"Big sis, you sure are amazing!" My eyes sparkled, gaping at my sister as she prodded the beast she'd just defeated with her foot, frowning at it warily. "You just took down a whole hoard of beasts all on your own! Ha, sorry I wasn't much help." Sticking out my tongue and pulling a face, Erza merely smiled at me.
"Don't worry about it, I'm you're big sister so it's my job to protect you. Since we're done here, we can go ahead and collect our reward. You ready to go home?"
"Yeah!" Running forwards I leaped at my sister to hug her, rubbing my cheek against hers as she smiled lovingly at me. "You're just too awesome Erza, I hope I'm as cool as you one day!"
"You're fine just the way you are, Zera, I wouldn't have you any other way." Freeing her arms, Erza grasped me tightly and suddenly I felt like my skull was about to crack against her iron hard armour as she snuggled me to her. "You're just so adorable and cute, I could cuddle you all day!" I laughed, happy to be this way with Erza. Usually she was so quiet and reserved at the guild, but she was far more free spirited out here. When she had something to focus on, Erza didn't become so preoccupied with her thoughts. As her twin sister, I knew very well that there was something that she was keeping to herself, that she wasn't telling me, but no matter how many times I asked her about it, she'd always tell me not to worry.
"Big sis…can't…breathe!" Releasing me quickly I groaned, going slightly light headed as I saw butterflies flutter in front of me, Erza grasping my shoulders in a panic and shaking me until I had recovered. I giggled. "Erza, you shouldn't forget just how strong you are, especially with that armour on. Being strong is all well and good, but master says that all power should be used with moderation and careful consideration. Big sis, if you get any stronger too fast, you'll be way too far ahead of me to ever catch up."
"Don't be silly, you'll be much stronger than I am one day, you're just a little late getting started." Erza flicked out her hands in a shrug, smiling as she walked forwards and I hurried to join her side. "And in any case, natural strength doesn't really count for much. Anybody can be powerful so long as they put in the effort and train hard. You can have all the natural talent in the world, but if you don't practice and work hard to develop your skills, then it's all a waste really." Nodding my head in agreement, I took my sister's words to heart. I revered my big sister so completely, to me she was like my own personal hero.
"So Erza, once I finally figure out how to unlock my magic potential, will you help me train? I want to be just like you, and get as strong as possible." Clapping my hands together I started to drool as my stomach rumbled, unable to help myself together. "Then I can earn lots of money and buy all the chocolate cake in the world for me and all the strawberry one's for you. We'll be swimming in cake! Then, once we've eaten everything and gotten fat, we can train all over again to lose the weight, go on more quests then eat cake when we get back again." Imagining it in my head, I giggled happily. "Cake is the best ever, I could eat cake for the rest of my life."
"Me too." Erza giggled with me, sheathing her sword having cleaned it before then extending her hand to me. "Let's go home, Zera."
"Hm!" Nodding my head in agreement, I placed my hand in my sister's and together, we left the forest and collected our reward from the grateful villagers who no longer had to worry about the dangerous wild beasts destroying their crops and stealing their livestock. It was a nice feeling to see their smiles and hearing their thanks, smiling to them and waving as they saw us off. It took most of the day to travel back to the guild, but it was a wonderful feeling to walk back through those doors. The feeling of coming home. Immediately I ran forwards and tackled Cana with a tight hug. "Cana! We're home!"
"Zera! Good to see you. Did your job go well?"
"Uh huh, Erza was amazing! She had her sword and she was just like…swoosh! Swish! Hiyah! Then all the beasts were just on the ground just like that." I demonstrated with an imaginary sword, making Cana laugh as I then folded my arms. "There's no cooler sister than my big sis, that's for sure. Hey Cana, are you still practicing your card magic? Can I see?"
"Sure, want me to do a reading for you?" Agreeing immediately, I sat down next to Cana, my best friend at the guild other than my sister, and patiently waited and watched as she began to use her card magic in order to tell my fortune. "Hm…it seems that today is going to be both a very bad and good day for you. It says you'll face misfortune, but something good will come from it."
"That's amazing Cana, you're so cool." I grinned at her, leaning my chin upon my hands as I kicked my feet freely underneath the table. "So what's this misfortune I'm supposed to be facing? Is it very bad? Should I be wary?"
"I can't tell you any more than that, otherwise it'll risk your future changing, and besides I'm not that accurate. I only translate what the cards tell me." Cana smiled back at me prettily. She had such lovely soft wavy brown hair and violet eyes. "So just be careful, okay? Anyway, it says something good will come from the bad, so it won't be completely terrible."
"You're right. Want any help with anything else?" Helping Cana stack her cards again, I played games with her which helped her develop her reading skills. I would think of something and she would use her magic to find the right answer in her cards. It was a lot of fun and the two of us would laugh and giggle together. The guild was rather busy today, full of people coming back from their quests and I couldn't help but bask in the ambiance. It was a warm feeling, one that I couldn't help but cherish in my heart.
"Zera, I got you some cake. Hurry up and get over here before I eat it for you."
"Cake!" Instantly I was wide awake, slamming my hands down on the table in order to push myself up out of my seat and run to my sister who smilingly held out my slice of cake towards me, holding her own in the other hand. "I am not worthy, big sister, you are the best!" I bowed deeply and dramatically before seizing my slice of cake from her. "Chocolate!" My eyes were sparkling as I quickly took my seat opposite Erza on one of the smaller tables. "Thank you for the food." Wasting no more time, I picked up my fork and grabbed a huge chunk of the chocolate cake before stuffing it all into my mouth at once. It was just so tasty! The chocolate flavour was rich and sweet, but the gooey fudge topping made it even better. There was nothing better than chocolate cake, it was my ultimate favourite.
