Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.

Tolax: Anu, have you seen Sorano? I wanted to see if she would go on a mission with me?

Anu: *shakes head* Not lately. Last I saw her was this morning and she was talking with Melody about something im...

Sorano: *yells* MUTT!

Anu: *flinches* I've been found out. *runs*

Sorano: *runs in* Where is that dog? He hid three months of paperwork in his file drawer!

Tolax: *pointing in the direction that Anu ran* I have no idea.

Sorano: *yells* Anu!

Chapter 7: Monuments to Time

August 7th, 786

Edorin's 1st P.O.V.

I felt my heart beating against my ribs as I held my stone sword in my hands. Across from me, my opponent held a similar one. I could feel my magic container was lower than I would like and that meant that, if I didn't end this duel soon, then I was going to lose. Losing was not an option right now. As the man in front of me always said, 'If you allow losing to be an option for a fight, then you will most certainly do just that.' So, losing was not an option that I wanted to even think of. I had to win. After years of training with the man in front of me, the man I called father by choice, then I had to show that I was worthy of receiving that training.

With a yell, I charged forward and our two blades clashed against each other. "My word Edorin, you are certainly growing in strength." My father said as the force of my blow had caused him to lose some ground.

While we were now in a deadlock, I smiled and looked over to him. "All thanks to your training dad."

A smile appeared on his face before he nodded. "True. But, don't think that this fight is close to being over. I still have some tricks up my sleeve."

I knew that tone. That tone meant that he was going to be pulling out a surprise and, if I didn't pull one out first, then he was going to win. I was not going to allow that to happen. So, I pushed the two of us out of the deadlock and jumped back a few paces before grabbing a miniature statue from my belt before feeding my magic into it; giving it life and causing it to grow. Soon, facing the stone tiger that my father was fond of summoning, was my own Buloke wood anaconda that I had spent the last three days carving. It wasn't easy and now it seemed I would be able to test if it was worth the time I spent.

Pushing my will through my magic, like dad had taught me, the snake launched at the tiger. While stone was a harder element to break through, I was putting more stock in the speed that I would get from using a lighter material while, at the same time, keeping my statue protected by using an extremely sturdy hardwood for the statue itself.

Of course, my statue was not the only thing that would be participating in this fight. Once dad was distracted by the fight, I used the dust that the statues were kicking up, and purposefully so on the part of my snake, to sneak around and get behind dad. Once I heard the sound of wood cracking, which I knew would distract dad since that meant that he was 'pulling ahead', I took out a stone dagger and grew it slightly before launching at dad and tackling him to the ground.

There was an extremely genuine look of surprise on his face as I held the dagger flesh against his neck. "Do you tap?" I asked with a feeling of pride going through me. While I knew better than to let my pride distract me, I felt like I was on top of the world for finally getting the drop on dad.

He smiled softly and tapped his hand down on the side of the dirt before speaking. "Yes, I tap out. You did very well today Edorin." I removed the dagger from dad's neck and returned it to normal before putting it away and helping dad up. Once he was on his feet, the two of us turned to our animal statues, which had stopped moving, and returned them to normal size before returning them to our pockets. I would have to repair my statue a bit later. It had a few cracks along its back and, if I needed it again soon, then I had to be ready.

"Guess I finally got the win," I spoke as we faced each other. We had a long-going promise between the two of us for the day that this came. "That means you have to prep whatever I bring back from hunting today."

...What? I enjoyed hunting but I didn't always enjoy the prep work I had to do once I brought an animal back from the woods. So, we had an agreement that, whenever I beat him during a training spar, then he would have to do that stuff for me when I returned with the hunt. Since this was the first time that I had actually beaten him, then I was really excited to not have to do this part.

I could see laughter in dad's plum-colored eyes before he nodded. "It does look that way." He then looked up to the sky before saying, "Well, if we are going to have a good meal for this afternoon, then you had best get moving." Of course, the wind picked up at that moment and caused a strand of his tea-green hair to blow into his mouth, causing him to wretch as he tried to get the offending strands out.

While he did that, I took a miniaturized horse statue out of my work belt and brought it to life with my magic while enlarging it so I could ride it comfortably before I said, "Maybe you should consider a haircut old man."

He gave me a light glare at that. He liked his hair long, and the thought of cutting it short always put him on edge. "Right, I'll do that when you start wearing those color contacts that old lady Lindy wants you to wear so people stop thinking you're a demon when they first meet you."

My own face fell at that and, once I was on my statue, I looked back to him. "No way old man. You just make sure you have everything ready to cook lunch. I'll be back soon." I then thought of a location by the river to go to so I could think and maybe find something good to take down to bring back for dinner.

As I rode, though, I couldn't stop about what the future would hold. I knew that I was getting older and that many people my age were out on their own, starting adventures and creating memories with others to last them. But, at the same time, I wasn't sure if I was ready to leave yet. It felt like all the craziness that was pushing Alex and I apart was finally gone. The bullies that were sent in to harass me by my biological father, and then a few years ago that same man coming to try and take me away.

