Chapter 3: the departure

The wind blew heavily through the woods moving every plant in the area with it. The sound of it drowned other noises out. The rocky mountains in the southeast of Crocus were known for their harsh weather conditions and therefore in an abandoned state. Only wanderers would cross these woods on the way over to the mountain chains, and occasionally also guild mages on a mission.

That's why Ayaka liked to train here. She liked to be left alone, undisturbed and unwatched. It was in her nature, really. She had always preferred complete silence while studying or practicing, so nothing could disrupt her focus. There were few people she allowed close to her while training, one of them being Gray and the other being Mika.

In fact, the little exceed was right now flying next to her. She struggled a bit against the strong wind but still did her best to keep up with the young mage.

That was also another reason why Ayaka liked the mountains the most. From Magnolia to here was a long way and most of it had to be walked since there was no train station leading up the hills. It served as part of their training, hiking up the steep landscape through the uncomfortable weather conditions.

Speaking of weather, the sky seemed to suddenly get darker than before, black clouds covering up the baby blue sea there was just seconds ago. It didn't take long until the first rain drops hit Aya's face and even shorter till it started pouring down on them as it drenched the two Fairy Tail mages whole.

Fortunately for them there was a small inn on the way to their destination, where they could rest for a while before continuing their journey. And even better was that it was now right in front of them.

"Come on, Mika! We're nearly there!" Ayaka shouted over the sound of the rain hitting down on the floor. Together with the strong wind the rain was now hitting their faces with full force and getting them to run even faster until they finally reached the door to the wooden house.

Ayaka nearly fell through the door, in a hurry to reach the warm, dry space. She rushed to the reception, where a young woman was seated, and speedily asked her for a room for one (since Mika and her could easily share a bed). After receiving the card as quickly as possible from the young worker who only gave her an understanding look, they nearly leaped up the stairs to their room.

"Goddammit was that cold!", she swore as soon as the door fell close behind the pair, then let her backpack drop to the floor. Her clothes were dripping and so was her hair and, looking over to her best friend next to her, she noted that she wasn't the only one.

"I guess we should take a bath, hm?"

After a refreshingly hot bath the duo decided to go downstairs to get something to eat. The dining hall in the inn was surprisingly crowded. There was not a single empty table for the pair so they had no other option but to join an already occupied one. Not really in the mood for useless small-talk and overbearing drunks they navigated their way through the masses to the back of the room, where two rather young looking men were seated.

"Is it okay if we join you?"

None of them spared her a glance and simply kept on conversing.

Ayaka cleared her throat loudly, trying to catch their attention anew. "Sorry, but can we sit here?"

Still not looking at her one of them raised his hand and gestured for her to sit down, all while still talking to his partner in a hushed tone.

Rolling her eyes at the rude behaviour she sat down without another word as Mika landed softly on her shoulder. Before them the two men were still bent over something all the while whispering to each other. After looking at the item in front of those two, Aya finally recognised the object to be a map of the area.

Wanderers, maybe? But why would they lower their voices if they were simple travellers? There's no need to keep hiking routes a secret, after all.

Curiosity got the better of her. After all, today was about resting their bodies during the storm, so why not spend the time investigating some sketchy people?

"Mika-chan? Would you do me a favour and get me something to drink? I'm parched!"

The exceed answered with a hasty nod, obviously keen on getting away from their rude company.

As soon as her partner left, Ayaka leaned forwards putting her arms on the table to be able to properly rest her chin in her right hand. In that position she could completely see the map laid out before the fellow guests. However, she couldn't get a closer look at them as they were turned to each other so she was only able to see their side profile and due to the dimmed lights in the tavern it was near to impossible to identify them, had they been someone she had met before. So she simply stayed focused on the map, which unfortunately didn't give away much.

There was one area deep in the mountains circled with a red pen with a cross in the middle and another two places marked with black, one being the inn where we currently were. The other one seemed to be located to the east of the tavern. With the information on the map it seemed just like they were looking for something… or maybe hunting someone?

