I do NOT own Fairy Tail and Shelter, sadly

Chapter 4: A New Alliance!

"Wendy! Wait, come back!"

"…"

"Sheesh, that child. What's so embarrassing about this?!"

"Now now, why don't we just talk to her?"

"…I'll go after that child."

"Ok..."

"…"

"Wait…"

"…Is that still recording?"

"…—"

-Continuation of Wendy's speech: Take 1

"Rin-san look! A deer!" Wendy pointed at it. "It's helping its young feed."

"Shh! Don't talk so loud, you'll startle it!" Rin whispered, squatting beside Wendy. "And it's a doe." She added as an afterthought.

In the distance, a doe can be seen feeding its young. Both have a lovely shade of rufous fur, their backs covered entirely with white spots.

"Aren't they cute?" Rin whispered. "Wendy?"

Wendy slowly rose and took a step forward. Another step, the doe raised its head, looking around its surroundings with a beady eye.

"Wendy, what are you – Wendy!" Rin ducked further in the bushes as the doe turned its head towards their direction.

"Just a little bit closer…" Wendy mumbled. She took another step forward. And another. Snap, a twig broke underneath her foot.

The startled doe immediately picked up its young and dashed past the arcing tree in the opposite direction where those two were.

' – '

"It ran away…" Wendy rested her palm on the rough bark of the arcing tree, staring into the distance.

"Of course, why did you come closer though?" Rin brushed the dirt that had clung to her cardigan.

"I wanted to take a closer look," Wendy said sheepishly. "maybe pet the fawn as well."

"Wendy, you shouldn't touch it. I read that fawns are born scent-free!" Rin stated as she puffed her chest out. Only to fail miserably and started to choke on air.

"They're born scent-free? What's that got to do with not being allowed to touch them?" Wendy questioned.

The air was filled with silence, occasionally disturbed by Rin's coughing, before she realized what Rin really meant.

"Oh, that's why we shouldn't touch them." Wendy faced Rin. "If we touch them, our scent will cling to the fawns, right? And our scent will attract its predators!"

"Y-yeah, fawns can't protect themselves just yet." Rin wheezed. "We should start heading back to the guild, we picked all the herbs and mushrooms needed a while ago."

"Sure." Wendy walked around the bushes they were hiding in earlier. "Let's head back."

"I still do wish I could've petted it." Wendy picked up a woven basket, filled with herbs of all colors.

"You'll still go on about that?" Rin picked up her own basket, this one, filled with brown mushrooms.

"Yup, I still do wish I could." Wendy replied as both girls walked out of the thicket and down the path.

' – '

Upon nearing the guildhall, both girls would hear a momentary silence, intermittently followed by murmurs and whispers.

Before opening the doors, Wendy and Rin exchanged glances.

"So, who's opening it?" Rin whispered.

"…Not me." Wendy whispered back.

"…"

"…"

Decided by an unspoken unanimous decision, both girls opted to stay outside until the coast is clear.

Even if eavesdropping is against Wendy's code of conduct, Wendy could not help but be intrigued at what is going on. The occasional murmurs were too soft to be heard; but sometimes, these "occasional murmurs" would escalate into full-fledged shouting. Loud enough to be heard clearly outside the guildhall.

"Old man Roubaul… you've gotta be kidding me!"

"Rou-san… are you sure?"

"You know that we can't participate!"

"Silence!" Roubaul shouted.

"But-"

"Silence! Didn't I make myself clear!" Roubaul slammed his palm on the table.

Silence fell once more.

In an attempt to hear more, both girls started to lean forward. Except, they forgot one important detail.

The door creaked forwards ever so slightly.

"Uh-oh, I forgot that these doors open inward." Wendy faced Rin.

"Oh, yeah… shoot."

The doors swung open, creaking loudly at its rusted hinges. Both girls fell forward simultaneously.

"Wendy?! Rin?!" Roubaul exclaimed, clearly as baffled as everyone else. "What're you two doing there?!"

o W o

After giving them an explanation. Both girls stood in front of Roubaul.

"Sorry master, we didn't mean to." Wendy bowed her head to sincerely apologize.

"Sorry master." Rin bowed her head as well, though not as low as Wendy's. "Oh yeah, Welcome back master! How did the meeting go?"

"Hmm? Well, we discussed the growing activities of dark guilds. Especially from Oracion Seis"

"Wait, don't Oracion Seis have only like, 6 members?"

"Yeah, even so, I've heard they're quite powerful…"

"Indeed." Roubaul stated, successfully gaining back their attention. "Together with Tartaros and Grimoire Heart, they form the Balam Alliance. Each of them has a number of associated guilds, and they control the world of Dark Guilds." Roubaul paused for dramatic effect. "And of course, there's the guild that acts independently on its own, Raven Tail." He continued.

"Aren't there some that used to be official guilds?"

"Yes, sadly there is." Roubaul sighed. "Oh, and about that Oracion Seis, we're going to attack them."

"E-eh?!" Wendy and Rin were clearly surprised.

"As it is not something we can ignore, we decided that some guild has to fight them." Roubaul turned his attention to both Rin and Wendy.

"But master, our guild is more of a crafts guild!" Rin exclaimed. "But if we are really going to attack them, wouldn't Balam Alliance get angry at us and retaliate only here?!"

Wendy shuddered.

"That's why Fairy Tail formed an alliance themselves." Roubaul added.

"An alliance?"

"Phew, I thought you drew the short straw, old man Roubaul!"

"But even so, why are we in it?" A curious guild member asked.

"That's because I've participated to join." Roubaul flatly said.

""WHAT?!""

"Fairy Tail, Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale, and us, Cait Shelter." Roubaul asserted. "These four guilds will each send out members to strike these guys down!"

Silence filled the air.

"So, who's coming?" Rin dared to ask.

In the woods of Worth Woodsea, 6 figures stand ominously at the edge of a jagged cliff, staring at the giant black miasma portentously looming over the forest.

"I can hear it…" A dark red-haired man stroked the white underside of an unusually large purple snake. "The sound of the breaking of light!"

"Don't be so hasty, Cobra." Cobra and his snake turned their heads towards the speaker. "Well, being hasty ain't so bad." The man with a yellow tomahawk added as an afterthought.

"The magic we're talking about is hidden here, Racer." Cobra told Racer.

"A magic that will bring about darkness and break all light, yes!" a man with a geometrical body said.

"Nirvana…" A busty woman with silver hair trailed off.

At the far-right end of the group, a black-haired man can be seen snoring on a mat.

"The legendary magic will finally be ours." The last man said.

"Is this Nirvana magic really all it's cracked up to be?" Racer asked.

"Behold, the land has begun to die." The last man who appears to be their leader said. He raised and pointed the skull of his staff towards the black miasma. "Just because Nirvana is nearby."

A/N: Clover here!

So first of all, for the sake of this chapter, let's pretend that this world's Cait Shelter has doors… Yeah, let's!

Second, expect that this is the last filler chapter before Nirvana. Maybe.

Third, deer awareness. If you spot a fawn, leave it alone (unless of course, it's severely injured or looking for its mom).

Fourth, thank you for reading this and I hope you guys continue reading this fanfic!

And lastly, have a great fun day! o W o