Yeah, Alex wasn't my biological father, but he was the only real father that I ever had. My biological father, Haltran Marans, had wanted nothing to do with me when my mother informed him that she was pregnant with me. Cast her aside and wished for no part in who I would one day become...whatever that might be.

So, she had raised me on her own. Got a job with a florist, since she was a floral mage, in Deca, the town that was only a few miles away from where Alex and I lived now. She rented a small apartment above the shop from the owner and, even though we didn't have much when I was growing up, it was always enough for the two of us.

When I was seven, I realized that Marans was watching me, and making sure that I regretted living. He hired some local kids who were a year older than me to constantly harass me. For mom's sake, I never told her about them and I took the beatings when I had to. But, everything changed when I was ten.

I had been on my way to the apartment after school, hoping that if I got there soon enough that I could help a little in the flower shop so maybe mom and I could sit and work on a project together. But, the local kids came up behind me and I realized then that the reason that had stayed away recently was that they had discovered that a number of them could use magic. I couldn't. So I ran.

I didn't even know what direction I was running in, just that I was running away from them. Eventually, I had ended up in a statue garden that was a couple of miles out of town. I had never really been out there but, with the maze structure that it had, I was hoping that I could lose them.

But, I had found a dead end that was guarded by an angel statue. At the time, I found it fitting since I had been sure that I was going to die soon. Three of the local kids soon were blocking my escape and I was pressing against the statue, scared. The girl on the group prepared her iron make magic and, thinking that I was going to die, I closed my eyes and wished that something...anything...would save me. I poured everything into hoping that someone would find me.

And that was when everything changed.

I snapped my mind out of the past as I arrived at the river. So, I dismounted and returned the horse to its normal size. Once the statue was back in my pocket, I took out four wolf statues from the same pocket and kept them at the ready. They were some of my best hunters and I wanted to make sure that they were ready.

But, before I activated them, I went back to the water and cupped some water in my hands before splashing it on my face. As the residual water dripped back to the river in front of me, I let my memory move back to the day that I met Alex.

Before the girl's magic could reach me, back on that day, the statue behind me suddenly shifted, causing me to jump, before it moved forward and had its sword outstretched toward the three who had me cornered. I didn't know, back then, what was going on. As the statue and local kids had disappeared from view, I had fallen to the ground in shock, leaning against the pedestal that the statue had been on before.

I didn't really concentrate on anything at that point until I had felt the earth vibrate beneath me. It had scared me when the angel had returned. That had been, of course, until I had heard a voice. That voice changed everything.

Flashback:

"I was wondering how Samuel here ended up heading toward town when I hadn't sent him there."

I glanced up, tear stains still drying on my face, and felt my eyes widen in surprise when I saw a man about twenty-five years old standing on the shoulder of the angel statue that went on this pedestal. "I...I'm sorry. I don't know what happened. The statue just," I then tensed as the statue moved toward me again, and I felt like he might have it step on me. Marans had gone so far as to hire the local kids to attack me...it wouldn't surprise me if he paid this man to do the same.

The feeling of a shadow passing over me caused me to look up and I quickly turned around and backed up as the statue returned to its pedestal and seemed to lose the life it had. The man then jumped down from the shoulder and, once he was on the ground, he moved toward me. I felt fear and so backed up until my back hit the stone of yet another pedestal in this dead end. I could hear my heartbeat in my ears as the man paused and knelt down. I hid my face, waiting for the pain. "I'm not going to hurt you kid."

A pause came over me at that before I looked back up at the man. His plum-colored eyes were studying me but they didn't look angry or violent. They looked like mom's would get when I went to her after a nightmare. But...I didn't know this man. "Why?"

Pain seemed to flash in his eyes before he laughed. "I'm not a monster kid, just a mage." He then sat down in front of me. "I have to say, I am surprised that there is another mage like me around these parts."

Mage? What other mage was he talking about? I didn't see anyone else besides those local kids and this man. "Mage? What mage?"

A look of surprise crossed his face before he laughed. "Kid, I guess you don't realize it, but you were the one that woke up Samuel. You're a statue mage kid."

"I'm a...a what?" I asked him, still shocked about what was happening. I couldn't be what he said...I mean mom is a mage...and she said Marans is some sort of water mage. But, I wasn't really all that special.

A snort coming from the man in front of me caused me to focus on him. "Kid you heard me right. You're a statue mage. There is no other way that you could have woke up Samuel here to help you." The man then held out a hand to me. "So, here's the thing. It's getting kinda repetitive just calling you kid...kid. So, can I have your name? Mine's Alexander Lafayette...but you can just call me Alex."

I stared at the man's...Alex's hand, for a few seconds before hesitantly taking his hand in mine. "I'm Edorin...Edorin Hyza."

"Ah!" He said with realization. "You're mom's the florist right? Eloise Hyza?" I nodded at that and he smiled before standing and offering me his hand again. "Well Edorin, we should get you back to town. Your mom will start worrying if you aren't home."

Again, I just stared at this man in front of me. He...he seemed to care. It was weird. But, while he was being nice...I guess it wouldn't be too bad to trust him. So, I took his hand and let him help me up. "Thank you." I thanked him as we started to walk out of the garden.

