Disclaimer: I am not the owner of Fairy Tail

The closest town to the ruins Nab had gone with Loke to investigate was a small village called Esmer. People seemed to only be there if they were passing through in one direction or another, which meant there was a lot of variety and very few locals to deal with. "According to the flyer, we're supposed to be checking in with someone named Nisa at the Lucky Charm Magic Shop." Loke held it over to Nab, who nodded in agreement. Oddly, things seemed to be going well. There had been no disaster on the train, and the conversation had been a nice change. Though, there had been a minor dilemma in arriving. One of the tracks they had been meant to travel across ended up getting shut down due to the metal cracking and becoming dangerous to ride over. The train company had given all passengers accommodations to stay at the train stop nearest to that patch of track, until the repairs were finished. Now, over a week later, they were finally arriving for their job.

Loke himself had seemed to be in an oddly good mood as well. He was smiling, yet he seemed to have been still contemplating Nab's advice from before. Really, they both had problems with making friends for their own reasons. He shouldn't have been pushing…but he was concerned, and he wanted to help Loke in whatever way he could. "It should be easy to find…I mean, this town is rather small." He glanced around, however, frowning. Buildings seemed to exist without signs to name them right now. They didn't exactly look like homes, and people seemed to walk in and out of them frequently, yet he couldn't spot anything labeling them as what they were. "Then again…maybe not. I don't usually have much luck with these things after all."

"Then maybe you need to get one of her charms." Loke smirked at him, while Nab smiled in return. After spending so much time with the celestial spirit, it was becoming easier to relax around him. "Not that she has one strong enough to handle your bad luck…but it could make it a bit less disastrous, right?"

Laughing nervously, Nab rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah…nothing could really…stop that." Plus, he wasn't certain he wanted to anymore. It made things interesting, in its own way, and if it wasn't for his tendency to mess everything up, he wouldn't be on this job with Loke right now. "Want to just follow people and see if we get there? I mean…it seems like it'd take a little while…but I don't really see an obvious building for the shop."

Shaking his head, Loke sighed. "And you can't just sense for the magic aura of the objects she sells, can you?" Nab bit his lip, slowly shaking his head. During their week long delay, he had practiced more…but that only made it to where he could somewhat control his possessions, rather than his sensing skills. "Then I guess that's as good of a plan as any. It's not like we haven't already been delayed anyway."

So, that was how they found themselves wandering between buildings, in and out to try and find a magic shop. The outside appearance of being shops was correct for most of them, and Nab wondered how they even survived in such a small town. The grocery shops made sense, but when they walked into a place that sold odd knick knacks, he questioned their actual success. Those sorts of objects were usually purchased by tourists after all, and this town did not seem to be big on tourism.

About in the center of town, right after exiting a clothing shop, they seemed to finally find a magic shop. Nab could recognize the lacrimas and odd holder-type magic immediately inside. While he was never really a fan of using such objects, he knew plenty of people relied on tools like these for their daily lives. "This looks like the place." Loke glanced around, smiling faintly. "I remember those." On one of the shelves, a selection of rings seemed to be available. "It's been a while since I even tried mimicking a wizard's magic. I'd hardly be good with them anymore, I think."

"Right. They helped preserve your limited energy, right?" Loke nodded, inspecting one for a moment before setting it back down. "I remembered thinking it was odd, when you got them. I mean…a celestial spirit had to have their own sort of power, so it made little sense that you claimed to use ring magic."

"Then you remembered why I was stuck here." Loke sighed, shaking his head. "I still can't decide how many of those memories are good and how many are just painful. True, I got the chance to be in the guild, and these rings helped me blend with other wizards…but it was all with the thought that I was about to die in mind. Everything I did was reckless and impulsive…and sometimes, I wish it hadn't been."

