy Hills, she had been at first surprised by their excitement, but after a while she had been caught in the same frenzy, and had started to giggled like a little kid, enjoying their praises and their games. She wanted nothing else but to show how good she was, and was internally squirming like a kid every time she guessed that Natsu or Happy have been put under her nose.
I feel like an idiot too, but I can't but feel proud! I am becoming a real dragon slayer!, she had thought, while she was guessing again and again the dragon slayer in front of her.
Wendy took her by the hand, and started walking towards the table were the girls - and Gray - were sitting. "You will guess the other members of the guild as well!"
Natsu was tailing them, "It will be easy, don't you worry!" he grinned at Lucy.
"Are you sure?" Dalila moved a few uncertain steps behind Wendy. I don't want to sniff everyone in the room! But she was eager to test her nose, too! So she didn't protest, and followed docilely the sky slayer.
From the other side of the guild, someone else had followed the group. "Isn't it nice?" giggled Kinana, "They look so involved!"
Cobra huffed from behind his mug of beer. He didn't care.
The day before leaving, he and Kinana had talked about his outburst the night before. Cobra had been relieved that the barmaid was not mad at him. "And why should I?" Cobellios had asked him, "I said those things because I care about you, Erik! I wouldn't be a good friend if I didn't!"
Being in good terms again with Cubellios had made him feel better than he had been in a few weeks. Fucking Snow White is not going to ruin my evening tonight.
He glanced to the group of slayers, that was dragging Dalila towards the table were Lucy and the other girls - and the naked Gray - were sitting. "Let's start from there!" Wendy was saying enthusiastically. Smell was so important for a dragon slayer, she was so proud of the progresses Dalila was making. In a few more months she will be almost like us!
Gajeel winked at Levy and put a finger on his lips, motioning the girls to stay quiet.
Lucy looked at Dalila as Wendy lead her around the table, trying not to chuckle and reveal herself. "Ok, Dalila-san! Guess the person who is in front of you!"
The wind dragon slayer, leant a little over. She could sense there was someone breathing lightly in front of her. Identifying people is not so easy... she frowned. There are so many people in the guild, and their scents are all mixed up... and there is smell of food, booze, beer, sweat, fights and laughs...
But when she concentrated a little more, isolating the scent that was coming from in front of her, she smiled widely. This one was easy. "I know who is there." she declared.
"Ok, so... You smell like vanilla, and strawberry..." And hot baths and a neat house... And rays of gold light, and of the blink of the starts in the sky...
"So, who is it, Dalila-san?" Strawberry and vanilla! That's an easy guess!
I smell rooms that are too big and empty... I smell the muffled cried of a lone child... I smell forgotten birthdays, and sad memories... Dalila inhaled deeply. I smell the emptiness left by a loved one. I smell hope. I smell regret. I smell determination.
"You are Lucy!" said Dalila.
"Yes I am!" the Celestial mage beamed, and Dalila smelled it too. "Of what I smell, apart from strawberry and vanilla? It took a while to you to recognise me!"
"Mmmh..." Dalila bite her lips. I can't say those things! "You smell like..." she hesitated, fidgeting, thinking quickly about what to say. What could be said, at least. "You smell like hot baths and a neat house. And the blink of the stars."
"Oh..." Lucy stood dumbfounded at the fair woman in front of her. She has smelled that on me? Is she able to smell magic?
"And hope." continued Dalila, "And determination."
Behind Lucy, Natsu and Happy had their eyes wide open. "How can you do that?" asked Natsu frowning. "Smelling one's magic is not easy!"
"And how can you smell hope?" asked Happy. That was curious indeed.
The fire slayer had buried the nose into Lucy's hair, just for her to slap his shoulder angrily. "Natsu! Don't sniff me like that!"
"Wait Lucy, you really smell of hope!" cried the fire dragon slayer, widening his eyes in amazement.
While the whole table was crying in surprise, especially the dragon slayers, on the other side of the guild, another dragon slayer was all but amazed.
"Cobra, are you ok?" asked Kinana. The poison dragon slayer had suddenly stiffened on his stool, and from the movement of his ears the barmaid could tell he was vey intent in listening to something.
"Nothing, Cubellios. Nothing." he muttered. But inside him, there was a hell of a mess. Holy shit! Snow White can smell... forgotten birthdays? Memories? The blink of the stars? What was she doing when she was coming near him? Was his smell going to tell her... What? There were too many things he didn't want her, or anyone, to know. Like fucking hell she is coming even near me!
That stupid game could be good for idiot like Lucy and Levy, but him? I will fucking poison her if she comes close to me!
"How can you smell hope?" was asking Lucy dubiously, putting a hand on Levy's mouth before the Script mage could ask and betray herself.
"Is like when you feel hopeful, but with your nose?" tried Happy, landing on the table next to Charle.
Wendy nodded. "Yes, it is so, Happy!" However, it is hard even for us to smell it!
Dalila mumbled her agreement. "Yes, I guess it is so..." But in fact, she had no idea. She just knew that was 'hope'. As if the information was carved somewhere inside her brain, and when she listened to her nose, it was just as it. It was like when you entered a room, and someone asked you to tell them the colour of the objects. You were perfectly able to recognise them, even if at first glance you have not paid attention.
