Chapter 1: Luna Bird

Have you ever heard of a country named Seven? Well, if you haven't, I can't really fault you for that. After all, every one of us has had their eyes on Fiore, especially the notorious guild Fairy Tail. I'm sure you've read or even watched their many notable moments, their destructive actions and the family-like bonds they demonstrate openly. You aren't the only ones, though. My friends and I had copies of Sorcerer Magazine, and Fairy Tail would always have an appearance in this news, be it in the front or the back. They've been an inspiration to many of us, to the point that my friend wouldn't stop talking about them.

Ah, but that's enough of Fairy Tail! We all already know how awesome they are, so let's move on back to Seven. Seven isn't known for having many Mage Guilds, mostly hoisting Merchant Guilds, Trading Guilds or Courier Guilds. Our country has trading connections with Fiore, Bosco and Ice Berg, so we have much land trading. Adding in the fact that Seven is a peninsula, we have a lot of potential for sea trading with other countries. However, Mage Guilds still exist in Seven, for other purposes. Take, for example, Luna Bird, which is my guild. Our aim is to bring recognition back to Mage Guilds and recruit as many people as possible. Of course, we seek fame and power, but beyond that, we want to make as many friends as possible. Cliche, yes, but considering that Luna Bird barely meets the requirements for being a guild, we're going to need numbers!

My name is Nozomi Lancaster, and I'm about to bring you through the adventures of Luna Bird in Seven!

*THUMP*

First thing in the morning, I'm awoken by the sound of a literal stampede under the wooden planks of my 'room'. It sends me tumbling to the floor, along with my pillows and alarm clock, giving my head a knock and my back a slap. "Ow! Reign!" I shout through the planks, peeking through the openings with half-opened eyes.

There, a short-haired blond man with a green shirt and brown pants stares back at me with an apologetic smile. He has his hands wrapped around a Malef, a creature resembling a horse with very pointed ears, shorter snout and a spiky mane. Those creatures only reside in Seven, so they're widely popular tourist animals, and even have a whole sport around it since Malefs are speedy and human-friendly. They call the sport, Malef Racing. We would have taken part in it, had the Malefs we have actually listened to the rest of us!

"Sorry, Nozomi! Gilbert and Feros had a little fight over their food!" Reign answers back, before turning to the Malefs. He converses with the duo, his words going into muffled mumbles, which I take it as a sign to leave him alone. Reign is what I call an 'Animal Tamer'. His gentle nature, plus his 'Animal Magic', always brings different creatures into the guild. They're all obedient and loyal to Reign only, and I can see why. His 'Animal Magic' allows him to communicate with them, and vice versa, so he can easily make friends with the intelligent ones. Now, if only he could make them warm up with the rest of us... Well, I guess the time will come eventually.

Moving through the familiar scenery of my wooden room, I reach out for the door and open it, only for a gruff voice to greet me.

"Hello, Nozomi."

"Woah!" I yelp in surprise, flinching back into my room and nearly slamming the door back in place. The earlier tumble to the ground gives my head a spin, as I lean my shoulder against the door.

"Must you scare me like this, Woe?" I ask, a tired frown creeping up to my face. The atmosphere in front of me distorts, stretching and rippling to form a shape, and washes it with colours. Woe stands in place, a mask around his face along with his ninja-like outfit in orange, red and black colours.

"You were the last one to awaken, so a prank was in order." He gives me one of his rare chuckles, something which would make me let his scare slide. But, I'm particularly ticked off today, especially when I've been woken up from a delicious dream about food paradise!

"Really funny, I'm just dying with laughter right now," I say in the most monotonic tone I could muster, pushing through the door. "So, who set you up to do... this." When I turn back, Woe is gone again.

Sigh, him and his 'Stealth' magic... Woe can mask his presence from us, physically and magically. No matter how much I try, I could never pinpoint his location or even have a sense of where he is. I thought a couple of weeks would be enough for me to be used to him, but apparently, I'm wrong, since his 'prank' scared me really nicely. Honestly, if it weren't for the fact that I'm half-awake, I would have just punched him straight up. And no one wants that.

Speaking of pranks, if Woe didn't set this up in the first place, that means someone else did. It can't be Reign since he's busy with his Malefs, leaving with one other person. Him!

I march through the short hallway, passing by the doors on the side, each having a sign with each member's names on it. My sights switch from the wooden hallway to the well-designed lobby of the guild. Like always, I take a few moments to take in the design and popping colours around me.

