Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.

Anu: *suspicious* You are updating this rather quickly. Have you had this already typed.

Authoress: *nervous* It depends.

Anu: *stares* On what?

Authoress: *sheepishly* What are my odds of living if I give you a certain answer?

Chapter 4: Death

November 2nd, X785

Del's 1st P.O.V.

It was too hot. Through all the years I had lived, this had to be the warmest November day that I had ever been in. This was especially since I was currently in the mountains by Old Fort. Not to mention that yesterday had actually been a cold day. "It's too warm." I grumbled as I continued on.

"This is nice. Why are you complaining about it?" My pink exceed, Rosebud, commented as she flew above me. "Do you want it to be cold?"

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Do you really want to know that answer?"

She paused, hovering right above me, before she came down and sat on my shoulder. "Probably not." Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Rosebud looking toward the sky that was heavily saturated with white clouds. "I miss everyone."

I found myself glancing up at the sky and found myself letting out a sigh. "Me too Rose, me too."

When I was young, I had been around mighty dragons, friendly exceeds, and familiar slayers. Even though I hadn't see the dragon Polonia, her slayer Hannah, and her exceed Toxa very often, I had always considered them family.

But, I was not out here searching for them. No, the journey I was on now had started with me searching for a different trio of my family. At the beginning of my journey, however, I had found the bones of the mighty dragon Geb, who had been one of the ones I was searching for. However, I had not been upset by his death. I allowed myself to grieve and I reburied the bones, but it had been his time to die. Plus, I had known that his time was drawing near. A few years ago, not long after I had seen the old dragon alive for what I knew now was the last time, I remembered having a talk with my dragon Setophis about that very topic.

Flashback.

"Where did they go Set?" I asked my dragon as he continued to give me advanced lessons on being a slayer. One week ago, Geb had taken his slayer, who was a sister to me, and her exceed to a secret place that I didn't know. I didn't like not knowing where she was.

Setophis turned his mighty head to look at me. "Del you know that Geb did not even inform me of where he was taking them. I know their location just as well as you do."

Well, I didn't like that answer at all. "Why did he have to go away?"

My dragon studied me for a moment before he responded. "Del, he is going into his final lessons with Eden."

But that didn't make any sense! "But you started my final lessons before he left and you didn't take me away,"

"Del," I paused and listened closely. Set didn't interrupt me often so I knew that what he was about to say was important. "while you are correct that I did not isolate us during these final teachings, Geb had reasons to leave. While I know a few of them, I believe that only one will be all you should need to satisfy your confusion. Geb is old, even when compared to other dragons. His time to depart our plane of existence is coming close. From his determination, he will return to the earth within two months. Since Eden will be his last slayer, Geb wants to fully immerse himself in her last months of teaching her what he knows."

I found myself paralyzed where I stood. The teachings that I have learned from Setophis focused primarily on the concept of death. But, to have the practice hit so close to home hurt. Eden, my kin, was going to have to mourn the loss of Geb alone. While that knowledge hurt, I also knew that she was prepared for this. During one of our 'girl talks' away from our dragons, she had told me that she knew he was coming close to dying. I just don't think either of us realized that he was this close to dying.

But, with the thought of my sister in my head, another worrying thought came to me. "Set, what's Eden going to do when Geb dies?"

For the first time since this conversation started, Setophis smiled. "She has a communication lacrima that she will call us on to come and give Geb proper burial rights. Then, she will come back with us and I'll have two rambunctious slayers to deal with."

A large grin split my face at that before I laughed. "You know you love us Set."

He cast a playful weary look toward me. "Remind me of that in a couple months."

"Hey!" I yelled before I tackled my dragon.

End of Flashback.

But, fate didn't have any of our plans in its plans. When the time came that Setophis and I were expecting that call from Eden, dark guild mages had found our den and attacked. Set and I fought them fiercely, but while he was holding his own...I was struggling. One of the mages hit me in the head and I was in a daze. Setophis had lost it and had killed the mage that had struck me. But, that had left him open and a few of their requip mages...they stabbed him through his heart.

