"I'm not really certain what might come next...I have Romino working on this and I contacted the Academe Celestine, the Librarian himself is searching for references to a set that is...the twelve days of Christmas." Hestor said as they settled on lounge chairs by a sparkling pool.
It had been two days since she had contracted the Dove Twins, Leo was still complaining about being misunderstood, Aries was trying to comfort him, Partridge was cackling with the Twins and the rest of her spirits were trying to stay out of it aside from welcoming the new additions.
"The Twelve days of christmas were...nice though, about a true love giving gifts to their beloved. Nice gifts." Lucy said with a faint whine in her tone. It wasn't that she didn't like the spirits, far from it, Partridge was...hilarious, vicious, and the next time she got into a fight with bandits or some dark guild she was really looking forward to sending him in with the twins because….Christ on a cracker...they were badass. Even Erza got out of Partridges way.
They were now heading for north eastern Seven, where it was pretty cold right now and there was a front where Pegrands forces occasionally tried to get into Seven. Seven was a sovereign nation now under a young King. Their story was both terrifying and inspirational. Up until two years ago it had been held by "The Black Queen" Kressa Alsaidian and her sister Jera, who had murdered the King, Kressas husband, though nobody could prove it.
For years Kressa had reigned and Seven had been a feared country, a laboratory run by her son who was both a brilliant scientist and, and Emergent mage. Emergent mages were...new magic. The first time a type of magic manifested in someone that person was the Emergent, the ground zero for that magic and Nuryev Alsaidian had a magic that had enabled the Labs of Seven to produce...terror. He was a magic capture mage, that's what they called it. What it did was...he could take any kind of magic, any, in anything living or not...and remove it in its entirety.
Once Kressa knew what her son could do, she had started building armies, kidnapping children and adults when she couldn't use her own people, bringing in dangerous types of magic...capturing Dire Shifters.
The Dire shifters were ageless beings, great beasts that could shift into human form, wolves, lions...there were many types, they mostly lived in the great forests of the far northern regions above Alvarez...Kressa had captured powerful ones, used their dna to turn regular mages into shifters of terrible strength...then...used her son to start taking terrible magics to combine with those shifters, puting the magics into the soldiers she was creating.
She did it at first to drive Pegrand and their berserkers back from her borders...but then she had formed a tenuous alliance with Pegrand, and Pegrands King had started sending her Berserkers to use...in exchange for some of her more exotic shifters.
At the center of it all was Nuryev, the young prince, a slave to his power mad mother...rumors that the Queen and her sister...regularly raped the Prince, used him for more than just his brilliant mind and Emergent magic...abounded too and had been...true. When Nuryev reached 22 though...he had formed a secret alliance with Karadin, the King of Pegrand, and had with that help...killed his mother and his sister and taken the crown. He had then, after a short time when the whole world believed Pegrand would take Seven, watched the King of Pergrand crow about enjoying Kressas plaything...Nuryev had thrown off Pegrand, the Shifter armies, believed to be barely sane mad beasts feared the world over...rising up with him and fighting to free their nation. Pegrand was beaten back and Nuryev now stood as a beacon of hope for its future, a King that truly loved his people, fought for their equality and integration into the world society, releasing the armies from the containment compounds they had been kept in, providing care, understanding and acceptance to the people Kressa had forced him to create.
So...Lucy was gnawing a nail...thinking about venturing into such a country, excited and yet unable to stop the concern she felt about it. Erza looked at her "This is going to be a marvelous adventure...Seven is a free country under a strong young King...a handsome one…" She smirked holding up a special edition of Sorcerers weekly that had a feature on King Nuryev Alsaidian.
Lucy smiled, leaning closer to look "Wow.." she smirked the young King stood in traditional Sevenese clothing, which for men left a lot of the chest bare...and his was...ripped, his skin tanned, long black hair pulling into a high tail and the mans emerald eyes intense on the camera taking the picture. "Sevens Young King. Intellect, Power, Sex Appeal!" The cover read...leave it to Jason to sell a King that way.
"He's well respected on the international stage, minces no words, takes no shit from anyone...and with the Generals that run the different parts of his military and other aspects of his country that are completely loyal to him? It's no wonder the country is growing and prospering like it is now." Hestor said smiling faintly as he sipped his drink and adjusted the shade umbrella so he didn't tan too much, he preferred letting Kaleb get the dark tans...too much sun and some of his clothes didn't look right on him and that would never do.
"I don't like it...if this is a 12 days set of keys they should be nice...pretty things." Natsu grumbled from a nearby table where he was drinking a frozen drink beside Gray who rolled his eyes.