The lobby comprises of several round tables. On each table, a nightly blue colouring covers the surface, with the guild symbol in the middle, taking on a white colour. In the far back, a throne chair with a royal purple exterior and a bright yellow interior lies vacantly. Just by the side, there's a bar table, stocked with food and many beer bottles, hand-drawn by one guy. And I'm about to give that guy a piece of my mind, even if he's younger than me.

A young, male teenager sits on one of the round tables nearest to the bar, drawing in the air with his light pens. The colours connect and blend with each other, solidifying into a beer bottle and dropping onto the table with a soft thud. Just as he reaches out for it, I snatch the bottle out of his hands.

"Hey! Give it back- Ah!" His face pales to white, as he notices me standing beside him. A grin makes its way onto my face, as I eye the beer bottle in my hands. The foam fizzles out of the dark green bottle, escaping the yellow liquid inside. Oh, this is a cheap imitation of a very respectable beer brand!

"Hirotoo, you shouldn't be drinking this..." I tease the under-aged boy, my grin growing wider. "What if Reign saw you?"

"H-He wouldn't know! Give it back, I need a drink of that!" He tries to grab the bottle, but I step away from him, leaving him to stumble awkwardly on the floor.

"Nu-uh. The moment you decide to prank me is the moment you decide to give up the rest of your beer bottles to me!" With those words, I bring the green bottle up to my face and tip it down to my lips, watching the yellow liquid trickle slowly out of the surface. Hiroto gapes in absolute horror as I drink the whole bottle in front of him.

Hey, this beer bottle is decent! Cheap imitation, but it still delivers the same punch as the original.

"Noooo!" Hiroto cries dramatically, sinking to the floor slowly in defeat. "My baby... That was the only thing keeping me going my whole life. And now it's gonee!" He gives the oak wood floor a few punches to keep his little drama going, keeping his head down. Sigh, this boy isn't even 18 yet, and he's already developed an addiction to this bottle.

"Nozomi, if I die, I'm haunting you first." He quickly adds in, before resuming his crying opera.

"Fine, fine, keep the bottle." I place the half-empty bottle in front of the boy. He raises his head towards it, cyan eyes twinkling at being reunited with his 'oh-so precious' beer bottle.

"But, no more getting Woe to prank me in the morning again!"

"Yes, yes, whatever! Bottle's up, baby!" Hiroto takes my warning in as he dunks the rest of the yellow liquid into his mouth, giving a satisfying gasp at the end.

I guess I should give him an introduction too. Hiroto is an addict to alcohols of any kind, be it beer, vodka or even wine! I don't know where he picked up this addiction from, but it's clear he has it, and he's only 17 right now. As for the type of magic he has, Hiroto wields 'Pict Magic', which allows him to create an object from whatever drawing he produces. Usually, people would need a canvas and paintbrushes, but Hiroto can use lightpens to draw mid-air. It really shows how well adept he is with this magic, and how good his drawings are. Now, if only he could just channel that talent into something that's not beer bottles...

"This is such good stuff. I'm the best. I'm the veryyy best. Yesh, of course you're the best, because you can draw this." The drunk teenager starts talking to himself, admiring his reflection on the beer bottles. He strokes it adoringly as if it was alive.

"Hiroto, you're too young to be drunk from this."

"I do what I want, woman!" He points the empty beer bottle in my direction with a glare. Then, it breaks down to a drunken look through soft giggles and, he goes back to admiring his reflection on the bottle. I only shake my head at him, sighing to myself as I take a seat.

It's been a couple of weeks since I last joined Luna Bird. Well, it wasn't my intention to enlist from the very start, but circumstances led me here to the guild. It's just something I couldn't say no to.

I had no choice but to agree.

And when I did enter, I thought it would be filled to the brim with many people, merry cheers and tons of quests! But instead, I met with a guild that had only 5 members, including myself, a drunk boy's whines and barely any requests. Through these 2 weeks, I haven't even once gone on a job, not with the others and definitely not alone! Sure, I did take walks around Gier Town, but it doesn't give me a rush of adrenaline, like going out to the forest.

"Maybe today will be it." I say to myself, looking at Hiroto, who was on his third bottle. The two other ones sit nicely on the table, glistening in the light and clinking. I expected the two bottles, at any moment, to just vanish, like usual, but they don't. They just sit there, staring back at me with my reflection, blurred and unreal, as if they were mocking me. Oh, those bottles are definitely making fun of me, even if they can't speak or move! They really are-

"Give me a bottle, Hiroto, I think I'm going crazy." I say with a shudder.