I had snapped and went on a rampage, taking out the rest of the mages. But Setophis, who was by some miracle still alive after the fight, was laying on the ground in bad shape I knew that he was dying and it hurt. He had then given me a choice: put his lacrima in my body and become a third generation slayer or destroy the lacrima so it couldn't be used for evil purposes. I couldn't bring myself to ingest his lacrima, so I went with the second option. It had been hard, watching my dragon die in front of me...and even harder to destroy his lacrima. But, I had responsibilities.

After giving Set the proper burial rights, and discovering that the only comm lacrima we had was broke, I set out with Rosebud on our journey to find the others. It has been a long journey, and I've met some very interesting people in some very unique places. However, nothing would beat the feeling I would have when I finally found Eden and Pitch. That was what I was striving for.

"Del, can we stop to eat?" Rose asked me as we entered a clearing that had a few fruit trees in it.

Well, I was hungry and it was about noon. So, I nodded and opened my bag before taking out my blanket and laid it on the ground while Rose went to pick some of the fruit that was hanging on the trees. I took out the water bucket from my bag, the bucket wasn't very big but it would be enough to get Rose and me a drink from the river about a quarter mile back. It wouldn't take me long to get there so I stood and made my way.

Once I got to the river, I took a small handful of the water and brought it to my lips. Then, I took a quick sip out of the water in my hands before letting go of the rest. It was a trick that Setophis had taught me to test for bad water. Only taking a quick sip would make sure I didn't take in too many bad chemicals...dropping the rest of the water right away would make sure that I wasn't tempted to drink more when I was extremely thirsty.

But, as I swished the sip I had in my mouth, I could tell that this water was untouched. That was good. So, I took the bucket and filled it quickly before making it back to camp. Rose had already cut a couple of the fruits, which I could now see as pears, and she was sitting waiting with our water cups out. Our cups were simply wood small logs that I had hollowed out. Not the best but it worked for us.

After we ate, Rose and I cleaned up and continued on our way. The walking seemed to go forever, and that wasn't helped that we were constantly surrounded by woods. Hopefully, we would find something a little more interesting to look at.

Also, as the hours soon started to show fading light, I started to feel a nip of cold. Damn now I was missing the heat from earlier. Of course, this was November in the mountains. But, I couldn't focus on that for now. A few minutes ago, Rose had come down from the sky to cuddle on my shoulder under my shirt. Her head was the only thing peeking out and I knew that we had to find shelter soon. It was getting dark and, even with my enhanced sight, it would be hard to see.

Soon, I came to a clearing and I tried to look up at the large mountains that were in front of me for a cave. Instead of a cave, however, I found my eyes widening slightly at the sight of two gigantic doors that seemed to be in the side of the mountain. I didn't know who was up there but, as long as they weren't a dark guild, I hoped that they would have a place for us to stay the night.

Melody's 1st P.O.V.

I smiled as I washed out one of the mugs that Master had been using earlier. It had been a few months since master had earned me my freedom and I had joined his guild. So far, no regrets. Everyone was so understanding about my hesitation to go out on missions often until I learned to control my sirenic half.

That was specially geared to Erik, who was the captain of our team. Even though I knew that I was the only member of his team for the moment, he understood my issues and would go out with Richard or Sawyer on missions mostly. Of course, just because I didn't go on missions much, didn't mean that Erik hadn't taken the liberty of naming our team...Team Poison Song. I was slightly annoyed that he had named our team after our magic but I wouldn't fight it. It did have a nice ring to its sound.

Of course, me not taking missions had been a small issue at first. With Sorano not having magic when I first joined, we both found ourselves without work to do. Of course, Master didn't mind that because, most times, I would do a large portion of his paperwork. Actually, up until September 15th, Master's paperwork was basically non-existent. But, it was that day that Sorano discovered her new magic.

...Well, more accurate being it found her.