"But smellin' it on someone is not easy." mumbled Gajeel. "But that's a nice progress, gihi! Come on, featherweight!" he bellowed. "Let's see what ya can do with Shrimp here!"
The table bursted into laughs. "Good job, you stupid Gajeel!" huffed Levy angrily.
"What the hel-oh!"
Dalila, Wendy and Lucy were holding their bellies. Erza hide her laugh behind her hand. Juvia was about to say something but Charle was quick to put a paw on her mouth. "Idiot!" mumbled Natsu, while Happy was bent in two on the table, laughing as hard as he could. There was no need to worry about Gray, because Juvia had caught the occasion and had her hand pressed on his mouth.
From the nearby table, the whole Thunder Legion had followed the scene, and was now laughing at the poor iron slayer.
"Such in idiot!" Bickslow fell from his chair. "Ass." grunted Gajeel shrugging. "Ass! Ass! Ass!" echoed the dolls.
"What are ya scream' at?" huffed the iron dragon slayer. "Now tell what Shrimp smells of!"
"Gajeel, I don't-" "Ok!" Dalila chimed, moving behind Levy's chair, and inhaled deeply. "I smell books. Tons of books, of any kind, piled and stocked up the ceiling. I smell old ones, and new ones." I smell the yearn of learning. I smell the need of feeling the paper under the fingers, the weight of the book in the hands...
"And then?"
I smell ink, and moments of loneliness... "I smell ink..." said Dalila, quietly. I smell evenings spent in solitude... the fear of being left behind, and love, and friendship... "I smell..." Words written and rewritten in the air. The sweat and the effort to get to perfection. The will to improve. The terror to be not strong enough, when the moment will come.
There was a moment of silence. Damn! Again, Dalila found her mouth shut. I... I had no idea...
Levy was bearing a weight Dalila had not expected. The fear of being left behind because she was too weak, or the will to be able to protect her friends, were so strong in the small mage that Dalila was at first taken aback. I have guessed Levy was training but...
The point was, that Dalila hadn't mean to dive into Levy's fears. It was like I could see the parts of her no one can... It was like eavesdropping to some confession the Script mage had done to herself only. It was like knowing some private secret, and this made Dalila uncomfortable.
The wind dragon slayer was debating whether to stop there, maybe even stopping the game either, that Gajeel's voice broke the expectant silence. "What do ya smell, then, featherweight?"
"I can smell impatience here." giggled Wendy, buying Dalila a few more seconds. Gajeel folded his arms on his chest and glared at the kid, ready to bite back, when Dalila started to speak.
"I smell words..." she said slowly, "And the will to improve when you are training, Levy." Dalila choose carefully her words. "You are putting a lot of effort."
Levy nodded slowly. "It is so. I am... I have been training very hard."
"To not allow circumstances to find you weak." stated Dalila seriously. She could not see it, but Lucy did see Levy's eyes widen at the wind slayer words. Dalila must have spoke exactly Levy's feeling. Lucy glanced towards the wind dragon slayer, who was now pushed next to Charle, and for a moment, she wondered if Dalila was truly telling all that she had felt.
Now her hesitation seem... But maybe I am wrong... Like she was choosing what to tell us? thought the Celestial mage, shifting on her chair, a little uncomfortable.
"Ok, this is an Exceed." was chuckling Dalila. "And the only one left out is Charle!"
"But I want to know what I smell like, too!" protested Charle. "As you told Levy and Lucy!"
"Ok, ok. I will. Get a little closer." Charle stepped closer, allowing Dalila to lean over her, almost brushing her nose on her head.
"I smell..." started Dalila, "You smell a little like Wendy, as I told you once... and good manners..." And the worry of being isolated, of being too meticulous, for pointing things out to others... "And you smell of... of the advice you give to others." ... and the bitterness of not being as strong as them. And the fear to be a burden, of putting them into danger...
And then, Dalila grimaced. There was a smell she had never felt before. It was bitter, and mysterious, but it was so clearly present in the scent of Charle, that the wind dragon slayer could not ignore that. I smell... a vision? she asked herself surprised. Was it still the cat?
"Charle, I am smelling something strange." Dalila thought a little, "I smell a vision, but..."
The gasp that sounded around the table startled her. "Did I say something wrong?"
"Mh, well..." "Not exactly..." "Incredible!"
Charle spoke, and even if her tone was not angry, she sounded a little warned off. "I have visions, actually. Sometimes." she admitted. "But I didn't know magic could be smelled."
"It can be, technically." Gajeel started at the wind slayer, who turned towards him, despite she could not see him. "But it's difficult... Are ya hidin' something from us, featherweight? Ya have any ace in the hole?"
"No, I don't!" Dalila was afraid she had stepped over some boundary. "Maybe we should stop this game..."
"Oh, Dalila-san, don't you worry!" Charle had regained her composure, and patted the wind slayer arm with her paw. "It was just unexpected! It's no secret!"
"Yes!" "Don't ya worry!" "Come on!" Natsu grabbed the wind slayer shoulders and sent her colliding with Erza. "Next one! Who's there?"