Alex glanced down at me before smiling and nodding. "It was my privilege Edorin."

End of Flashback.

When Alex had walked me home that day, he met mom and had asked her to start training me in my magic, new at the time. She had agreed only if he would join us for meals. I didn't find out until later that it was because she had heard from others that he lived alone, where we lived now. So, that had become a regular bit of my life for six months. But, at that point, mom was diagnosed with an untreatable disease. She was going to die. I had been scared but Alex had been there for both of us and had us move in with him during those last few months we had. While the remaining time mom was alive had a solemn air around it, we had a lot of good times to cover up the bad times. Thankfully, she went peacefully.

Mom didn't have much in her will but, one thing she did put in, was that Alex was to become my new guardian. I didn't know at the time, but Alex and mom had talked about what would happen to me and Alex had offered to become my guardian. It only took a little more legal paperwork after that and I was the child of Alex. I didn't take his last name, in honor of my mother, but it didn't take long for me to start calling Alex 'dad'.

We were happy after the sadness went away. I trained with Alex constantly since I had graduated from eighth grade...all that was required in Fiore and most of Ishgar for that matter. There were ways of getting around the requirement, though both of us decided not to since mom had really wanted me to at least get through eighth grade before she died. Alex and I were happy and, through training, he was able to get me some unofficial jobs through some friends that he knew. While at the time it was a good idea for us, we didn't realize how much word of me would spread.

The sound of a twig breaking caused me to once again snap out of my memories as I looked up and saw two does. No young in sight and, from how they were moving, they hadn't realized I was here. They would be enough meat for the next couple of weeks. So, I sent the magic through me to the statues of the wolves and sent my intentions through to them. They were off like bullets.

Alexander's 1st P.O.V.

A sigh escaped me as I sat downstairs, Edorin having just gone up to bed, a glass of whiskey in my hand, though I really wasn't paying much attention to it. Dinner had been good, and we had plenty of meat left over to cover us for a few weeks, so that wasn't my worry. No, what I found myself thinking on was Edorin. He was fifteen, hardly a boy anymore, and he was a mage. Here in Fiore, most wouldn't take you seriously as a mage unless you were affiliated with a guild.

While we hadn't talked much about him joining a guild, small conversations had come up between the two of us, including tonight, that had that topic in the forefront. I couldn't be selfish and keep him here with me. That scared little boy that I had found in the statue garden that day so many years ago had grown up quickly and needed to get out there.

But, I knew that an event that happened last year would make us finding him a guild where he would be welcome at more than challenging. Edorin had just returned from a small 'mission' that I had found him through an old acquaintance named Bella Don and we had been preparing to go hunting together for our lunch since that was normal for our Sunday routine. But, a rather furious knocking at our door had interrupted that.

Flashback.

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion as I heard the impatient knocking at the door. If it was someone from Deca at the door, they knew just to announce themselves and come in and wait until Edorin or I could get in the living room. So, it had to be someone who wasn't from here. And the loud beating that they were giving my door meant that they must be impatient about something.

Motioning Edorin to sit down, which he did, I moved to the door and opened it. On the other side was a man with blue hair and sharp hazel eyes. I didn't know this man but he seemed to be searching for something if I was reading him right. "Can I help you?" I asked the man to get this conversation started.

The man's eyes shot at me quickly. "I am here to take my son away. Where is he?"

This had to be Marans. There was no doubt now. I had heard a rumor the other day from Adam, the local mail runner, that Marans was trying to improve his station in the political world, since he was an aide to a member of the Council. At the time, I suspected that Marans might come and try and take Edorin away since his name was starting to become known. Looks like I was right. "I'm not sure who you are talking about. Edorin may be of your blood, but he is not your son. He is mine."

I wasn't expecting Marans to punch me and so I couldn't block the fist that came flying at my face. My vision was blurry and I couldn't regain my focus as I felt a boot connect to my gut and send me flying back.

"Dad!" Edorin's voice echoed and that was soon followed by footsteps.

"Edorin get out of here!" I yelled at him. I couldn't let Edorin get near that man. I had to keep him safe. The sound of footsteps stopping caused me relief.

But, Marans suddenly talking did not help. "Neither of you have a say in this. Now, stay quiet!" Just when I was starting to regain my senses, I felt his boot connect with my chest and I heard something snap. Pain enveloped me and I felt blood in my throat. "Now boy, you will come with me and I am not afraid to use force." I then heard the sound of water and realized that Marans had activated his magic.

A familiar sound of stone growing told me that Edorin had used his own magic. "No, I won't be. Get out of here! This is our home, and you have no part in it!"

"I said I was taking you by force, and so I shall!" I heard Marans yell right before I heard a stream of water fly overhead. From the sound on the other side, it seemed like Edorin was blocking it with his shield. But, depending on what shield Edorin grabbed, I knew that the shield was not going to last long. So, focusing the best I could, I reared my leg back before tripping Marans. But, the motion caused pain to well up from my chest and I coughed again instead of giving Edorin the warning that I wanted to. "Well, once I take this man out, then you won't have any other choice!" Marans' voice sounded as I was starting to regain my senses again.