Flashback.

"Hey Sorano, can you get take this plate out for me?" I asked Sorano as I balanced three plates on my arms. Erik, Eden, and Richard were going to be taking a mission this morning to Minstrel to help one of the Master's old associates. So, I had cooked them up a big breakfast with some granite for Eden and some bleach-infused sausage for Erik. The drinks were black coffee for Richard, highly caffeinated hot chocolate for Eden, and some coffee mixed with arsenic for Erik. But, Richard's plate was unbalanced since I was trying to compensate for the weight on Eden's and Erik's plates.

She nodded and came behind the counter before relieving me of Richard's plate and walked forward. So far, Sorano had tried a few different magic but none had been working for her. So, she was taking a month hiatus to try and regroup her thoughts before going at it again. I hoped she got magic soon. Sorano was a hard-working woman who was trying to make up for her past mistakes. If anyone deserved a new magic, it was her.

The two of us arrived at the table she put her plate down in front of Richard while I set the ones for Eden and Erik down. "Smells great Melody!" Eden commented before she grabbed a piece of granite and popped it into her mouth like popcorn.

Erik nodded as he took a bite of his sausage. "Yeah. Good as always. Master up yet?"

I nodded my head at his question and motioned upstairs. "When I got up earlier, I saw his office light on and I heard him moving in there. I think he was actually getting some of his paperwork done on his own."

Sorano, in turned, scoffed in surprise at that. "Would be a first in a long time for him. Speaking on that," She then turned to me and put her hands on her hips. "Melody you need to let Master do some of his work on his own. I know you like helping him, and with the two of us here you need work to do, but it is the jackal's responsibility to do his own damned work. You're letting him get off too easily lately."

While I agreed with her, I did need work to do and, when we were both here…which was quite often, we usually needed to find other work to keep ourselves occupied. So, while I agreed with her, I had to remind her of this. "Sorano I know. But with both of us being here I need to do something that keeps me busy and that seems to be the one constant work around here."

She had her hands on her hips when I first started that response but, after I got to the end, she let out a sigh and gave a knowing smile. "Well, I can't argue that logic. Master does seem to like to leave a lot of that work for later." We both then laughed.

"Hey!" We all looked up to Master and, while I couldn't see everyone's looks, I could bet that we were all throwing the master the same knowing look. "Just because I have wonderful guild members who are capable of helping me with the paperwork for the guild doesn't mean that I always leave paper…work." He slowed his speech as, at the very least, my own look increased in disbelief. Master was almost notorious for leaving as much paper work for others to do as possible. "You know what?" Master started as he began to walk down the stairs. "It's too early for this." Yep, the best escape from that argument that he could make without really losing.

Once he was down on this level and up to the table, Erik nodded and ate another of his sausages before saying, "So, from what we've been talking through, the mission should only take a couple of weeks…a month at most. We'll definitely be back in time for Halloween."

Yeah, the big talk so far was our preplanning for our Halloween celebration. Master had already ordered some decorations from many of the stores in Dawn City and they were due to arrive for pickup the first week of October. Elgor was supposed to contact the master when the supplies arrived…unless we were in town.

Everyone else were helping with their own personal touches of decorations and we were all working on our costumes during our downtime. I didn't know who most of the others were going as but Erik had asked for help in designing a rogue knight costume. It was an interesting design and I couldn't wait to see how it looked! The two of us had actually talked about our costumes and, since he was going to be a rogue knight, I decided to go along with his theme and was designing an outfit as a rebel princess. Erik was more excited about this then he let the others know.

Master nodded at Erik's statement before saying, "That's good. Paralex wants us to stop by his headquarters and give a report and Crypt Veil says that they will give us a little bonus candy if we make an appearance at their party." Anu then turned to me as Sorano started to walk back toward the bar and seemed about to ask me something.

But, he didn't get the chance to speak.