No common travellers would go into the deep parts of the mountains for a hike, they were too steep for that. There were also no trade routes going through these areas, as most merchants took the long way around the mountain chain to avoid any casualties. So their motive had to be different.

Bounty hunters, maybe?

No. No ordinary criminal would hide away in those mountains. The climb was too dangerous to risk without proper equipment. And high class criminals wouldn't be chased by simple bounty hunters with no magical abilities. The council would appoint a guild for that.

A guild. Were those two across her mages?

It would make sense given the young age and secretive behaviour. (Even though her own guild mates had never been able to keep quiet about a mission before.) Unfortunately, she had no chance of spotting their guild mark as they were both fully covered in their coats. So unless she wanted to actually start a conversation with them, she was stuck in her mystery solving.

With a sigh she sunk back in her seat and adverted her eyes from the duo across from her to scan the crowd for her winged friend, but couldn't find the small exceed in between the travellers and wanderers.

Come to think of it, there was an extraordinary number of travellers here. Normally when they came here (meaning seven years ago) there were close to no other people around. The inn was mainly occupied by merchants who took a short cut through the woods or a few brave hikers looking for an adrenaline rush. Even with the bad weather leading people to search for refuge, there would usually not be such a crowd here.

"Odd…" There must be something in the mountains that led all those people here. Maybe it was also the same thing the two young mages were looking for. "Whatever… as long as it doesn't disturb my training."

"Training?"

Aya flinched at the sudden response to her incoherent mumble. She was talking to herself, speaking lower than even a whisper so she didn't expect anyone to listen to her, or rather be able to.

Turning around, however, she found that her counterparts had stopped their discussions. The map was gone from the table, probably stowed away safely in one of their coats and now that they weren't hunched over their map anymore Ayaka was finally able to see their faces properly.

The mage on the left was leaning forward on the table where his elbow was placed. With his hand he was lacily holding up his head, as if it was too heavy for his shoulders to carry. Blond strands were hanging in his face partially covering it but not enough to hide his blue eyes which were staring at Ayaka's auburn ones.

On his side was his black haired partner, who was leaning back into the cushioned bench the both were seated on with his hand draped over the top on the empty spot next to him. He averted his gaze as soon as Aya turned around as if burned by her stare and his blood red eyes (quite a peculiar colour she noted) were now watching the bar area intently.

"Pardon?" Ayaka was taught little as a kid, but manners were one of her few lessons.

"I asked: What training?" The blond one repeated himself.

Repressing the urge to roll her eyes, she retorted: "I heard you the first time. I'm just not sure why I would tell a stranger that."

He smirked, obviously quite amused at her. "Is it that top secret?"

"It's a matter of safety not secrecy." That wasn't true, actually. She just didn't want anyone following her to her training spot, especially not some creep from a tavern.

"Well then, how about we get past the stranger part and intro-"

"A-CHAN!" Mika shouted from behind her partner, flying full speed to reach the table. She was about to rush into the black haired mage, but fortunately enough the seven years she slept on Tenrou Island hadn't slowed down Ayaka's reflexes, so she caught the exceed mid-air.

"Are you insane?" The strawberry blonde mage asked her partner, still tightly holding her in both hands at arms length away from her.

"A-chan! You have to tell those two that Fairy Tail is the strongest guild and that no one can beat them! Tell them! Tell them! Tell them!" She pouted and pointed at two figures approaching the table.

Two little exceeds – one with dark red fur and a small blue vest and the other with green fur and what seemed to be a pink frog onesie – had flown over to the mages as well and were now heading straight to the young men across from her.

"Ha! Fairy Tail is weak. Sabertooth is now the strongest guild with the strongest mages. And Sting-kun is the greatest of them all!", the red exceed exclaimed and landed on the table in front of the blond mage.

"Saber…tooth?" Wasn't that the guild Romeo had talked about?