"No!" I heard Edorin yell and a rush of wind flying overhead caused me to see that Edorin had thrown his shield at Marans to keep him away from me.

But, I had seen something that I doubted Edorin had noticed in his panicked state or Marans had noticed in his drive to tear us apart. The water attack from Marans had whittled the edge of the practice shield that I often used with Edorin to a point and that point was heading straight for,

A gasp came from Marans as the shield, and the force behind it, threw him against the wall before the blood started to seep out from the wound. Now that my senses had returned to me, I could stand up, barely, and see that Marans was dead. But, he wasn't my concern.

With a look at Edorin, I saw that the boy looked deathly white and was shaking. I had to comfort him. So, with a little pain from my injuries, I moved over to the boy I called son and wrapped my arms around him. "You saved me Edorin. It's okay. We're okay." But, I could see the haunted look in Edorin's eyes. Those eyes that were so dark a brown that they looked black. They were seemingly petrified, doused in fear.

End of Flashback.

I had called the rune knights the first chance I could get and, as I suspected, there had been an investigation. But, also as I figured, the court had ruled self-defense to Edorin and he was let go. That had been the easy part.

The hard part had been Edorin himself. Taking a life was never easy, and I myself had only had to do that a couple of times before then. It hit Edorin hard and it had taken him a few months to recover. But, for the past seven months, he was recovered from the incident and had returned to his regular training.

The difficult part that situation brought into finding Edorin a guild was that the trial was public, and to the public eye, Marans had been a decently liked politician...especially in higher circles. Since many guilds were steeped in political ties, as well as money ties, it made finding a guild that would take Edorin that much harder. I honestly wasn't sure if there would even be a guild that would be beneficial for Edorin to join that would take him. Fairy Tail was the only option that I could think of, but they were barely surviving as it was and I knew Edorin would feel like his past would only burden them more.

Shaking my head, I went to take another sip of my whiskey when I found myself staring at the drink. It now seemed to trigger memories I had of a young man who was just a bit younger than me who I met many years ago. He was pretty well steeped in information, the last time I saw him, and I knew that he would have information on guilds that would take Edorin, even with his recent past, and at the same time make sure that Edorin didn't feel like he was a burden to them. So, I set my drink down and stood to find my comm lacrima. Since Edorin was most likely asleep now, this would be the best time to give that man a call.

Anu's 1st P.O.V.

Finally. Finally, after hours of slaving away, I stared at an empty desk. So many sheets of paper later, I was finally happy to say that there was no more paperwork in front of me. This had to become some sort of holiday. Seriously. It felt like there was almost a never-ending stream of paper after paper. Recently, it felt like I was almost drowning in the stuff. But, as I stared in front of me, I could now see the top of my desk.

Of course...taking a glance at the corner of my eye, I shivered slightly at the stack of paper that had to be three foot high of the paperwork for the previous three months. But, Melody didn't say that I had to get all of my paperwork done tonight...just the stuff in front of me. That was to the side. I was perfectly in the clear

So, in celebration, I opened my secret stash drawer in my desk and pulled out a bottle of my whiskey and a glass. I almost shivered at how good the whiskey smelled. Melody had put me on a ban from whiskey all day until I got the paperwork in front of me done. So, it was time for me to take a drink.

I got the glass to my lips and could almost taste the burning alcohol on my lips when, to my dismay, my comm lacrima lit up. I swear if this was Paralex calling to chit chat I was going to stab him in a very uncomfortable place the next time I saw him.

Figuring that it was best to see who it was, I placed my glass back down...though there was a twinge in my heart as I did, before I picked up my lacrima and sent a pulse through it. When the other side of the line showed an image, I felt surprised. There, sitting in a wingback chair and looking just like he did ten years ago when I met him, sat Alexander Lafayette. His tea-green hair was hanging loosely over his left shoulder and he had a troubled look in his plum-colored eyes. While I was curious, I felt a twinge of jealousy when I saw that he was bringing his own glass of whiskey from his lips and, from the sigh that followed, he must have just taken a drink.

"Anu, it has been a while." Alex greeted me with a smile.

Not one to be outdone, and wanting to have a drink of whiskey almost desperately, I lifted my glass toward him in greeting and took a quick couple of sips before setting my glass back down. "Yes, it has Alexander. How have you been getting along?"

The statue mage studied me for a few seconds before sighing and smiling. "I've had some ups and downs since the last time we saw each other...or spoke to each other for that matter. Of course, the last time we saw each other, I couldn't tell whether you wanted to run me through or shoot me."

A laugh escaped me at that as I remembered that day. Alex had gotten in the way of me taking out my target and put me into a position where I had to choose between giving up on my target or getting caught by the rune knights. I really had been thinking between those two options that day. But, this wasn't the time for that. "I think a little of both Alex. I wasn't exactly reasonable back then."

"No...no you weren't." Alex agreed with me. "But, one thing that you were back then was neck deep in information."