We all let out yells of surprise and took a step away from Sorano as a large golden beam of light suddenly surrounded her. What was going on? Last I heard, the previous magic that Sorano had tried to learn had been an earth magic, with Eden's help, but that was nowhere near what we were seeing now. What was this light? We all knew that Sorano used to be a Celestial spirit mage but, from what we all knew, due to her past crimes she lost the ability to contract with them. But, that was the only magic that was coming to mind while seeing this light.

As the light continued longer, I felt panic start to rise in me. Panic was not a good emotion for me. If I didn't keep myself in check, my other side could come out and nobody wanted that right now. "Master, what's going on?" I asked Anu as I stood next to him, a bit of panic in my voice.

He put a hand on my shoulder but, from what I could see in his eyes, I could tell he was worried as well. "Honestly Melody…I don't know." The complexity of information I was getting from his voice told me that his worry and panic was getting to my levels as well. Glancing at the others around us I could see that everyone was tense. None of us knew what was going on and it was unnerving.

Finally, after many minutes, the light faded around Sorano and I felt myself tense even more as I saw that there was now another person standing behind her with their arms seemingly wrapped around her. No. That wasn't right. As the light faded, there was a being with large wings that had white feathers except for around his wing bones, which were colored gray. His hair was blonde and was short in the back while his bangs came across his face and reached his jawline. His teal eyes seemed to be taking in the sight of all of us carefully and it had felt slightly unnerving being studied like that.

For his outfit, he wore a simple gray polo with a white shirt underneath, gray pants, and gray riding boots. He had a simple silver hilted sword hanging at his hip and a simple small gray cross on a chain around his neck.

This seemingly angel stared at all of us before looking down at Sorano, who smiled and looked up at him, before he seemed to relax his hold on Sorano and gave a small smile before speaking. "Greetings family of my mythic mage. I am George the Angel of Victory and I am the first contract, called the First at times, of the new mythic mage Sorano Aguria."

End of flashback.

That was the guild's first contact with mythic magic. George had explained all that he knew about the magic he was a part of but, since angels were mostly new to the mythic scene, according to him, he didn't have much information on that. One week after that, almost one week exactly from when George had contracted her, another mythic had contracted Sorano: Cecilia the Angel of Music. Like George, though, she didn't know much about being a mythic. Now, thanks to that, I got all the work to myself around the guild.

Much to Anu's dismay.

Right now, besides myself and said guild master, the other guild members were on a requested mission. Nabela, a daughter of a nomadic chief, had convinced her father to send us a request to help get rid of a dark guild that was terrorizing his people to strong-arm him into helping them with one of their plots. Sorano had actually met Nabela in the Tower of Heaven and had considered her a friend. So, Anu had given clearance for all of them to go.

The sound of the doors opening caused me to jump and I studied the entrance as a figure started to come in. The team shouldn't be back yet, since Master hadn't come down to say that they had called yet, so hopefully this wasn't them. That could only mean trouble.

Finally, the figure of a girl around Eden's age with short choppy gray hair, gray eyes, and pale skin appeared in the doorway with a pink exceed's head peeking out of the girl's shirt. With how cold it was outside, since this was November in the Mountains, I knew that I had to move quickly.

"Master get down here!" I yelled up to the Master, my magic slightly boosting my voice so I was sure that he heard me, before I grabbed a blanket and ran up to the girl and led her to sit at the bar before returning behind it to get some food and some hot cocoa for her. She looked chilled to the bone.

Anu's 1st P.O.V.

My eyes were slightly wide with surprise when I stopped running at the top of the stairs and stared down to the bar area. There, sitting and chit-chatting somewhat with Melody, was a girl with gray hair and a pink exceed in its own blanket. The guild wasn't used to getting visitors and one with an exceed was a big surprise. It was night time in the mountains and it was rare to see anyone travelling, especially alone. Of course, the girl's exceed was with her but even with the exceed it would be dangerous to travel alone in the mountains.