Despite the encouragement of the others, a feeling of uneasiness kept crawling on her skin. They feel I am getting to know more than I should... Well, she was going to be more attentive, then.
She concentrated on the person in front of her. It was smelling a little of iron, but also of cherry, and cake. Even that one was an easy guess! "I smell cake... Strawberry cake..." Dalila snorted. "It's Erza, right?"
"Yes, it's me!" declared the Requip mage, waving her long red hair. "But I want a detailed description as well!"
"How can I refuse?" chuckled the wind slayer, leaning over the red-haired woman. "Ok, I smell strength, and power... and the leather of a sheath, and the magical edge of a sword..." And sweat, to be able to master them all. Hours spent on the train ground, concentrating, repeating the same movements, over and over, until they are perfectly fluid... "I see you are a perfectionist in your training." Dalila said, "I smell the sweat of many days spent on the training field."
"That is correct." said Erza proudly. "No one can really become a warrior without a solid training."
"And then..." I smell a man... the longing for strong arms, tugging tightly... a kiss...
"Then?"
... a lost kid... a far away place, the smell of the sea... tears, a dirt corner where to sleep... "Then... uhm..." An old, ancient anger... and the power surging from a place deep deep inside...
"I smell magic, nestled inside you." mumbled Dalila.
"Oh." Erza sounded a little disappointed. "I guess it's true, I am a mage, after all..."
"But it came out all of a sudden, didn't it?"
The vortex of memories caught Dalila. Ancient smell, glued to Erza's skin, rolled up to her nose, telling her a story about a young girl, a break out, a rebellion. She inhaled even more, and she saw it... The Tower of Heaven!
She smelled the obsession of its constructors, of the priests of that hideous and cruel cult, that had surrounded Erza when she was young. It's still here... realised Dalila, as her eyes started to prickle. After all these years, even at Fairy Tail...
Fairy Tail!
Now that she thought about it, Dalila could smell it too. The warmth of the fire, the fresh cut wood, a smell so gentle and calming that, when she individuated it, Dalila called herself an idiot not to have noticed it before.
Erza, and all the other mages at the table, had been silently waiting for Dalila to speak. Erza was about to tell the dragon slayer that it was ok, to move on - smelling of strawberry cake was simply wonderful - when the wind dragon slayer spoke again.
"I smell the guild. I smell a warm home, after years of cold." her voice was barely a whisper, and with that cloth over her eyes she looked like some kind of oracle, speaking some ancient truth. "I smell how it changed you. It is strong, runs in your veins..."
Dalila heard Erza holding her breath, but she couldn't stop herself now. "I smell all the battle you have won. I smell your wounds, and the euphoria of victory. And your humility, and the love for your family, that feels like some rich soil, were you grow, strong and fierce."
Lucy's heart skipped a beat. Yes, this is Erza. I could not have thought at better words to describe her.
Erza herself was speechless. "Thanks..." was all that she was able to say. The love for my family... Like rich soil, were I grow... She smiled. I shall keep her words in my mind, whenever my strength will fail me.
Admired, Wendy had been with her mouth wide open. On the other hand, Natsu was more curious about what was going to say Dalila of the next person on the table. "Ice prick! Stand still!"
"Fuck! Idiot of a fire dragon!" bellowed Gajeel, hitting Natsu on the head with a metal fist.
"Natsu, I know it's Gray now!" protested Dalila. "It's not fun this way!"
"I don't care!" Natsu grinned evilly, returning Gajeel's hit by setting his hair on fire - thank Mavis Juvia turned off the flames immediately. "I want to know what an idiot smells like!" cried the fire dragon slayer.
"Who did you called idiot, you burned brain?"
"Do you smell Juvia as well?" asked the Water mage, pressing again her hand over Grays' mouth. Of course that Gray-sama had a wonderful scent, that was obvious, wasn't it?
"Mh, let me see..." Dalila leant over. The sensation of being immersed in a giant aquarium came over her. It was powerful, and ancient and absolute perfume that almost knock her down. Considering I have been invested by one of her waves of love, I should not be impressed!
"I smell water!" "Juvia is happy!" "It is a very strong smell..." "Oh is it really? Juvia wants to know more!"
Dalila inhaled. It was strange, like smelling something underwater. I smell the drip-drop of the rain... and solitude... and the vapour of the clouds above, and the puddles on the path... But maybe it is not nice to say she smells like a puddle! considered Dalila, before saying "I smell the rain, and the clouds. The water falling from the sky, collecting on the ground..." ... and the longing for being accepted... silence evenings spent in a corner, looking as the others laugh and chat...
"Yes, Juvia was called the rain woman!" mumbled Juvia. "But now it's no more like this!"
And she has not been in Fairy Tail since the beginning, like Erza... I can smell that... the fear of someone... Of someone powerful... Maybe it was Master Jose, the Master of Phantom Lord? Sure it's him... grimaced Dalila. But I can't see only the bad side... Come on, Dalila, can't you smell anything else? she forced her magic a little further, letting Juvia smell surrounding her.
Strength, stealth... the smell of tears of love and joy, and selflessness... Oh, and I smell Gray, as well...
"I smell tears of love and joy... And the times you have fought to protect the ones you love..."