He complies with a drunk chuckle, managing to draw the green bottle with perfect accuracy, despite looking hungover. The bottle blends into reality and I take it, removing the cork and tipping it to my mouth, all in a second. Unlike him, at least I'm old enough to drink this stuff! And keeping it together better than him.

"Ara, Nozomi. I did not take you for a drinker." I choke on the alcohol halfway, which is much worse than choking on regular water. Within seconds, the liquid burns my throat, both my windpipe and oesophagus then go straight for my nose. I bang my hand against the marble table, coughing and spluttering any remaining alcohol out of me. Thank me that my magic hasn't activated, or else I would have smashed the table into smithereens!

When I'm sure most of the alcohol had gotten out of my throat, I finally sit up on my chair, gasping for the air. Hiroto, awakened from his drunken stupor, stares at me with a concerned yet guilty look. The first part is understandable, but the second one isn't so. Then, I catch onto what he's looking at, and it makes a bit more sense.

"Ms Vanessa!" My voice croaks as I turn to the culprit. "Y-You shouldn't be speaking to someone who's drinking something halfway. They could choke!"

The woman donning a purple robe, befitting of a witch's costume, smiles amusingly at me. With crossed legs, she sits on the throne, her chin resting on her gloved hand. "In my long years, I have spoken to many people who were drinking halfway, be it water or alcohol. And out of all of them, I observed only dim-wits choked."

It takes me a while to go past her wise tone and figure out what she just said to me. And when I do, Hiroto bursts out in laughter, pointing the beer bottle at my ever-growing red face.

"Hahaha! She just called you a dim-wit, Nozomi!" He says before continuing his laughter.

"Hah! At least I'm not busting their liver drinking alcohol when they're underaged!" I counter his remark.

"Doesn't change the fact that she called you an idiot!"

"Doesn't change the fact that you're an underaged drinker!"

I can't believe I am actually childishly bantering with a teenager when I'm a young adult. Hiroto is just an exception who loves to mash my button, rile me up almost every day and makes me want to punch him in the face. Our petty fight of hurling insults and occasionally bottles gets interrupted by Ms Vanessa's cough.

"Ahem. Are the two of you done?" She asks us, just as I had my grip around Hiroto's collar while he nearly finished his artwork on my face. Whoa, when did it get physical already?

"Yes." We answer with uncertainty, giving the other a look. Oh, no way am I going to back down right now, I'll give him a good punch to the face today! Let the authorities arrest me for assaulting a minor because I am not letting Hiroto escape-

"Good because I have received a few requests." My ears perk up at the word 'requests'. Is she going to say what I think she is? Ms Vanessa catches my grin and allows a small smile to go onto her face as she unfolds the roll of paper in her hands. All traces of my anger vanishes, immediately replaced by curiosity and excitement.

"Let us see... We have plough-making, fishing and bodyguarding a trader. Which one would you like to take on?"

My mouth falls agape. What kind of jobs are those?! I used to do half of them as a norm back in my hometown, and they didn't even require a lick of magic to be done! I sneak a glance at Hiroto, who looks ahead with a disappointed face. Well, at least we can agree on that.

"Obviously, bodyguarding! The other two are lame as hell." The boy says, drawing another bottle. Before he could finish his last strokes, a paper roll flies and smacks his hands. "Ow!" He drops his light pens, and the drawing dissipates into smaller particles of light.

"Lame as 'hell'? I assure you two, I can easily assign this to Reign or Woe, and let you advertise for our guild again. Don't take these jobs for granted, no matter how simplistic they may be." Despite speaking lightly, I could feel the anger emanating from Ms Vanessa's words, and it makes me shrink back from her.

"Sorry, Ms Vanessa." Hiroto and I sheepishly apologise. Even though I said nothing, she still called the both of us out, as if she knew what I was thinking. Man, with each passing day, she gets scarier and scarier...

Content with our apologies, she re-opens the rest of her papers. "The paper I just tossed contains information about the bodyguarding job. Read it carefully and get the job done well, do you hear me?"

"Yes, Ms Vanessa." We stick to the formalities, lightly bowing our heads. Paper in Hiroto's hands, we scamper out of the guild lobby and into the streets of Gier Town.