Ah, so now we were getting somewhere. I was curious about why Alex would be contacting me so out of the blue over the comm line. I was sure he could find someone to locate me so he could visit me in person if all he wanted to do was catch up. "So, there is a reason that you are calling me so out of the blue like this," I commented to him before I took another sip of my whiskey.

A guilty look crossed his face before he took a sip from his own whiskey. "Right," he answered me. "For the past five years, I've been training a young man in the use of statue magic. Very good if I do say so myself honestly." He started in his reason for calling. "I took him in as my son when his mother died about six months after his training started with me."

"How did she go?" I asked, feeling sad for this young man that who was now Alex's son.

Alex sighed and finished off his glass before taking his bottle and filling the glass. As he filled it, he answered me. "She got a disease. Never identified and it killed her. But, she was happy when she went. She was a good mom to Edorin. Raised him on her own and worked to make sure that they were both as happy as they could be."

"And the biological father?" I continued to ask him. I made sure to specify that I was asking about the biological father. Even I could see how attached Alex was to this boy Edorin and, from how he was talking, he counted himself as Edorin's actual father, blood tie or not.

To my surprise, an angry look still flashed onto Alex's face. What did I say that could have still gotten him angry? Maybe saying that he was a father, if only biological, triggered something. "Marans was no father to Edorin at all. Abandoned Eloise when he found out she was pregnant. When Edorin started school, he actually hired local kids to harass Edorin. That's how I met Edorin, back when he was ten. They were attacking him with magic and Edorin's own magic awakened. Last year, though, Marans heard about how well Edorin was doing and, wanting to further his political career, he came to take Edorin away from me."

That name sounded familiar. I searched my mind for a few minutes before I remembered. When I was working for the Council back in 775 before Makarov asked me to join his guild to serve my sentence. Haltran Marans had been vying for a seat on the Council but he kept losing his bids. I had lost track of the man because he never seemed to be going anywhere that I needed to pay attention to. "He was a well-liked politician." I pointed out, though I was now realizing that his actual personality was not that shining as his political side showed.

An annoyed look was Alex's response. "Yes, and that is part of the problem that is causing me to call you." Alex then paused and took a sip of his whiskey. "Last year, as I said, Marans came and tried to take Edorin away. Even though we were prepared for him eventually coming, I still let him catch me by surprise. He knocked my senses away from me and tried to force Edorin to come with him, even attacking Edorin with his water magic. Edorin blocked the water with a shield and I tried to distract Marans so Edorin could escape. But, Marans threatened me and Edorin panicked before throwing his shield at him."

It didn't take much to realize what happened. Alex had already said that this Edorin was a statue mage. The shield was no doubt made of stone and the water attack probably sharpened it to a point. When Edorin threw the shield, it must have killed Marans. "So, Edorin killed Marans in self-defense. I don't see a problem with that." Did the rune knights make charges against Edorin? Is that the problem?

"And neither did the investigation that took place after," Alex added. So, it wasn't because of the investigation. But, what problem did that cause to have Alex call me so suddenly? "The problem came when I heard about how the upper class, and the Council, was reacting. Like you, they only knew Marans' political face, a good and fair politician. So, it was made clear very quickly that any organization that supported Edorin would be cut off by any who wanted standing. That's been making it difficult to find a guild for Edorin. He has expressed a number of times a hope to join a magic guild one day. But, with the political pressure following Edorin, there wouldn't be many guilds willing to take him in with that baggage."

"What about Fairy Tail?" I asked. Alex knew as well as I did that Fairy Tail was always a different sort of guild. They didn't care what baggage a person brought with them, case in point when I was asked to join in 775. They should, even in the state they were in, be willing to accept Edorin into their guild.

But, Alex shaking his head told me that he had thought of Fairy Tail. "If this was 783, and Edorin had this baggage, then I wouldn't have hesitated in sending him their way. But, Fairy Tail is struggling right now. Their few ties that the missing members made are probably the only reason that they are still afloat. If Edorin joined and they lost those connections because of his baggage, then Edorin wouldn't forgive himself. It took too long to help him get over killing Marans, to stop the nightmares from haunting him as they did. I won't let him be broken because he joined a guild that might be hurt like that by him joining."

That made sense. But, if he had already thought of Fairy Tail, then why was he calling me? He said he wanted me for my information so I was curious. If he was still looking for a guild, though, then I knew exactly what I was going to do. "So, why do you need my information?" I pressed my friend before I took a sip. This felt like a hunt and I was finally cornering my prey; the answer from Alex.

A flash of knowing in Alex's eyes told me that he figured it out. "I'm calling to ask you if you have heard of any guilds that would take Edorin, despite what happened last year, and wouldn't be hurt because of his joining."

I felt a wicked grin flash onto my face when he asked that. Just what I was hoping he would ask. But, I wasn't going to fill him in over the comm. It had been a while since I had visited the man and I would like to meet this Edorin personally. "I might have an idea," I answered Alex.

"I hate that look Anu." Alex put out accusingly and with tension in his voice.