Before Melody had yelled for me, I had just gotten off the line with the team at the village. Deminal, the village leader who was also a mage, had praised the work that the team had done in fighting off the dark guild and making sure that they wouldn't bother the village again. He said that he had wished to do more than just pay the reward for the work that the team had done so the team had informed me that the chief was coming to the guild to enchant the main doors. They should arrive in about three hours time.

But, before I could think more on that, I had to figure out who this was and what she was doing travelling with just herself and her exceed in November at night in the mountains.

Once I was down the stairs, the whole time I was walking I noticed that the girl had been watching me, I stood behind the counter with Melody before introducing myself. "Hello, I am Master Anu Biskaln, transformation mage, guild master of the Jackal Fang guild." I then motioned to her. "And who are you two?"

The girl looked between myself and Melody for a few minutes before she spoke. "I am Del Bishop, Undead Dragon Slayer, and this is my exceed Rosebud. Thank you for your hospitality."

Seeing as the girl still looked cold, I motioned to the lounge area before saying, "It might be more comfortable if we talk over there. Come, and you can tell us what brings you up here in the mountains in November." I motioned before moving out from behind the bar, Melody joining behind me. The girl seemed to hesitate but, when her Exceed flew ahead of her, Del seemed to decide to trust us more and walked over, the cup of cocoa I had no doubt Melody made for her in her hands, before she came and sat on the sofa across from the one that Melody and I were sitting on.

Del put on a few more blankets before she spoke again. "I'm looking for a friend of mine and her exceed. We were raised together, our dragons being very close friends, and we counted ourselves as sisters." This girl then told Melody and I about what happened with her dragon, but didn't give the name of the other girl, exceed, or dragon, before saying, "Rosebud and I heard a rumor that there might be a dragon slayer near Dawn City and so we moved as best we could to get there. But, we didn't time out how far we traveled tonight and were looking for a cave when we saw your guild doors." She then bowed her head to us, Rosebud miming her, before saying, "Thank you so much for your hospitality."

I nodded at that. "It is no problem Del. We like to help whoever we can." A brilliant idea then comes to my head. "Del, may I offer you a proposition?" She looked at me warily so I decided to not dodge around the question. "I understand that you are looking for your friend. If you join my guild, we can offer you the resources and assistance to find this friend of yours. We are not a restraining guild and many of our members go off on their own missions with my approval. My approval is not hard to earn for a mission. With our help, I feel like we could help you find your friend much faster. So, will you join us?"

Like I suspected would happen, the girl immediately looked guarded...suspicious. I was afraid of this but I had a feeling that I usually felt when I had brought in Eden and Melody...a feeling I had when I decided to have the first five members of my guild become its founding members. I would be remiss if I did not act upon this feeling. While the girl looked like she was ready to bolt out the doors and back into the cold, we were all surprised when her pink exceed, Rosebud, jumped down to the table and looked up to me with a studying look. "You'll let us look for our friends without restraint?"

This was a smart exceed and I was hoping that she and her slayer joined our guild. Regardless of their decision, I nodded at the exceed. "Yes. We are a familial guild and the only requirement that we have is that you join a team." The team concept was a strong standard since we had started the guild. "While you must be a member of a team, that does not restrain you from who you can work with, or from even taking solo missions."

Melody then took over from there. "Unlike other guilds, the team system here is more for keeping tabs on everyone and making sure they are alright. I am a member of a team called team Poison Song but I rarely go on missions myself. Usually, my other team member goes on missions by himself. But, I keep track of my teammate and make sure that he is alright." She then paused. "Also, while the master didn't set this up, we guild members have decided to have leaders of each team. A captain that the team will choose and their lieutenant, which the captain chooses, to help the team run smoothly when together. But again, this system will not impede on any missions that you wish to undertake."

Both Del and Rosebud looked between the two of us, Del nervous and Rosebud studying us, before Rosebud nodded. "Then we accept."

That got a reaction out of Del. "Rose! You aren't even going to talk to me about this?" Del was definitely surprised that Rosebud had spoken for them both.