"Nice going, Hiroto. You really made her mad." are words I want to say to him, but he's the one telling himself that. Ever since we left the guild seconds ago, Hiroto's been berating himself non-stop, not even bothering to read the request, despite his longing for it. He has just been saying that he 'went out of line', 'shouldn't even have fought with me', and even said he 'shouldn't have drunk a sip of beer today', which I was quite surprised to hear. Sure, I've known him for a couple of weeks, but that's enough time to tell me how hardcore of an alcoholic he is.

"It's okay, you aren't the only who made her mad. I did too." I try to comfort him, or at least shift some of the blame to myself. Those words did hold the truth in them. Ms Vanessa was addressing the two of us, not only him, with anger. And as frustrated as I was earlier, I wouldn't jump on the bandwagon, just to be petty about it and insult him further. He's already doing a great job of doing that alone.

"But it's not like you said it out loud!" He turns to me, clutching the paper tightly in his hands. "I basically just insulted her efforts in finding jobs for us! Spat saliva at them!"

"It doesn't matter whether I said it out loud or not. I swear, I think Ms Vanessa has telepathy and read my mind there! Otherwise, why would she be angry with me as well? We're both at fault in this, so don't worry." I place a comforting hand on his shoulder, rubbing it. It's been some time since I've comforted a kid, much less a teenager.

"You really think she has telepathy?"

"Hiroto, we don't even know what magic she uses! She could have telepathy, ability to watch birds from afar or ability to summon cats at her will." I say, earning a chuckle from him.

"Those last two are damn accurate! Just two days ago, I saw her being surrounded by black and white cats as she used the telescope. She even snagged one of Reign's Animal Whistles to call some birds!"

The two of us burst into laughter immediately afterwards. Yeah, I remember how heavily Hiroto was drinking, just so he could take that scene out of his head. Reign was all over him that day, and I can still remember how red he went when the 'Animal Tamer' was rocking the alcoholic in his arms. If I bring that up, maybe I could see the same shade of red go over his face right now.

Nah, I'm not that evil.

The early morning had shifted to an early afternoon, time passing by ever so quickly as the two of us try to make our way to the venue. We had just rolled open the paper after recovering from our laughing spree. People were staring at us, but we just laughed like there's no tomorrow. I mean, it's advertising our guild, especially with our guild symbols on our body; Hiroto's on his right hand and mine on my neck. We get attention, people look at our guild symbols, they connect it to our guild and, either they file a complaint or visit our guild. Almost all of the time, it results in the former instead. But, it's still publicity, nonetheless.

Anyway, the request detailed that we head over to Gier Town's outskirts at approximately 2pm and guard them until they complete the trade. We have to travel with them through the forest, instead of the already paved 'Trader's Path', which effectively connects all the towns in wide, open roads, all for secrecy's sake. Not only that, but we have to continue guarding them at Slautier town, then escort them back safely to Gier. Something tells me that it's going to be a very long day...

"Hey, how much for Sorcerer Magazine?" Hiroto asks the salesperson, resting his arms on the counter.

"That will be 3000 jewels." The grown man replies, shocking the young boy. He sieves through his pockets for the money but turns up empty instead.

"Um, Nozomi?"

"Nope, I'm broke too." I immediately answer, knowing what he was going to ask. "But, we'll get the reward money from the traders once we finished the job, so just wait til then."

"B-But! I can't live without reading Sorcerer Magazine!"

"Oh, what's the difference if you're reading it now or later?! We don't even have the Jewels to pay for it! What, you're going to draw money?" As soon as I said, the idea sticks by me for a while. I stare at Hiroto and his light pens. Can he actually draw Jewels?

Just as the idea came, it gets swiftly turned down by the 'Pict Magic' user with a shake of a head and some words. "No, it's taboo. I'm not allowed to draw money, mythical creatures like dragons, or anything else associated with them. Not even a money-making machine."

Oh, that's too bad. If the boy could really draw money, I think we would have been filthy rich! Even beating out the most wealthy guild, the Merchant Guild, Okane Jobs, and its boring name. Maybe even use the money to bribe some people to join... Nah, we're not that desperate for members.

We're just on the brink of it.

After getting Hiroto to leave the Sorcerer Magazine alone, the sullen boy and I navigate our way through the busy streets of Gier Town. Familiar shops and stalls pass by me, as I recall all of my earlier walks through this place. Each person was different from the rest, unrecognisable to me despite the many times I passed through this exact street. It's quite a large town, and we're lucky the guild is nearer to the town's exit to the forest, or else we'd be lost. It's a straight path through the street with a turn to the right, left, then reaching the clearing to a duo pathway; one leading to the forest and the other leading to the 'Trader's Path'.