My grin turned into a smirk. "Well, I think it is high time I visited you tomorrow. I'll leave here at about six tomorrow morning." I then paused. "You do still live in that shack outside of Deca don't you?"

"Are you still a mangy mutt?" Alex shot back. I nodded. Of course, I was. "Yes, I still live outside of Deca. What time should we expect you?"

I wouldn't be traveling alone and, as I thought about the few mages left here at the guild, realized that Eden was the only one outside of Melody who was even here. The others were all out on missions. I would have to warn her about not eating anything she wasn't allowed to while we were there. It wouldn't make a first impression of our guild if Eden ate one of Edorin's or Alex's special statue works. "You can expect two of us there by about three."

"Two of you?" Alex asked me confused.

Well, it was best to keep him interested. "We will see you then." I then hung up the line.

Turning to look at the time, I sighed when I realized that it was about eleven thirty. That meant that if we were to leave by six, I had to get to sleep now. Thankfully, Melody and Narissa had convinced me to put a cot into my office. So, I turned off my light and, once I was set a lacrima alarm for five, I laid down and went to sleep.

August 8th, 786

Eden's 1st P.O.V.

"Damn it Anu are you going to tell me why you dragged me out of bed at five thirty this morning or not?" I growled at Anu as we arrived at the outskirts of Deca. He had kept me in the dark about why he woke me up this morning. I had not been a happy dragon slayer. If it wasn't for Pitch, who had stayed at the guild with Melody so he could have breakfast, then I would have torn off an appendage from the Master's person...and I wouldn't have cared which one it was. Early mornings were not my favorite thing, especially after the long mission I got back from a couple days ago.

My guild master, to my annoyance, smirked and kept walking forward. "Let's just say that I need you to come with me to visit an old friend."

A growl slipped my throat before I shot Anu a glare. "I am serious Anu. If you don't tell me right now why you made me miss a Melody breakfast and lunch, then I will get violent...and you aren't getting any younger." It was a risky ploy to semi-threaten the mutt but I was not in a good mood.

Ahead of us, I saw a small two-story cabin pushed back against the trees, which also had access to the statue garden that we had been walking by for the past five minutes. Hopefully, this was the place that Anu had dragged me out of bed to get to. I was slightly tired and hungry...not two things you want in combination with a dragon slayer.

A sigh slipped from Anu before he spoke. "If you must know, we are here to meet a possible new guild member."

"Huh?" I asked in shock, stopping in my tracks.

Anu stopped and turned around. "My friend, who lives here, contacted me last night and was wondering if I could find a guild for his adoptive son. Alex just thinks that I am here to offer him some options for guilds that Edorin can join."

"Edorin is his son...right?" I asked, my hunger and tiredness gone. Anu nodded. "And neither of them know that you want Edorin for our guild?"

A laugh escaped from Anu at that. "I'm doubtful that they even know I have a guild. You mind playing a hired mage to escort me?"

My smirk would match some of his when he said that. "Might be some fun." Of course, eventually, I was going to blow the whole caper out from under Anu for waking me up so early and not telling me until we got here. But, he seemed excited about this bit so I would let him get away with it for a little.

Relief seemed to take Anu away for a moment. "Thank you, Eden." He then went to walk toward the house but paused. "Oh, and I would recommend that you not eat anything of your element while here unless you get permission."

And there was that feeling that he was messing with me. Damn, and he knew that I hadn't eaten much except for nasty travel food. Seriously, why the hell would he even warn me about something like that? I went on missions all the time and I never felt like eating anything of my element on those. And Anu knew that too. So, something was going on and,

When we got to the front yard, I understood and I wanted to kill. "Damn you Anu," I growled at him softly with a glare. The most immaculate smells were hitting my senses and it was taking every ounce of my being not to jump on them and eat everything from the Earth that was in sight. Damn fucking mutt bastard!

I glared at our guild master as a ghost of a smirk flashed on his face. But, that look was fast to disappear as two people walked out. One was a man who was about six foot two with long tea green hair in a ponytail and plum colored eyes. I was guessing this was Anu's friend. Next to him, was a boy who was about fifteen, not much younger than I was, and he had medium length teal colored hair. It wasn't long enough to be put in a ponytail...didn't even reach his shoulders, but it just had a long look to it. Anyways, at first glance, it looked like the guy had black eyes...like the color black. But, with my senses and a second look, I realized that they were really dark brown. He was about five foot ten and he had some of that delicious smelling clay in his hair.

Mmm...that smelled so fucking good.

"Anu my friend, I am glad that you could make it." His friend greeted him before embracing the master.

Once they separated, I did not hesitate to glare at Anu as he spoke. "It is good to see you Alex. But, I believe some introductions are in order?"

His friend took that to mean that he should start first. Well, while I wasn't losing the glare to the dog, I was glad that I was going to learn their names. "Of course. I am Alexander Lafayette and this is my son, Edorin Hyza. We both work in statue magic." I could see that this Alex was looking at me warily since I was slightly growling at the master as I glared at him before he spoke again. "Um...Anu, I think you need an introduction as well...and why is she growling at you?"