Rosebud looked back at her dragon slayer before huffing and saying, "Del, we need a place to call home while we look for them. I doubt we will find much better and, even as new a guild as they seem, they seem to be sincere and honest. This will be best for us and you know it."

The exceed and the dragon slayer seemed to have a stare off with each other before, to my surprise, the slayer faltered. After a few more seconds, she sighed and turned to us before saying, "I guess we'll join your guild. But I swear, if you break your promise, I'll tear this place and you all down." Seemed fair enough.

I went to ask her about her guild mark when I noticed that she had fallen asleep, as had her exceed. Guess she had been tense about us but, once that defence was down, she let herself fall asleep. Plus, with the travelling that she and Rosebud had to do just today, then they deserved some rest before the rest of the guild arrived. "Melody,"

"Yes Master?" Melody asked as we both stood.

Motioning to the dragon slayer, I continued. "Why don't you take her up to the med bay and put her in one of the beds there? And stay with her until she wakes up if you could. That way, she can have her mark put on before she is bombarded by the rest of the guild. They just called and said that they are on their way with the village chief. Said something about want to enchant the doors since they didn't do damage during the mission."

"That's a first." Melody laughed as she picked up Del. Once Melody, had Del, I picked up the exceed and placed her ontop of Del before Melody nodded. "I'll make sure that she wakes up on her own. You'll have to run the bar for that time though. Who knows if we will get anymore visitors?" She then started to make her way up the stairs.

Once she reached the floor she would need, I decided to see if I could get away with something, "Oh and Melody, if you don't mind while your waiting, could you,"

"No Master. That paperwork will be waiting for you when you get done. We'll come back down when she is ready." Melody laughed at me before disappearing.

Well, it was worth a try. But, the paperwork I had and the extra work that I was going to have to register Del as a member of our guild would be worth it. "So much for guildmaster appreciation." I remarked with a smug look as I poured myself a shot of whiskey. This guild was getting crazy and I was glad for it.

Eden's 1st P.O.V.

I felt a relieved smile come onto my face as the doors to the guild came in sight. While this mission wasn't necessarily hard, I wanted to come back due to some information that I had picked up from a member of Crypt Veil, Blythe Ashworth. She had just come from Dawn City and she had heard a rumor that there as a girl about my age with an exceed wondering around the woods in the mountains near the guild. This could be Del, and I didn't want to miss this chance to find her.

When Geb had died, I had been torn but, after burying him, I had gone off to find Del. Geb, who had been alive at the time, and I had heard about the attack on Del and Setophis. So, once Geb passed, I had made my way to the cave where we had once lived together. I had found Setophis laid to rest but I had not found Del, and I couldn't raise her on the lacrima that Geb had given me to call Del and Setophis to pick me up. So, I had gone out in search of Del and her exceed, Rosebud, and had ended up at Jackal Fang.

With this hot lead on Del, I wanted to get back to the guild as quickly as we could so that I could go and search. Yes, I knew that it was dark out and even my enhanced vision was going to make this difficult, but I couldn't waste a single second in looking for Del. She had always been like a sister to me and I knew that she would want to join Jackal Fang with me as soon as I told her. Jackal Fang had done so much for me, and I wanted her to experience the same happiness.

"Hey Eden slow up a little." I turned at Sorano's voice and slowed down a little as the rest of them moved to catch up to me. Once they all reached me, my guildmate continued speaking. "Just because the rest of us don't have heightened senses like you do, that doesn't meant that you should get so far ahead."

I flinched slightly at that before bowing my head at them all in apology before saying, "I'm sorry everyone. I'm just excited to check in at the guild before heading out. I got a tip from Crypt Veil that my friend that I have been looking for since I arrived at Jackal Fang might be in the area and I want to use as much time as I can in looking for her."

Deminal let out a laugh at that before he spoke. "It is alright Eden. I can understand your want to search for this friend of yours. But, the spirits seem to be surrounding you with favor. I believe that this night shall not pass without good fortune smiling upon you and your endeavors."

