Laxus was definitely having a shitty month. First, he, and his team, tried to overthrow Gramps to become Fairy Tail's Guildmaster with the use of hostages, both the woman of the guild and the citizens of Magnolia. Then he got, rightly, kicked out of the only place he had ever called home, leaving behind the only other people in his life who stuck around with him at his worst. And now, the lightning mage could only take the independent mage job postings, which were slim pickings for a mage of his calibre. It seemed that the jobs that best suited him and his magic were monster-slaying jobs. High ranking or not, the mage was only allowed to loosen the tight leash he had to keep on his magic when he fought beasts compared to humans and mages alike. And giving his magic just a smidge of freedom seemed to be the only thing that brought him the slimmest form of joy as of recently.
Lightning is a hard element to control; it's dangerous and wild, always trying to sate its need for freedom. It's wielders were often cut from the same cloth, wanderers craving adrenaline and danger. Lightning requires a balanced hand, just enough guidance for the magic to do what the mage needs it to do, but with enough freedom that it doesn't feel stifled, causing it to injure the mage instead. It's a balancing act that many lightning mages take years to master. Very few mages ever achieve the level that Laxus Dreyar is at, lighting mage or not, making him a coveted asset many try to use. Since being excommunicated, the lighting dragon slayer's prestige had taken a hefty hit. He could no longer take the high ranking S-Class jobs he was used to, nor was he asked for by name. He had become just another nobody scrapping at the bottom of the barrel.
Normally, he put up with it. Laxus knew that he deserved a lot worse than just being excommunicated. He turned friends — no, he turned a family — against each other simply so that he could gain more power. Everyone knew that he was probably going to become Fairy Tail's next master. He had the strength, he just didn't have the heart. And after the royal ass-kicking Flame Brain and Tin Can gave him, he realized that. So, the lighting mage was content being a bottom feeder. He could, hopefully, work his way back up again and maybe, just maybe, see his grandfather again.
"Defeat some lizard monsters. It'll be easy. Basically just free money. But no. The stupid flier didn't say shit about sewers. Fucking mold-infested, shit-smelling sewers." He grumbled under his breath cussing out anything and everything that pissed him off about the job.
Laxus was so focused on creating the crudest way to express his deep-seated hatred for sewers, he nearly missed the poisonous words of a woman a couple of streets away from him.
"Hey buddy," the word was spat out with such contempt Laxus would have physically recoiled if he wasn't a battle-hardened mage. He felt bad for whoever was at the end of this talking to. "If you don't back the help up so help me god-"
Laxus suddenly felt a lot less bad for the person. And he sped up his pace a little. He still seemed casual, maybe slightly rushed. But nothing out of the ordinary.
"Come on sweetheart~" a drunken voice crooned. By now, Laxus was picking up speed as he maneuvered down the street. He was sure that he looked quite suspicious running down the deserted street a three in the morning. If anyone were to see him, he was sure they would call the Rune Knights. But all he could focus on at the moment was getting to the woman before anything worse could happen to her.
"That's it!" Just as he turned the corner of a dimly lit side street, he heard what sounded like the woman's self-control snapping.
And just as he deduced a split second earlier, the woman had indeed snapped.
There he was, face to face, with the sight of a woman, barely 5 and a half feet tall, holding a tiny sliver of a knife at the throat of a blatantly drunk man. His clouded brain seemed unsure of what to do with his gangly limbs as they trembled in fear.
"Now," the sprite of a woman spoke in a steady tone that chilled him to the bone. "I have just spent my entire afternoon fighting off bandits—"
Once she mentioned a fight, his mind immediately went to assess her condition. It's a habit from working with the Legion, Laxus justifies to himself later. He is quick to spot the exhaustion that seemed to be ingrained in the bones of the tiny woman's body. Bruises were scattered across her skin and a few scratches could be seen here and there. Luckily, he couldn't spot any serious injuries on her person. Mentally, he let out a sigh of relief.
While he was inspecting her for injuries, the sprite continued her infuriated rant. "— and all I wanted to do was go back to my hotel room and sleep. But no. Instead I get to be groped by a drunken pervert who doesn't know what the meaning of no is!"
With all of the shaking and cowering the drunkard seemed to be doing, he was bringing his neck closer and closer to the point of the blade.
"Lady, don't you think you should let him go? He's so scared he might piss himself soon." This brought her attention, as well as her frigid stare, onto him.
"Fine." Her naturally pouty mouth was pressed into a firm line. "The next time you come onto anyone without their consent" she emphasized her point by levelling the steel blade at the tip of his nose, "remember that not all people areas," she paused for a minute, pondering her words. "...nice... as I am."