The master tensed when Alex asked that and turned to look at me. Oh, I wasn't letting go of this glare for a long while. "Of course. I am Anu Biskaln, transformation mage. This wonderful woman next to me," The sarcasm wasn't helping mutt. "is Eden Flint, the earth dragon slayer. I hired her from a guild to escort me here. Been hearing about some bandits sniffing around trade roads lately and it was better to be safe."

"And why is she growling?" Alex pressured Anu.

Yeah Anu, you explain why I feel like either ripping your throat out or devouring one of the statues in the yard. Both would give me the same feeling of joy to do.

Anu cleared his throat at that. "Well, I'm afraid that Eden missed her breakfast this morning and has only eaten a few light snacks on the way in. Plus, being an earth dragon slayer around all of your work...it is probably causing her to be a little hungry."

A little hungry?! Oh, just wait until this was done being a farce mutt. I am going to destroy you so bad that not even Melody will be able to help you. I will so enjoy tearing you a new one for this.

My growling stopped when Alex, to my surprise, walked up to Anu and head-slapped him. Okay, that made this a little more bearable. Alexander Lafayette; you just became my new friend. "Anu! The girl looks famished and you don't let her eat before getting here?" He then turned to Edorin. "Edorin, can you take her to the workshop and let her have her fill of the raw material?"

The teal-haired boy nodded and motioned for me to follow him. "Come on, the workshop is just around back."

Nodding, I followed the boy while Anu and Alex went inside the house. That mutt was lucky he was getting away for now...and that I was going to be able to eat something here. "So, you and Alex live here right?"

Edorin nodded at that. "Yeah, he's been a great dad."

As we neared the garage that I was assuming was the workshop, I noticed some hesitation in his voice. "But?" I tried to drag out of him.

Once we were inside, and Edorin closed the door, he turned to me. "Tell me; what's being in a guild like?" Whoa, that was definitely out of nowhere.

But, at his look, I smiled and sat down. He brought over a tray of some of the best raw clay that I had smelled in a while and, after a few bites, I answered him. "It's like being a part of a giant family that always has my back. We get to go on so many adventures with each other and meet so many new people." A chuckle then escaped me as I thought about how the entire guild acted around each other. Though we weren't all the same when it came to many things, we all got along together in a very fun family way. "If you get the right guildmaster, then you can find yourself in a guild that can be open with each other, and who can enjoy a good laugh at each other's expense."

"That sounds like fun. Makes me wish I was in a guild." His mood then turned somber and his eyes became downcast. "But, that won't happen for a long time."

So, he didn't even know that his dad was looking for a guild that would take him. Why was that? "Why do you think that?"

He looked at me as I ate more of the raw material. "Last year...I killed someone. It was in self-defense but I made a lot of political enemies because of it. Most guilds won't take me and, the ones that would, the loss of any political ties because of my joining might cause them more injury than help. I couldn't stand it if I joined a guild and that happened."

Okay, it was time to ruin Anu's parade on this account. "Okay, enough of the pity party. If you are going to join our guild, if you accept, no pity party like this allowed. If you join, you need to be proud to be a member and not worried about what will happen."

Edorin looked taken aback at that. His eyes were wide and weren't moving from me. "What the hell are you talking about? You're guild...me?"

I let out a laugh and motioned toward the house, where Anu was probably giving Alex a hard time. Well, I wasn't going to give Edorin that hard of a time. "Your dad called the dog...sorry Anu, last night, and he asked Anu about guilds that might take you due to your past...I am guessing the incident you just spoke of. Well, what Anu didn't tell your dad, probably to surprise him, is that Anu himself is a guildmaster of a guild. Our guild is called Jackal Fang."

"So Anu is your guildmaster?" He asked me, still seeming hesitant.

What was it going to take to break through to him? "Yeah, as surprising as it seems. To be honest, the mutt really wants you for our guild. Why do you think he personally came all this was to meet you? He could have just told Alex over the comm, or even just had one of us come and check you out, but he came himself. Anu looks at each of us as his own kids and he protects us all. He wants you to be a part of our family like you are with Alex."

I frowned when Edorin shook his head. "No I couldn't...with what I've done and the scrutiny around me by powerful figures, I couldn't put your guild,"

"That's not your choice though Edorin." I interrupted him. "Do you think that you are the only person in the world who isn't liked by people in power?" I then let out a laugh. "Anu isn't much liked in the Council and, when it comes to what people have done in their pasts, I know for certain that six of our members, including Anu, have done a lot worse than kill someone in self-defense before they came to the guild."

He looked shocked but disbelieving. "Really?" Since he was questioning this, though, this might be what I need to convince him to accept Anu's offer...and my offer, before Anu knew.

"I'm serious. While I can't tell you about the five, since you aren't a member yet, I can tell you about the dog. He used to be an assassin for the dark guild called Death Head Caucus. Not only that, but he was good at it too. If he is willing to make a light guild and wants you in it, then he doesn't give two shits about what you did in the past." I then grabbed Edorin's shoulders, my meal forgotten, "You won't have to forget about Alex, but you have a chance here to be a part of a guild that, not only will accept you, but wants you as well. Jackal Fang literally saved my life. While this isn't quite the same, let them give you a place in their lives, in our lives as well."