We reach the clearing earlier with 10 minutes to spare.

"See, I told you we're early! I could have gone back to the guild and asked Reign for money to get the magazine!" Hiroto complains, folding his arms and glaring at me.

"How long are you going to go on about the magazine?"

"Until I get it!"

I swear, with his small stature and childish attitude, anyone could just mistake him as 10-year-old.

I take a seat on the grass with a huff. Hiroto follows suit, crossing his legs together. He takes out his set of light pens, a variety of colours ranging from red to purple with different shades. Picking out two brown, three green and one black, he constructs his drawing mid-air, each stroke producing glitters. He seems to be drawing some kind of wood elf, only with a diamond-shaped head, wooden limbs and grass for clothing. Its face comprises of beady green eyes, and three black dots for a mouth. A grass headband rests on its head. When he does his last stroke, he mutters to himself, "Pict Magic: Wood Elf."

The colours blend in, like the beer bottle from earlier, and solidifies, falling to the grass on its back. In a second, it raises its head, blinking its eyes at its master. I look at it in awe.

"So cool. And cute!" I pick up the wood elf, my fingers brushing against its body. The grass and wood feel as real as they look, its soft bristles rubbing my fingers.

"You really think so?" Hiroto asks with a tinge of happiness in his words.

"Of course! Look at it, doesn't it look adorable?" I bring the wood elf to his face. It smiles brightly, blinking its eyes in wonder and raising its twig arm at him. The boy lightly touches it with his fingers. "I really-"

"Hola! There you guys are!" A cheery voice greets us from beside. The two of us turn to the source, finding a man in his 30s and a covered wheelbarrow behind him. "Am I late?"

"No, sir, you're on time, actually." I switch to formalities, quickly getting off the grass. I give him a light bow, Hiroto following my actions.

"Oh, no need to be so formal! And just call me Mr Trevor. You're the mages from Luna Bird, right?" The man says, moving the wheelbarrow over to us.

"Y-Yes." Hiroto answers with a stutter. Huh, that's a first.

"Great! You two will be guarding the wheelbarrow behind me." He points to the wooden movable that looks like it's on its last legs. "It contains the materials I need to trade over to Slautier Town. We'll be making a to and fro through the forest so that we can avoid contact with some... unreasonable people."

Unreasonable? I assume he's talking about thieves, but what's so valuable under the covers? A ragged towel lays over the opening of the wheelbarrow, allowing no light to permeate from any side. Nothing shines from within it either, so I couldn't make a guess on what's inside. Curiosity starts to gnaw at me.

"But, of course, the forest has some aggressive creatures, so I'll need some protection. That's where you two come in! You'll be fighting off the creatures and protect the wheelbarrow's contents." He gives us further details on the request.

I breathe in a sigh of relief. Well, at least we won't have to fight off people, just mindless monsters. I spare a glance at Hiroto, only to find him shudder slightly, taking in a gulp of air.

"Hey, you okay?" I give him a small nudge on the shoulder.

"Y-Yeah, just n-nervous." He scratches the back of his head, a forced smile on his face. Despite his words, something tells me it's not only the nerves, but I don't push him about it. Instead, I hand him back his wood elf, which he takes with shaky hands.

"Hey, it'll be fine. The forest isn't that long, and we'll be back before you can drink another beer!" I try to encourage him, slinging my arm around his back and giving him a shake.

"Actually, it takes about two hours to go trek the forest..."

"Ah." Darn it, Mr Trevor! Read the mood here!

"I-It's okay, Nozomi. Thanks for trying to cheer me up... I-I guess you aren't all evil and vile." He gives a light chuckle, but I could tell it was forced too. A look of worry washes over my face.

"Well, young'uns! Let's get through the forest while the Sun is still over our heads!" Mr Trevor says with a hyper cheery tone, passing by us and proceeding into the Forest Path. Hiroto pushes my arm away before following the trader, leaving me to stare at him.

It's times like these I wish he would just bicker with me.

A/N: And that wraps up chapter 1 of the OC fic, Luna Bird. I couldn't find a single fic that explored another guild, much less in a country that isn't Fiore. Maybe I didn't search far enough, but if any of you lovely readers had read that kind of fic, I would love it if you sent me the link to it! Anyway, I hope you enjoy the first chapter! See you in the next one! Oh, and Seven really is a country in Earthland, just an unexplored one.