"I'm glad you like it, though I still think that strawberry cake is the superior cake." Erza told me happily, also already fully enjoying her own slice of cake of a plain sponge with cream and strawberries.
"Agree to disagree, big sis." We grinned at one another, perfectly happy with our little treat, however before I could even take another bite, I heard a commotion begin to brew. "Hm?" Turning my head I heard Gray yelling at somebody. "What's going on?"
"Oh that's just Gray getting all worked up against that new kid who just arrived. His name is Natsu, he says he was raised by a dragon called Igneel but the two of them got separated, so he's staying here for a while." Erza said to me and instantly my eyes sparkled.
"Wow really? A real dragon?! I wanna see one!"
"I don't think that's likely, dragons are pretty much extinct now. If Natsu wasn't so honest, I probably wouldn't believe he'd been raised by a dragon at all." Erza said to me truthfully, though she was smiling a little as she said so. "But he's a good kid, and not a liar, so I believe him."
"Then I believe him too. Besides, there's a lot of things in this world that we don't know, who's to say there aren't still dragons hanging around out there? When I grow up a little, I want to find one and meet them for myself. I hope they're nice." Smiling dreamily to myself, I took another bite of my cake, chewing on the fork as I pictured a real dragon in my head, thinking how incredible and amazing it would be to actually see one in real life. Gray was still arguing with that new boy, Natsu, their voices raising until all at once they started to fight.
I was so caught up in my daydream that I didn't even notice them getting out of hand, so when Gray literally flung Natsu at our table, I didn't react in time to save my cake. Erza quickly grabbed her plate and lifted it up as Natsu, a pink haired boy with a long white scarf, came crashing into our table. It was flipped onto its side and slammed against the wall, taking my cake with it. My face dropped in horror staring in absolute grief and sadness as Natsu rubbed his head and yelled. "I'll get you for that you jerk!" Rushing at Gray, the two began to grapple once more. The table dropped to the ground, clattering loudly and the plate shattered to reveal a chocolate gloop upon the wall.
"My…cake…"
"Idiots! Look what you've done. I swear you two are going to tear this guild apart with all your fighting!" Erza snapped, angrily putting down her cake to teach the two boys a lesson. My heart pulsed, a sudden rush of emotion rising through me as I felt my rage suddenly surge to a height I never thought possible, whirling around with a mass of red hair with an angry roar.
"MY CAKE!" Even Erza froze, gulping as she stiffened in place and stared at me as I yelled, a monstrous figure looming above everyone as I released a powerful rush of magical energy.
"Z-Zera…calm down…no need to get so angry…"
"THEY SQUISHED MY CAKE! RARGH!" Furious beyond words, I grasped the table by one of its legs and flung it at Natsu and Gray who were now clinging onto one another for dear life, cowering before me as I swung the table and batted them aside. "YOU JERKS! DON'T MESS WITH MY CAKE! FIX THIS RIGHT NOW!" The boys screamed in terror as I leaped at them and began to pummel them both, clanging their heads together until a magic circle appeared underneath my feet as I released another bellow of anger. They dared waste food, and worse still, my special chocolate cake that my sister had bought for me as a treat. We rarely indulged ourselves in such things as we were saving money, so to waste my monthly slice of cake was just a crime I could not forgive!
"She's gone crazy!" Gray wailed as I picked up another huge table and held it up over my head, appearing like a wraith or demon like figure over the two boys as I rampaged. After throwing that table as well, the magic circle underneath me disappeared and I dropped to my knees, bursting into a fit of tears.
"I didn't even get to finish it! I only had two bites, you boys are so mean!" With a flood of tears I snivelled and rubbed my eyes to try and dry them, looking at Natsu and Gray who were still clinging onto one another. "Don't fight in the guildhall because you'll only keep on breaking stuff."
"Yes ma'am!" Sniffing, I slumped my shoulders with a strong sense of disappointment. What a waste of such tasty food. It was just too heart breaking to even think about. In fact, it was so devastating that I didn't even realised that I had finally unlocked my magic power, which was something good at least. Maybe this was what Cana had warned me about. Wiping my face again, I heard the casual gait of Laxus's walk as he approached so I looked up towards him. With a disinterested expression, he extended his hand which was holding a plate with a delicious, absolutely perfect looking slice of chocolate cake.
"Here. Eat this and calm down, or you'll be the one to break everything." He said as my eyes widened, shining with wonder. Cake. Laxus had cake.
"Laxus!" Overjoyed and filled with a brightness of happiness, I sprung from the ground and tackled Laxus with a powerful hug. "You're the best Laxus! Thank you, thank you, thank you! You're so nice, I knew it." Beaming from ear to ear I loosened my grip around his waist only to bunch up the muscles in my legs and spring upwards with all my might, planting my foot upon his leg in order to give me the lift I needed to plant a kiss upon his cheek. Immediately Laxus turned bright pink, making me giggle before I quickly swiped the chocolate cake from his hands and raced away with it like it were my prize. "Big sis look! Laxus got me more cake, everything's fine now! Hey, since I got two bites extra this month, you can have two bites from this one, then we'll both have had a fair share, okay?"
Much to my obliviousness, everyone was still staring with wide eyes at the wreckage I had caused as I munched contently through my cake, though I insisted on feeding Erza two bites, grinning as I offered her the portions upon my fork and placed them in her mouth. Cake really was the best, though I still think chocolate cake is way better than strawberry. Guess Erza and I will never agree on that front.