"Does Juvia smell like Gray-sama?"
"Yes." Dalila snorted. "Yes you do, Juvia!"
"Oh, Dalila-san!" Juvia jumped on her feet and hugged Dalila tightly. "This is wonderful news!"
The table was giggling and teasing Gray, who stood, naked and flustered. "Dalila, now you have to tell me-" "Now ya fuckin' dress!" growled Gajeel, covering Wendy's eyes and dragging the girls over Mirajane.
"You too smell a little like her!" giggled Dalila, before turning her attention to the next person. "My nose doesn't lie!"
"What!?" "Gray-samaaa!"
"Cobra," whispered Kinana, eyes filled with worry. "Are you ok?"
The poison slayer was holding onto his mug so hard that his knuckles were white. Kinana noticed that he was glaring at the small group, who had now reached Mirajane.
I don't think Gajeel will come here. Cubellios smiled. He knows you are not fond of games.
Cobra gritted his teeth. Metalhead, don't you fucking dare come close to me!
Leaving Juvia to her adoration and Gray to his attempts to get his clothes back from her clasp, while Natsu had stopped next to them to poke his naked back, asking him to fight - Dalila felt surrounded by an entirely different smell. I smell... I smell power... an obscure power... I perceive many different souls... She grimaced, thinking for a moment it was Cobra. She was already blindfolded when the rest of team Natsu came inside the guild. Maybe he is not here! she secretly hoped.
But no, the person in front of her was definitively a woman. The scent is very delicate at the same time... I smell beer, and wood, and pomegranate...
"So, who is it?" Wendy smiled from her side.
"It's a woman!" stated Dalila. I smell clean clothes, and a polished glass... dish soap...
"I smell pomegranate, and soap..." ... and again, the smell of darkness... whispers of demoniac entities... but also, I smell compassion...
Dalila heard a small laugh. "You are Mirajane!" exclaimed the wind dragon slayer.
... I smell the fear of losing control... repressed rage, and loneliness... I smell the tears of a child, different from everyone else... scales and wings and horns...
"Here I am, dear!" the barmaid laughed and pinched lightly Dalila's cheek. "You are getting better! I have just bought a new pomegranate shampoo, you know! It's lovely!"
"See?" Dalila managed to smile. "I am good!"
"Yeah, good job!" Gajeel took Dalila by the arm, and drag her along. "Now, next one!"
Dalila mumbled a protest. She was starting to feel weak - her magic was all but strong, after all - when she froze, and draw quickly a step back.
"Oi, featherweight? What's wrong?"
It's him! It's Cobra! It's here!
She had felt it. She smell of poison, running down her throat and burning her lungs. Her stomach churned, and a wave of nausea flooded from her guts to her throat.
Are these two slayers crazy? Dalila fought to get rid of Gajeel's grasp. I don't want to get poisoned again!
On his side, Cobra was pretending to just ignore the trio. He had not blow any poison, not yet at least. The fact that Dalila had perceived his presence when she was almost ten feet away was both amusing and scaring. Amusing, because he was enjoying her distress maybe too much. Scaring, because what could she smell if she got closer?
"Dalila-san? Are you ok?"
Dalila cleared her throat. "Ehm, yes, sure!" but she was cold sweating, and her voice was trembling. "All... All good!"
"Well, then move!"
"I smell poison!" cried Dalila quickly. "It makes me sneeze!" she tried.
Gajeel frowned, then he realised. The iron slayer noticed Cobra sitting on the bar stool. The poison slayer had chosen that moment to turn his head, as if he had just noticed the small group coming towards him.
"Uh, I see now!" said the iron slayer, "I wanted to take ya to the kitchen, but... Yeah, that's poison, so ya know who is it, right?" he added with a small laugh.
It was true that Gajeel had meant to take Dalila to the kitchen, and let her guess different type of food from their smell. It was a game both his dad and Wendy's mom used to do with them. Unfortunately, the door of the kitchen was at the opposite side of the guild, and they had to pass right behind the poison slayer. No need to say Dalila had perceived his presence immediately, with that pretty little nose of hers! thought angrily Cobra, putting up a blank face, even if Dalila could not see him.
Probably Dalila's senses have sharpened, after he had poisoned the wind she was eating. Probably is was for that reason that the wind slayer didn't need to take a step more, to individuate immediately what Cobra smelled of. ... screams.
Dalila gasped and squirmed.
"Ya know, don't you?"
... many screams, close and distant... cries of pain and pleas for mercy...
"Yes, I know! I know!" Dalila tried to put some distance between her and the poison slayer once more. ... blood. The smell of blood reached her, chocking her, and she coughed.
... blood dripping on hands and wrists... old black stains, and fresh red ones...
Cobra didn't flinch a bit, keeping himself still. But under his motionless expression, his whole mind was in turmoil. 'cries of pain and pleas for mercy'... 'blood dripping on hands and wrists'... Fuck, it was a perfect summary of his life, from childbirth until he was thrown in prison by the Rune Knights.
"Well, how can ya feel something if ya don't get closer!" protested Gajeel, sending her a few steps ahead.