Nodding, Nab watched as Loke returned one of the rings to the shelf, pushing his hands into his pockets. "I'd like to think I would have done the same." Nab looked away, biting his lip. "Though, I think I'd have been too afraid to do anything." Loke watched him, while Nab sighed. "It takes…courage, of a sort, to do that, don't you think? To know you are going to die…yet still want to enjoy life. I'd be afraid…afraid of finding something worth living for that I wouldn't be able to have. Afraid that it would make the end more painful…and afraid that I'd shorten my life even further by being reckless." Nab paused for a moment, frowning. "I think you made the right choice, not letting fear rule your decisions. You'd…you'd regret it a lot more…kinda like me, I suppose."

Giving Nab a half-smile, Loke nodded. "Maybe so." He sighed, moving away from the shelves instead. "Either way, I ended up doing some pretty foolish things that gave me a reputation that I don't think I'll ever lose." Nab knew exactly what kind of reputation he was referring to. "And as for you…you've still got plenty of time to change if you want to, Nab. Just look at you now…how many wizards at Fairy Tail would have believed me a few months ago if I said you'd be going on a job?"

Laughing, Nab nodded and felt his cheeks grow warm. "Yeah…they'd say you were crazy…"

"And I'd be wondering what the 'perfect job only you could do' was."

Smiling, Nab glanced over to the counter. "Then I'd be stuttering and mumbling too much for you to understand." He knew his own nervousness that much, at least. Loke chuckled, shaking his head and walking past him.

"Speaking of jobs…I do think we should probably try and stay a little focused on this one." Loke smiled at Nab, patting his shoulder. "Sorry for distracting you. Things like this…just bring back memories of earlier times in the guild, I guess."

Nodding, Nab followed after Loke towards the front counter. There, a young girl seemed to be leaning against the register. Studying her closely, he spotted a magazine on the counter by her side, one she was flipping through with a lazy, slow motion of her hand. Glancing up at them, she sighed and seemed to pause, frowning before forcing a smile onto her face. "Welcome. Can I help you with anything?" There was way too much forced joy in that voice for it to even be believably pleased to see them.

Glancing towards Loke, he saw the celestial spirit frown before focusing back on her. "Yes, we're wizards from Fairy Tail. We took the job request posted by Nisa and were trying to find her and get more details."

Blinking, the girl's eyes widened and her fake smile seemed to drop. "Wait…someone actually took it? Ha, I knew I'd get someone's attention, even if it is in those 'cursed ruins'" She made air quotes around the words as well, rolling her eyes at the thought. Nab wondered if there really was something off about the ruins, trying to repress the slight shiver that wanted to run through him at the thought. "Come with me to the back. I'm not going to get any customers anyway in this place."

Following her, Nab frowned. "If…if you don't get customers, why are you even in business?"

"Because I've got people who travel for me and sell elsewhere. I don't make much, but by having my home near some rare ruins like those, people think I'll have rarer items. It makes this shop probably the closest thing to a tourist attraction Esmer has."

Nodding, Nab glanced at Loke and shrugged. He really didn't know how to deal with people, especially not someone like her. There was an odd snark to each comment, and he wasn't the sort to retort back all that well. "And do you?"

Snorting, the girl shook her head at Loke. "Hardly. Supposedly, treasure hunters cleared that place out generations ago, before giving up on getting into that place entirely. Everyone in Esmer knows how close we can get before weird things start to happen."

"Weird? Like what?" Loke was leading the conversation, with Nab just listening in.

"Like ghosts, monsters, that sort of thing." She frowned, tapping her chin. "I think there was even an incident of someone losing their memory, but that was before my time. All I hear these days are rumors, and they've likely grown way out of proportion for what actually happens."

That just didn't seem right. Nab was never one to believe in ghost stories, despite being afraid of doing anything. He was rational, after all. Nothing really said they existed, and the closest thing to find would likely be spirits, something he knew an excessive amount about due to his magic. Spirits could do little without magic to direct them, so ghost stories usually came about because of a prank performed by a young wizard unaware of what they were playing with. Monsters…typically, those were unusual and rare animals, labeled as such because they seemed dangerous. Yet, the amnesia seemed out of place. Maybe Nisa was right and things were simply exaggerated about the ruins these days.