I still didn't understand the way he talked but, what I could tell, was that he was giving me a compliment and some good luck. "Thank you very much Deminal." We then let him up the stairs to the guild. It didn't seem like a long walk for me, and when I took a glance behind me, I was surprised that Deminal didn't seem to be having a problem with the walk either. While we did have steps, this wasn't the easiest thing to walk. But, I couldn't allow my thoughts to be on that right now. So, instead, I reached the doors and opened them before saying, "We're back everyone!"

And I paused, waiting for Melody to yell at me saying that she could hear me just fine, and that she would yell up for the master. But, instead, I jumped when Anu's voice answered me instead. "I can see that quite well Eden."

Jumping at that, I focused my vision and I was surprised to see Anu coming out from behind the bar. What was he doing behind there and where the fuck was Melody? "So, you must be the fabled Anu Biskaln. I am Deminal and it is a pleasure to meet you." Deminal didn't miss a beat and walked to meet the Master before shaking his hand.

"I am and it is an honor to meet you as well Deminal." Anu responded to him before saying, "I hope the trip up here was enjoyable for you."

The chief, in return, nodded. "Very." He then looked back toward the doors before nodding. "It seems I have some work to do. I believe that you have some things to discuss with your guild members."

Confusion came over me when Deminal said that, but I focused on Anu as he turned to look at us and Deminal went to enchant the doors. "What does he mean by that Anu?" Erik asked.

Anu let out a sigh before saying, "Well, a few hours ago, we had some unexpected friends show up. Melody is currently upstairs with our new friends since they needed some sleep. I hope they will all come back down soon to meet you all."

...He was being dodgy. When Anu got dodgy, that meant that you had to hide and hope that you were not the focus of that dodgy-ness. Last time the Master acted like this, I somehow ended up in a bubblegum pink dragon costume and walking down mainstreet of Dawn City singing kumbaya.

Losing a bet with the Master was a very dangerous thing to do if you valued your pride.

"Anu," We all looked at Sawyer as he addressed the Master. "When you are talking about these friends, are they going to be new members of our guild?"

We all stared at Master when Sawyer asked that. We hadn't had a new member since Melody back in August and, while I wasn't complaining about the rate that we getting members, since we weren't exactly advertising the guild like most guilds did, it seemed like now was a good time to have some. Right before Christmas, I would take a new guild member as a Christmas gift.

"Yes." A smile spread across my face when Master answered in a positive. "Our new member is upstairs with Melody right now getting some rest. I am hoping that they will come back down here before the rest of us turn in for the night so introductions can be made and you all can fight over whose team she is going to be on."

"I doubt that is going to happen." We all jumped when Deminal came back over and said that before turning to Master Anu. "The doors to your guild are now enchanted to never be broken and to never let in something that is not allowed in." He then, to my surprise, walked back toward the doors while saying, "I must return to my people now."

"Would you like an escort?" I asked him. This would give me a chance to search for Del if that rumor was anything to go on.

But, to my surprise, Deminal shook his head. "Do not worry for me, I shall be able to make my way back to my people on my own." Well, that didn't work how I wanted it too. I was going to need to figure out another excuse to go out and hunt down this lead. I'm sure that the new member wouldn't mind if I didn't stay long. I returned my focus to Deminal as he opened to doors but, before he left, he turned back and laughed. "I believe that things in this guild are about to become very exciting and I don't think it would be healthy for me to get into the middle of it. Have a good night." He then shut the door behind him.

We all stayed quiet for a few minutes before Sorano shook her head and motioned to the doors. "Deminal always has a weird way of saying things. Sometimes I think he just does it so no one questions him leaving a party."

"Man, and I was hoping to go with him." I laughed out before continuing. "I got a hot tip from Blythe Ashworth, you know, one of Crypt Veil's people, about that girl I've been looking for since before I came here. I was hoping to get out tonight and look around the area that Blythe said that the rumors came,"

"Eden?!"