...screams ... in dark alleys, in the woods, in basements and dungeons... of hundreds, thousands people... How many were them?
"No, it's fine, really!" shrieked the wind slayer, but she was forced a couple of steps ahead. death... the smell of death, lingering in the air... impregnating clothes and walls...
Cobra was still like a statue, but every fibre of his body was on alert. His eye fixed onto the wind dragon slayer, and he was ready to attack.
The outer world disappeared around Dalila. A few steps away from Gajeel and Wendy, she got lost in the strong smell of blood and death emanating from the poison slayer. And among those, ... a humid, small room... bodies, suffering, one onto the other... the smell of dirt and cold...
"I can smell poison, yes, again... ehm..." ... I smell sounds of shackles... torn skin and open wounds... blood, so much blood... "I think I am done!"
"Which kind of poison? Come on, featherweight, you can do better than this!"
Under the cloth, Dalila widened her eyes. Was Gajeel mad? "I don't know many poisons, actually... I am afraid I can't say much more..." ... revenge... the seek of it, and its bittersweet taste...
Dalila shivered. It came to her on that moment that she had yet to say a word to the poison slayer. I guess trying to poison me was not the best way to get acquainted...
Trying to be polite, she bowed slightly her head to the poison slayer. "I am-uhm-sorry, ehm... Cobra. I can't really make out the name of... of different poisons, actually."
Cobra clicked his tongue. Dalila's soul sounded terrified, but he was not getting any amusement from it. He had been totally caught off-guard by her smelling screams, and prison, and... He had to remind himself to breath. It was like she could dig into his life, coming out with the worst. Fuck you, Snow White!
He was about to turn back to his beer, complaining once more because he could not get drunk, when, in all her innocence, Wendy took Dalila by the hand. "Can you smell Soul Hearing magic, Dalila?" she asked kindly, looking at Cobra with a smile. "It is a very peculiar and nice scent!"
While Gajeel was more focused on looking at Dalila's progresses - and it was his duty, since he was the elder slayer between them - Wendy had noticed how Cobra had tensed around the wind slayer. Surely having blow a little bit of poison in her wind had not been a nice thing to do, but Wendy didn't want Dalila to think Cobra was bad.
He is caring, in his own way! was thinking the sky dragon slayer. Like everyone else here, he has his own past to deal with!
She had learnt to recognise the vague and evanescent smell of Soul Hearing magic, a reassuring and welcoming scent, intertwined with the heavy one of poison slayer.
Dalila cleared her throat. "Wendy, I am not sure-" "Oh, please Dalila-san!" Wendy pleaded. "Try it!"
The girl meant good, Cobra was well aware of it, but he could not help a small growl escape his chest, when he saw Dalila sniffing the air.
Pass over the screams, you can do it! was thinking the wind dragon slayer Send them away, ignore them... Yes, I smell something else now... they are whispers... voices... secrets, kept hidden among the folds of the mind... souls crying, singing, whispering, muttering and giggling... the smell of thousand people, of a whole crowd, filled her nose. Under the heavy smell of poison, death and blood, there was the delicate scent of something entirely different.
Soul Hearing magic. That must be it. thought the wind slayer, feeling cautiously the air. And since it was a magic Cobra was always using, it was pretty obvious she could perceive it even if she was some feet away from him.
But then, it was not the only thing she could isolate. I smell something else... It was a sound. A strong one. It feels like...
Cobra started growling again. Gajeel lifted an eyebrow. "Now, what do ya have?" She's not getting close to ya!
... sounds, roaring and covering every other thought... and the yearn to become stronger... a price paid... an eye?... kind of smell like Soul Hearing magic, but it's different... A doubt popped in Dalila' mind. Could it be that... Does Cobra possess a third kind of magic?
As soon as she thought it, her brain was crushed by a wave of noise, high pitched notes that deafened her. Dalila cried in surprise, pressing her hands over her ears. It lasted a few seconds, but for her it looked like several minutes, and the attacks left her panting, scared and and with her head pulsing and aching. "What was that?" she shrieked, looking around.
"Uhm, don't you worry, Dalila-san." the small hands of Wendy touched her ears, and the aching sensation disappeared.
"Not worry?" her heart was thundering in her chest, so hard it was difficult to hear her own voice.
Wendy squeeze lightly her hand. "I guess you just found out Cobra's third type of magic!" she said quietly with a small smile, turning to the poison slayer. Cobra-san, maybe it was a little too much? she wondered.
"You, what?" Three types of magic What the hell of a mage is he? following her nose, Dalila turned to the poison slayer. "Well, that was not necessary!"
... anger... pride... showing who is the strongest...
"Well, yeah, good way to be an ass as usual!" Gajeel had folded his arms in front of him, and was scanning the poison slayer up and down. Dalila was true, there was no need of that stupid prank! Stop being a jerk! he grunted in his head.
But Cobra didn't seem to have heard him.
... a magic despised... which of them?... a heavy price that was paid once... twice... a lifetime of being rejected... more power, more power is needed...
His amused expression was turning into a wicked grimace. His growl was intensifying, and with it, the scent of poison in the air. As Wendy was still reassuring Dalila, the poison slayer started descending from his stool, his eye fixed on the wind slayer.