Edorin stared at me with wide eyes. "Um...can you let go of my shoulders?"

Huh?

I looked at my hands and realized that my fingers were close to digging into his shoulders. I felt a blush of embarrassment creep onto my face as I released my fingers. "Uh...sorry about that. I am serious about what I said though." I then held out my hand toward him. "So, what do you say? Will you join Jackal Fang?"

The boy in front of me looked between my hand and my face for a minute before he started to stretch out his hand. But, before he gripped my hand to seal the deal, he hesitated and stared into my eyes. "Only on one condition."

My eyebrows furrowed at him. Seriously, what was his condition going to be? "We already said that you wouldn't be cut off from Alex. Jackal Fang is a pretty free-will run guild. The only things that Anu gets to decide are S class and who gets to participate in multi-guild tournaments. The five teams of our guild get to fight over members and the team I am a part of, though there are only two of us now, would kill to get another member. What else could you possibly want out of this?"

His laugh wasn't what I was expecting but I waited as he spoke. "Well, good thing you just said that, because my only condition was that I wanted to be on a team with you at the very least."

….Eh? "With me?"

He nodded and grabbed my hand. "Really."

My smile went broad and I shook his hand a couple of times. "Well, welcome unofficially to Jackal Fang. Anu has the stamp with him so let's go and ruin his parade." I then grabbed a few handfuls of the raw material, for the trip back to the guild, before Edorin led me back to the house.

When we arrived in the living room, I saw that Alex was looking at Anu with a confused look, which told me that Anu was still toying with him. Damn that dog could be cruel. I had already convinced Edorin to join our guild and Anu hadn't even told Alex that he was a guild master of a guild, let alone any of the other stuff. "Eden, did you get your pick of the raw material?" Alex asked me as Edorin and I sat on the loveseat that was between the two chairs that Alex and Anu were sitting on.

"Yes he did and it was very good. Thank you so much, Alex." I responded to him.

Edorin then took over with a questioning look. "So, what are you two talking about?" Out of the corner of my eye, I could see how serious he actually looked in asking that. Damn that kid was good. It was like we hadn't just had our discussion in the garage.

Alex motioned to Anu before saying, "Anu is here to tell me about different guilds that he knows of. I know you wanted to join a guild Edorin, and I figured that Anu would have some information about any that would be a good fit for you."

"Oh really?" Edorin continued on like he didn't have a clue. Damn, he was going to be a fun guildmate. Edorin then turned to Anu. "Did you come with a certain guild in mind for me Master Anu?" Oh, sly kid. That last part was said where I barely picked up on it. And if I barely picked up on it, then I doubted that Anu,

"Well, there is one guild that I think you…" Anu started before his eyes widened, along with Alex's, and both turned to look at the two of us in shock. I had a very smug look on my own face and I was damn well feeling smug. "what did you just call me?"

"Did you just say 'Master' Anu?" Alex asked right after.

At Alex's question, Edorin nodded but kept eye contact with Anu. "Well, I should. He is the guild master of Jackal Fang...and he wants me to be a member of his guild." Edorin then gave Anu a cocky look. "Isn't that why you are here Master Anu?" Alex threw a look to Anu and, added with the still shocked as all hell look on Anu's face, I doubled over in laughter while Edorin simply looked smug.

After a minute, and my roar of laughter turned to chuckles, Anu straightened up and spoke. "Well, since we are being so blunt with this, then yes."

"Good." Edorin spoke in response. "Because I already agreed to join your guild. So, where can I get my guild mark put on?"

As Anu dug into his bag for the guild seal that he brought with, and Alex was giving a glare at Anu, though a playful one, I leaned back and felt relaxed. A new member of the guild and I got one up on Anu at the same time. And, even better, a new member for my team. This day has been getting better and better since the bad wake up from Anu. Del was going to be so happy that we got a new member when the three of us got back.

Eden: *cheers* Yes! New teammate!

Edorin: *laughs* Looks like it is going to be a lot of fun!

Eden: *walking* Wait until you meet Del. She is so much fun! I think we are all going to get along great!

Anu: *nods* Yes, just don't get our sound mage angry and you should survive alright. *walks ahead*

Edorin: *nervous* He...he was just kidding right?

Eden: *thinks* Meh. *gives so-so sign*

Edorin: *gulps* Now I'm nervous.

AN: And here is the next chapter for you all! I hope you all enjoyed meeting my statue mage, Edorin! I had a lot of fun with his background and the complexity of his situation. Not much to say on my end though, since the chapter was all about meeting him. Next chapter is going to get really cold, and have some serious moments to it.

Speaking of the next chapter, here are the chapter titles for the next chapters!

Chapter 8: Ghost of Winter

Chapter 9: Shadow of the Vampire

Chapter 10: ...(you know the drill by now.) XD

And that's all from me. Leave a review if you wouldn't mind, even if it is to say hello! Next chapter will hopefully be uploaded soon-ish. Until then though, TTYL! *thinking about getting a statue of myself done*