My whole body froze as I heard that voice coming from the second floor of the guild. No way...it couldn't be. Not after all of this searching. All of the time and effort that Pitch and I had put into finding her...they couldn't be here. No, I had to be imagining things. Maybe it was the cold. I had been living inside for so long that maybe the cold could actually get to me now.

"Pitch!" That second voice caused me to snap my head in the direction of the voices and I about felt my heart snap in two at what I saw. There hugging Pitch was Rosebud. And if Rosebud was really here, then that meant that her dragon slayer…

My eyes drifted to look at who was standing at the second floor and my heart started to race at who I saw. Short shaggy gray hair, and piercing silver eyes that held a lot more fun than they should. A smile split my face as I realized that there was no doubt. Finally, I had found them. "Rosebud...Del." I barely got out, tears of joy threatening to fall.

Del let out a laugh, like she always used to when I would get surprised, before she jumped down from the second floor and ran up to me before giving me a giant hug. "Here I was ready to buckle down with this guild to find your ass and you're already here." She then leaned in closer so her mouth was by my ear. "I'm so glad I found you Eden."

My smile softened as I pulled her closer, just to make sure she was really here, before I whispered to her. "I'm so glad I found you Del."

We stayed together for a few more seconds before we parted and Del stepped back before waving at everyone else. "So, you're the rest of my guildmates that Melody was telling me about upstairs." Guildmates? Did that mean that… I watched as Del turned around, so we could all see the silver guild mark on the back of her neck, before she returned to face us and said, "The name's Del Bishop, almost sister to Eden Flint, first generation undead dragon slayer, and now a member of this guild thanks to Anu for accepting me and Melody for putting this on while we were upstairs."

I saw movement from Erik and, out of reaction, I ran up to Del and wrapped her in a side embrace before turning to my guildmate and growling slightly. "Mine." I then calmed down slightly before glaring at the second generation poison dragon slayer. "Del is going to be a member of my team and you are not going to lay any claim that says otherwise."

While I could see Erik debating that to himself, I guess he was going to give me an easy day since this was my long lost friend and her exceed who were like family to me. "Wasn't going to dirt scratcher." I smirked at that but didn't let go of Del.

"Damn." I looked up at Del in confusion as she said that. "I was hoping to messing with Master Anu and giving him a hard time before finding you Eden."

A laugh escaped me at her comment. Same old Del. "Don't worry Del, the mutt is just as much fun to mess with without having to look for me. And now, we can work on that together."

The Master, of course, let out a sigh at that. "What did I sign up for?" He then took a shot of whiskey that he must have poured for himself.

The rest of us decided to start laughing at that. While we did though, I stayed close to Del. My friend was finally found and I had Jackal Fang to thank for that. I would make sure that I never forgot what Master Anu has done for Del and me. Never.

Del: So, we are ready for this?

Eden: *smirks* Of course.

Anu: *sighs* This does not sound good for me.

Del: *shrugs* Just give me bones and I'll be happy.

Anu: *laughs* Oh, that is a good one. *sees serious look on Del*...really?

AN: And here is the next chapter! I hope you all liked this! Don't worry! Del is the last dragon slayer that is going to be in the guild. Three is more than enough for me to deal with. While they want to be like Fairy Tail, Jackal Fang is not Fairy Tail. It looks like our member list is growing! Five originals, the master, Eden, Melody, and now Del! That's nine without counting exceeds. Very enjoyable for all of us with the member list growing! Not much to say about Del as a person, since the story showed us a lot of it for us. Next chapter, we will have yet another member and, on an aside, some information about a person who is already a member that will explain a few things about them.

Until then, though, here are the next chapters in the story!

Chapter 5: Guiding Light

Chapter 6: A Demon's Pledge

Chapter 7: ...(of course until next time)

Well, that's all for now. Review if you would like, even to say hi! Until the next time that we meet, TTYL! *watching In the Heat of the Night*