Loke glanced towards Nab, who shrugged and focused on Nisa. He had agreed to this job, and he was going to see it through. "So what changed? I mean…you said there was nothing there before." His voice was quieter than Loke's, but Nisa still turned at him when he spoke.

She stopped walking as well, turning around and standing in what looked like a storage room in the back of the store. There were boxes lining all sorts of shelves around them, labeled with writing too small for Nab to read. "That's the thing. No one knows." Nisa grinned, placing her hands on her hips and leaning forward towards them. "I was out with some friends, hiking near the ruins when I felt it. I have a little bit of my own magic, but there's no way I'd even call myself a wizard. That's why I knew I shouldn't have been able to sense it and why I know others will be coming for it soon. I could feel the aura coming from those ruins; something powerful is there, something no one managed to sense before. It's strong enough to be a beacon to anyone who dares to approach that destroyed town now."

"So, what you're saying is that we're on a time limit, and have competition for this object." Loke narrowed his eyes, folding his arms over his chest. "And what exactly makes you think you should be the one to end up with it?"

"Because I'm not some stupid wizard that thinks it once belonged to the legendary black wizard Zeref." Sharing a look with Loke, Nab had to bite his tongue. He should have known people would assume a connection to him, but after meeting Zeref, the guy just seemed…less legendary and more ordinary. "Others will, given its power and the rumors about that place."

"There are rumors about Zeref surrounding the ruins?" Nab frowned, curious to hear.

Nodding, Nisa smiled. "Sure are. People say that the place was destroyed by him personally, despite everyone knowing it was the war. Evidence shows that the fire that burned that place down was way too hot for a wizard to reproduce…but people like blaming Zeref for everything, especially because of the mystery. See, this town…it was the only one destroyed by fire dragons. Other ruins from the war were flooded, destroyed by talons and claws, torn apart by massive winds…you are probably seeing where I'm going already." She grinned at them, moving closer. "That's what makes Mildia so interesting, and so intriguing. No one gets near it, but everyone wants to know everything about it."

"I take it Mildia was the name of this town?" Loke questioned. Nisa nodded, smiling and clasping her hands together.

"Yup. And you two…are going to be the first to enter it in decades. Isn't that exciting?" She seemed oddly eager for someone who had seemed so bored to see them before.

Staring at his feet, Nab hesitated. Really, this was sounding like a much more involved job than he had planned. "I…I don't know." He paused, frowning for a moment. "I'm…I'm not really all that skilled as a wizard. It…I thought this sounded simple…"

"Well, you're not going out fighting monsters or robbers or anything." Nisa shrugged. "All you really have to do is get inside and out with whatever this magical object is."

"And…you're going to sell it?"

Loke watched Nisa, who crossed her arms over her chest with a grin. "If the offer is right, then yes. Otherwise, I'll be keeping it in this place, safely stored away until I feel like the world is ready to have it."

"And you're certain this object is safe? Some spells activate upon contact, Nisa, and I'd rather not mess with something that likely was meant to be left alone." Loke still seemed cautious, narrowing his eyes at the shopkeeper.

Laughing at him, Nisa shook her head, her red hair swinging behind her. "Yeah, like that's something I'd know. You're the wizards on the job, it's your responsibility to keep yourselves alive. If you don't…well, I guess I'll just have to find another team to get it for me."

Why was she so persistent about this? She seemed oddly amused about the idea of them dying, but Nab knew it was likely going to do nothing if he tried to push against her. Walking towards her shop once more, she clapped a hand on their shoulders with that smile still lingering on her mouth. "Good talk, Fairy Tail wizards. Have fun in Mildia, and be sure to bring me back my souvenir."

She left, and Nab stared after her for a moment. It sounded like they really were on their own for this, then. So, after sharing one more look with Loke, the two of them began to walk out of the shop as well. They had a job to take care of, and right now, Nab was thinking it might be best to start now before his nerves set in and scared him back home instead.

So, we've got a little more advancement on Loke and Nab's job now. They're gonna be investigating Mildia soon, and we're gonna dive a little bit more into Zeref's backstory for this fic at least. I do hope you enjoyed! Feel free to review and tell me what you think!