...thirst of blood... screaming in agony... wanting to thread to pieces, to maim, to destroy...
From the other side of the guild hall, Gajeel felt the heavy gaze of Laxus burning the back of his head. Fuckin' poison freak, don't start a fight with featherweight! Or there was going to be more than one injured dragon slayer. The iron slayer felt trapped in between the two growling dragon slayer, And each of them is equally a stubborn jerk!
...screams, and a cell, and shackles, and terror, terror of darkness and of hunger and...
Luckily for everyone, Kinana promptly saved the situation.
She cleared her throat, and quickly stepped from behind the bar counter, putting herself between Dalila and Cobra. She gestured towards Wendy with a big smile.
"Oh, right! Well, Dalila-san, who is there?" said Wendy in a shrill voice, trying to direct the attention fo the wind dragon slayer towards the new person.
Oh god, whoever you are, new person, thank you! she thought with relief. A gentle, delicate scent was filling Dalila's nose now, covering the hideous smell of Cobra.
"Ok, so... You are a girl..." started the wind slayer. What a soft smell... Like a flower... a rare, delicate flower among the grass, in an early peaceful morning...
About fucking time, Cubellios! Cobra moved back on his stool, averting his gaze from the wind dragon slayer. That stupid Snow White had gotten on his nerves again! Had not been for Cubellios...
... kindness... and the smell of something clean and fresh... "I smell flowers, in the early morning, and grass..." Dalila tilted her head. "I smell kindness and freshness..."
Wait, she knew how it was! "You are Kinana!"
"Yes, that's me!" Kinana smiled, and Dalila almost saw she closing her bright green eyes, like she used to do when she was happy about something. Her scent, like a fragile, rare flower, surrounded her once more, and for a moment Dalila considered begging Kinana to hug her tightly, to help her recover from the fright of before.
However, this is weird... I am smelling fresh, brand new skin...
Wendy, sensing it was better if Dalila and Cobra were kept as far as possible one from the other, had quickly taken the wind slayer hand and was walking towards another table. "Good! Kinana was not easy!" giggled the young dragon slayer. "And now," she cleared her throat, stopping Dalila a few feet from the Thunder Legion table, "Who is this?"
Unaware of what had happened with the poison slayer, Levy and Lucy were now exchanging a smug smile. Maybe Wendy's choice had been totally unintentional, but still, Lucy felt she had to give an extra snuggle to the sky slayer later.
Yes yes yes! squirmed the Celestial mage inside her head. She caught Mirajane suddenly interested in Dalila's progress, with a wicked smile on her face. I hope Mira doesn't try to lock Dalila and Laxus in the closet, like she did with Gray and Juvia a few months ago... How embarrassing was it!
Dalila felt a certain 'pssst pssst', an excited buzz coming from her side, and recognised Lucy's giggle. She ignored it, hoping she was not doing a poor figure, and sniffed carefully the air in front of her. "This is a man!" she declared. And what a man! she thought, smelling more attentively. The amount of testosterone, men's perfumes, and whiskey she was feeling was noticeable. "I smell men's perfume... and whiskey" she started.
The someone in front of her moved.
"No, Dalila-san. Whiskey is right, but perfume is wrong." giggled Wendy
"No?" Dalila frowned. "No, this is perfume! Wait..." It was not exactly perfume. "It's cologne. Expensive, I would say. Wood and... and lavander?"
Again some movement. "Cologne is right," Wendy said. "Lavender is wrong."
Dalila folded her arms in front of her. First the perfume was wrong, then the lavender... But they are here! she sniffed again. Then, it clicked. "Ok," she said slowly, "wood cologne and whisky, and a woman perfume of lavender!"
There was a moment of silence. Then Gajeel exploded into a big laugh. "Gihihi! I can't believe it!"
From the girls table - Gray and Natsu had ended up somewhere under it, after Erza had got tired of the fuss they were making - some laughs and cries of surprise were raising. "It's so... so...!" "Dali-chan, check my next boyfriend too!" "Oh my stars! I am dying!" "Juvia wants that power too!"
"Well, what have I said?" Dalila folded her arms in front of her. "Sniff this yourselves Gajeel! I know I am not wrong!"
The person in front of her snorted. "I think they are laughing about me." said a deep voice.
"Uh?" Dalila was a little taken aback. Sure, now she recognise the smell of dry air that was all over him. "Laxus?"
"That happens to be me." smirked the lighting dragon slayer.
Yes, she had never felt something so... Man's man, she thought blushing a little. And that very strong, masculine man's scent - mixed with the one of several women - was entangled with something endearing and feral. Dalila studied it a little, twisting her nose. Oh my Mavis! she realised I guess I... I know what it is! Oh gods, I am not going to say!
Laxus lifted an eyebrow. "So?" he asked slyly. "Only that?".
Feeling her cheeks going on fire, Dalila fidgeted with the hem of her sweater. "Ehm-so, ok..."
Gajeel mentally slapped himself. The idiot has surely gone the club yesterday night! I can smell women all over him from fuckin' here...