As soon as the tiny woman dropped her blade, the man scampered off with his tail between his legs. The adrenaline from being held at knifepoint was sobering him up quickly. Once the man was out of sight, the woman sighed into her hands.
"Well, sprite, you seemed to have terrified the hell outta him." As he spoke, he plucked the knife out of her hand.
"You know" he added conversationally, "you really shouldn't do that. You could take your eye out."
She looked up at him, craning her neck up quite a bit to look him in the eyes, and levelled him with a glare, though this one was much less chilling compared to the one she gave the drunkard.
"Now, now, that isn't very nice." he waggled her own knife in her face. "Is this how you treat the man who just saved you from committing murder? I doubt a woman like you would last very long in prison." Now that he had an unobscured sight of her, he could tell what had drawn the drunk's attention.
She was gorgeous.
The sprite, as he had officially dubbed her, was lean. Her muscles were toned and tight. Her tiny waist accentuated by the supple leather corset-vest that cinched the long-sleeved black shirt she wore underneath. She had one earbud in while the other hung freely by her waist. A music lacrama was probably tucked into the back pocket of her, almost-but-not-quite-as-short-as-Heartfilia's-skirts, green cargo shorts.
"Oh fuck off. I wouldn't have killed him. I'm much too tired to stash a body tonight." She snatched the blade from his hand, "Be careful though. I have no qualms with doing so tomorrow evening."
The sprite left the threat hanging in the air behind her as she turned on the heel of her knee-length combat boots and left. She stashed her knife somewhere unnoticeable on her person during the, brief, moment in time where Laxus was distracted by the natural swing of her hips.
For a moment, Laxus was stunned. What had come over him? This tiny woman wasn't the Thunder Legion. So why was he talking to her like she was?
Once his incredulity wore off, he caught up to her quickly. He gently grasped the wrist of her right hand; the one that was about place the loose earbud in her ear.
"Look," he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, "I didn't mean to come off that way." She raised an eyebrow inquisitively.
"Ugh how do I explain this?" he paused for a moment, struggling to find the words to explain what had happened. "I normally travel with my team and I'm still adjusting to being without them. It just slipped out."
Laxus refused to admit, out loud, that he missed them. It would make him look weak, and he couldn't afford to be perceived that way, even if it was just by this random stranger he was talking to.
"Ok." She ran her hand through her shoulder-length chocolate curls. "Look, I've had an exhausting day -- well, it's been more like a week. So, let's just chalk it up to both of us having a crappy night and leave it at that. Work for you?"
The lightning mage inclined his head in agreement, grateful that he didn't need to explain it to her any further.
After noticing the large, overstuffed pack he held over his shoulder she states, "I'm assuming that you don't have anywhere to stay for the night. So how 'bout I show you to the inn I'm staying at and you can book a room?"
"Sounds good. Lead the way." He gestures forward with his free hand.
"Ummm... could you let go of my wrist please?"
"Oh shit!" He releases her wrist like it's made of fire. Laxus hadn't even realized he was still holding it. What was going on with him? When is he ever this distracted?
The sprite rubs her wrist awkwardly. An odd look briefly passes across her face, but it's gone before he could identify it.
"Come on" the tiny woman motions him forward. They trudge on in silence, both of them trying to muster the last bit of strength they have to make it to the inn.
"Here we are." the sprite opens the door to the Honeysuckle Inn. The bell jingles slightly, dragging the dragon slayer out of his thoughts. "They should have a room for you. There were plenty when I booked one this morning."
"Thanks," he grunts out.
The woman turns on her heel and starts to walk towards, what he assumes to be her room. It dawns on him, once he sees her turn around to leave, that he doesn't know her name.
"Hey!" The words rush out before Laxus even knows what he's saying, "What's your name?"
The sprite turns, curiosity burning in her eyes. "Why do you wanna know?"
"Maybe I just want to know the name of the woman who almost stabbed herself in the eye at 3 in the morning." The teasing remark slips past his lips before he could even think to stop it. It was just too tempting.
"Hmm... I don't remember her..." She had the audacity to pretend to look like she was actually thinking about it! "But I do remember running into this cocky jerk earlier," she pauses, tapping a finger against her chin "I don't think he told me his name either!" The sprite mimes being shocked.
"Fine," he grumbles. "Ruin my fun. The name's Laxus. And yours?"
"Cassie" She turns around, brown hair swinging with her movements. But not before Laxus catches a glimpse of the small smile gracing her pretty lips.