"You're just upset because the Partridge kicked your ass." Gray smirked.
"Yuck it up Ice Princess...he kicked your ass too." Natsu growled
"I lasted longer than you did...which really sticks to a theme…" Gray said waving his hand and Natsus eyes ignited.
"You've never complained…" he growled
"I never have time...you fall asleep so fast after you cum…" Gray said and Hestor snorted, choking on his drink. Lucy rolled her eyes sitting back again holding onto her drink as Natsu lunged for Gray and the two started fighting only to have Zen punt the pair into the pool, set their table back upright and sit down himself with a drink.
"Thank you." Erza smiled, enjoying the fact she hadn't needed to stand up...and that Zen was in swim shorts...showing off 6'5" of tanned well muscled masculine…Lucy sighed drinking that in...she really did like Bickslows family…
-
It was cold...Lucy hugging the puffy coat she had to her and glowering as Hestor smirked at her...again, comfortable in his furlined cloak. He had warned her...told her puffy coats were cute but not effective against Sevens icy cold north eastern shorelines but she hadn't listened….at all...when they had stopped in the Capital City of Draksden she'd...bought a bubble gum pink puffy coat that went to her waist. leaving her legs uncovered. She was wearing flannel lined jeans but...it wasn't enough...she was freezing...and Hestor had told her to buy a long cloak, had bought a new one for himself thickly lined with silky soft fur...and now he was walking along, boots crunching on the snow...with no trouble at all.
Above them Zen and Kaleb were flying, and Natsu and Gray were bickering quietly...neither having any issues with the cold. Erza had opted to stay behind this time, really wanting to see the city of Draksden.
So, Lucy walked along shivering and regretting her fashion choices, frowning as they started hearing the sounds of battle ahead of them.
Kaleb landed "The front is about a half mile now...some fighting going on but Zen and I didn't see Berserkers...the Sevenese have some...serious shifters up there so we should be fine as long as we stay back from the line…" he looked at Lucy who frowned, the pull was still ahead of them.
"It's...still that way." She admitted and Hestor hummed, continuing to walk, Kaleb moving to keep pace. "Well then...we keep going."
They walked for a while longer and Lucy felt it...KEY...turning she grabbed Hestors arm, looking in the direction. They could see the front from where they were...warmachines...large shifters...one a massive Polar Bear that was larger than an elephant. And Lucy was hoping they didn't need to go there but the pull was really a bit off to the side and there was some commotion that wasn't related to the fighting on the front...her eyes widened as a little...tank? Shot by followed by two more and right behind them...otters...large ones...they had to be shifters was Lucys first thought….
"Lords run...y'all slow as molasses! Harpen on me bout ma snackin and here you is jus draggin ass...we ain neva gonna catchem!" A bright golden white one cried.
"Shut yo face ya eat too much, fuck too much an neva listen Anna! Save yo breath for runnin!" One of the other otters snapped.
The white one got a cheeky look on her face as the tanks raced around through some rocks, the otters in hot pursuit still
"Laws alive Trudy...ain no such thin as fuckin too much...where you been? You ain gettin enough?" she snickered
The darkest of the otters hissed and attacked the white one, those two rolling around snarling at each other while the other two tried to stay after the tanks but...got dragged into the brawl because the white otter was biting anything that got near her...even rocks…
The little Tanks wove their way out of the rocks, moving near where Lucy and the others were and….opened fire, hailing little mortar rounds down on the wrestling otters that...thought the other otters were doing it and fought each other harder.
"You bit ma ass! Laws alive you bitch I'm gonna have a welt! How'm I gonna get into General Palos pants with welts on ma pretty ass?! One hissed.
"Yo ain neva gettin in the Generals pants ya color challenged rat!" One of the others hissed.
"If I'm a rat what's tha make you huh?! A rats bitch thas what!"
Hestor Lucy...even Natsu and Gray stared in amazement and Lucy blinked, noting the paint on the little tanks and that...they pulled at her and she smiled, remembering a history tidbit where a General had once referred to tanks as hens of war laying...chaos...well...she glanced at the otters, still fighting with each other and went to the closest Tank.
"I'm Lucy…" she smiled and the tanks all three turned, moving closer to her.
"Saved from the pole cats?" One of the tanks spoke and Lucy looked at the otters
"I think they're done now yeah…"
A Key formed in Lucys hand in gunmetal...three mortar shells at the head.
"Three...french hens." Hestor chuckled shaking his head.