In the few moments of quietness, where Dalila was looking for how to put what she had smelled into words, Gajeel was trying to find a good excuse to drag them out of that embarrassing situation, and Wendy was blissfully unaware of what was going on, an amused chuckle was heard. "That happens to be 'sex', Snow White."
"What?!" Wendy head turned to look at the poison slayer, with her cheeks suddenly getting bright red. Gajeel cursed, and found a point on the floor suddenly very, very interesting.
"Erik!" Kinana groaned from behind the counter. "Here, take more beer, and don't embarrass Wendy!"
Dalila face was the same colour of Erza's hair. Her head turned slightly at her side, where she knew the poison slayer was sitting. What a nerve had the poison slayer! There was no need to be so cheeky! At least he had some sex! she groaned in her head.
The poison slayer chuckled darkly, accepting the beer as a peace offering from Kinana. You are lucky Wendy is around Snow White... Or I will make you feel so much ashamed you would never put your pretty nose out of your room for the rest of your days!
Unable to contain himself further, Bickslow had started laughing uncontrollably. "Hahaha, boss you are doomed!" "Doomed! Doomed! Doomed!" chanted his dolls, running down from the ceiling and circling around Dalila's head. "Doll face, tell us more!" bellowed the Seith mage, ignoring Evergreen's glare.
"Sure, sure..." half deafened by the wooden dolls, Dalila was more than happy to shut down the world around her - especially Lucy and Levy whispers from the table next to her - and concentrated solely on Laxus.
She was expecting to feel another woman perfume - she believe she had already found another one... wasn't it rose what she was smelling? - but something entirely different caught her attention. ... I smell a lonely traveller, walking in the shade of his regret... I smell the thirst of power... I smell the void of an hotel room, and tears...
Tears that she was not expecting to smell on Laxus.
Laxus must have sensed her uncertainty because he asked with slightly nervous voice. "So, what I do smell like?"
The need to be accepted... the seek of redemption... but also... The smell of people that trust him... I smell mug of ales lifted in the air with happiness, and cheers and laughs...
"I smell the time you have spent with your friend, and the times you all have cheered with mugs of ale." Dalila said softly. ... and I smell your sadness... but would happiness be meaningful to us, if we never shed tears of sadness?
Bickslow hummed. "True, we always celebrate with ale when we got a job done..."
I smell your fear for the future... I smell ambition, and... his scent is wavering... Like it was cracked, divided into two parts... One is powerful and expectant, the other is soft, and smells like Fairy Tail...
"I smell... " Dalila hesitated. "Indecision. Wavering."
She heard Laxus whistling. "Impressive. Really." Exactly today I have called Jura... thought the dragon slayer. Dalila was so close to him now, he could smell her skin, like the wind and the snow. It was stronger than the last time, less sweet, but even so, the lighting slayer could hardly repress a smile.
From the nearby table, Levy was quickly whispering to Juvia. "Laxus has been offered to start his training as a Wizard Saint, but he has always postponed his decision... Dali-chan must have smelled that!"
Cobra made a gag sound, and Kinana shot him a death glare that silenced him.
"You are good indeed!" Freed renounced to stay silent. It was obvious who was sitting around the table. "I am curious if you get to know were I have been yesterday night, since you-ehm-guessed Laxus!"
A little relieved she could finally change person, Dalila let Wendy move a few steps towards Freed. In his head, Gajeel sighed in relief, glaring at Laxus. You damn horned lighting rod... Maybe 'lighting rod' was not the best way to think about Laxus on that moment, Gajeel realised with a grimace. Always surrounded by women... truth it was that he seemed to have taken a liking in Dalila, but still, could he just decide and pick one?
Gajeel shook his head, and went back following closely Dalila's progresses. She's impressive, no doubt... But who knows how far she can get... he mumbled to himself. Yes, definitively there was the need of a more expert mage to train the wind dragon slayer. I have little idea of how to handle this kind of power...
I smell regret... and the power of words... books, full of dark, ancient secrets... dusty pages eaten by rats and time... was listing Dalila in her head, sniffing the air around Freed. ... and shadows whispering in the corners of high ceilings...
"You smell of books." stated Dalila.
"Well, this is no news." chuckled Freed. "But what did I do last night?"
"Dark, ancient books, Freed." Dalila pointed out with a whisper, so low only the Rune mage could hear her. "And the power of words, and of old secrets, and..." Oh, that was new! Dalila's expression turned from concentrated to ecstatic in the blink of an eye. "Mh, Freed!" she moaned, in a way that made Gajeel feel for the worst, and Laxus shot a glare the innocent Rune mage. "You have been to the theatre!"
"Yes, you are right! That's what I did yesterday!" Freed smiled widely. "Does you power allow you to guess what I have been listening to, or..." "I am afraid not." chuckled Dalila, soaking into a scent that was so familiar to her.
"I smell the velvet of the chairs, and of dried paint... of globes of light being turned off, as the curtain is lifted..." ... the excitement, the sense of waiting... the emotion, when that particular harmony sounds, filling the empty air and the soul...
"I can feel it..." Dalila tilted her had, an angelic smile across her features. "The music entangled in your hair... The melodies resonating on your skin, vibrating like some invisible chords around you..."
"That's very poetic!" chirped Evergreen, fanning herself.
"Yeah, even too much! Enough of it, girl!" Dalila felt a strong arm pulling her away from Freed. "Cana!" cried the wind slayer, as she was dragged to the centre on the guild. "I recognise your voice!"
"Yeah, yeah!" chuckled the drunk - Dalila noticed she was at a nice stage of a binge on that moment. "But with all that smelling hope and sweat and sex, I want you to tell me of what I smell like!" she slammed Dalila onto a chair, and moved to sit in front of her. "You are not better than my cards - not yet at least!" she took a huge gulp form a mug of beer. "But we might form a good team, honey! Now, tell me, what I do smell like?"
Blinking behind the hair band, Dalila blinked. Better than her cards, uh? And there are things I didn't even tell... And that she was not going to tell. Things that I should not have known, to start with!
"Damn right, Snow White." growled a person from the bar counter, but the wind slayer didn't hear him.
Now, the card mage was leaning over her. Dalila felt her breath, smelling of alcohol and sugar, breathing on her face. "So girl! If you do good, aunt Cana will buy you some booze!"
Dalila snorted. "Don't breath in my face! I can smell alcohol..." "...and that's a given..." "I smell sugar..." "Another given, Miss Dalila." Cana chuckled. "Come on I know you can do better!"
The Card mage was both drunk and curious. She had always worked with cards, and knew pretty much the secrets of anyone in the guild. Everyone, sooner or later, had come to her for a reading - for stupid as it seemed.
"You smell of myrrh... It's a nice smell, it's warm..." Dalila was concentrating. "You smell of... sex."
Laughs and praises came from the other tables. "Sex, cool..." Cana put up a smug face. "Men or women?"
Dalila thought a little. "I would say both..." she muttered.
"And you are not wrong! Come on, spill the beans! I want to know the good and the bad!" Cana pressed Dalila's head on her bosom. "You want to earn that booze, right?"
Dalila was not sure she wanted the booze, but inhaled deeply anyway. Cana smelled like fun and laughs. ... she smells like a colourful parade... like whipped cream and chocolate...
"I smell fun, and chocolate... Whipped cream as well."
"Mh... They had told me so." Cana smiled slyly. "That's what you get for drinking ale and liquors, baby!"
Dalila frowned. ... But I smell rich bottle of whiskey and wine, hidden in a dusty place... "You drink very nice expensive wine sometimes, Cana." stated Dalila. "You keep the bottles under you bed or something? I smell dust as well."
"What?!" Cana slammed spat her beer. "How the hell did you knew!"
"Told you!" Dalila snorted. I smell drinking alone in the night... I smell fearing of being left alone, all alone... and a person, who is missing... is this a relative, or a parent?
"What else?" Cana was getting more serious now. Hell, her secret supply of whisky and wine was something serious!
"You had enough!" Gajeel had got tired of Cana's insistence. "Go fight with Gray!" he pointed to the Ice mage, who was slowly emerging from under the table where Erza had kicked him.
"Ass!" grunted the Card mage, but she pinched Dalila's cheek and planted a good kiss on it. "You did well, girl!"
Before Dalila could thank her, she was practically shoved against another body. "Ouch! Gajeel!" she grunted, regaining her balance. "I am sorry." she mumbled towards the unknown person in front of her. "Uhm... I smell something like ash... But it's not yours..." ... magic, not strong, but fierce... the warmth of the desert and the blinding sun... is this cologne again?
Dalila moved her hands, and met the fabric of a shirt. "Mmmh... I smell something warm a dry, like a desert..." Dalila sniffed better. I smell the sun that never sets down... resilience... sand...
"Take you time, baby!"
"Max! It's you!" laughed Dalila. Sure! Sand magic, right? I should have thought about that!
"Here I am!" Max seized Dalila's hand and put a kiss on it. "I have a very characteristic scent, don't I?"
Dalila heard Gajeel groan from behind her. "Ya talked, ya idiot!"
"Come on, Gajeel!" Dalila giggled. "I was close. You smell like the sun and the desert. And you have out some cologne tonight, right? And..." Dalila sniffed better. There is a strange smell I can't make out... but whatever it was, it made her slightly blush. I am not sure of what is it...
"And?" Max smiled slyly. "Tell me, baby!"
"And we gotta move!" Gajeel growled, spinning Dalila and sending her towards Macao and Romeo. Next to him, Wendy was as red as a tomato. "Come on, Dalila-san!" she chuckled nervously, "Let's go over here!"
"Yes, sure!"
Natsu, who had crawled unseen from under the table and was about to join Cana in her fight with Gray, rolled his eyes. Max was getting maybe a little too excited that Dalila was around. What the wind slayer had felt could be classified as an 'over-excited male', but surely it was not the best idea to tell everyone in the guild.
I should fight him! So he will stop thinking about Dalila then! grinned the fire dragon slayer, seeing Dalila with Gajeel and Wendy helping her distinguishing Macao from his son.
"Max!" the slayer bellowed, covering his fists with fire, and hitting the head of the Sand mage, who was longingly staring at Dalila. "Fight me! I am all fired up!"
Apparently, it could get worse... Damn these two! Expect a new update very soon lovelies!
XOXO