"That's not true!" Mika wiggled her way out of Ayaka's grasp and landed on the table to stand exactly in front of the red exceed. "Fairy Tail is the strongest guild and we'll show you in the games! We'll beat your guild with all of our best mages, like Erza-san and Natsu-san. And A-chan will beat your stupid Sting-kun!"

"No one can beat Sting-kun! Especially not someone nobody has even heard of before. The dragon slayer duo is famous for their strength. They would never loose against someone like your A-chan!"

"A-chan can!"

"Sting-kun would beat her for sure!"

"A-chan has never lost before!"

"Neither has Sting-kun!"

"Maybe we should find out who's better then!"

"Wow, wow, wow. Stop right there. I am not fighting anyone here. Mika, stop provoking a fight, please." Ayaka was quick to step in and pulled her partner back onto her side of the table.

"Good, you would've lost against Sting-kun, anyway."

This goddamn cat./span/emspan lang="EN-GB" She hastily covered her exceeds mouth with her palm before another fight broke lose. She was not about to battle her competitors in the Magical Tournament before the tournament. They would have enough time for sparring in Crocus.

"So… introductions seem a bit unnecessary now, don't they, Fairy Tail mage?" The blond guy – 'Sting-kun' – who had not made one move to undermine the fight happening before them was still smirking at Ayaka from across her.

"I guess they are", she simply answered. If the red exceed spoke the truth the duo in front of her were indeed mages, from Sabertooth nonetheless, a guild that magically appeared seven years ago with only five strong members to build their way to the top. That would mean that those two men opposite of her were Sting Eucliffe and Rouge Cheney, two dragon slayers who work together incredibly well.

"So, A-chan, care to tell me where you are headed now?"

Ayaka frowned at the name, obviously discontent with anyone else but Mika calling her by such a familiar nickname. "I don't think my direction has anything to do with you."

Sting's arrogant smirk widened. "Well, I heard there were some bad people in the mountains at the moment, so a young girl like you should take care. Maybe even find some company to stay with."

"I pass." However disgustingly blatant his pick-up line may have been, it also entailed some interesting information. "But I guess you wouldn't have time for that anyway as you are headed to catch those bad people, right?"

"Aren't you clever."

"I try."

Only now, Ayaka seemed to notice the vibrations on her palm coming from the little exceed she was holding on to, who obviously was trying to say something through her hand. Mumbling a 'sorry' to her little partner she lifted her arm and freed the cat.

The exceed breathed in heavily, overexaggerating it just enough for her friend to notice her annoyance, and then started a rant about her patent on the nickname 'A-chan': "Only I can call her that, Sting-kun! You can't steal my name for her!" Mika was pouting by now all while still lecturing the strong dragon slayer before her.

Behind her back, Ayaka was trying to figure out a way that she could get away from the table and the Sabertooth members without looking like she was running. She wasn't worried about the argument between the exceeds but for some reason she had a bad feeling about the dragon slayer duo of Sabertooth.

She had done her fair share of research about the young guild before leaving Magnolia for her training, and as hard as it was to get any viable information on any of the original guild members and the founding of the guild, it was rather easy to find some of the latest gossip about the brutal ways of the light and shadow mages. Apparently, they weren't the most level headed people out there (not that she could really judge given the temper of her own comrades) and started fights for no other reason than to showcase their skills. They weren't opposed to using violence as their first solution and even then, when it simply wasn't needed.

All those things she heard were enough to warn her about not getting too close to the duo, especially before the games. It would only cause for bad publicity, maybe even sabotage their participation or her training schedule. Whatever would have happen, Ayaka was sure it wouldn't do her guild any good. So she tried to prevent it, before it could even turn into a problem.

"Okay, okay, little one. I get it. A-chan is for you", Sting raised his hands in surrender, while giving the overprotective cat a cute smile, as if to win her over with his charms, "So what should I call her then?"

"Just A-"

"You shouldn't." Ayaka quickly stepped in, not trying to give away her identity to an enemy of her guild. A name is valuable information, if you know how to use it right.

"Oh?" Sting seemed surprised, cocking an eyebrow at the cold attitude of the fellow mage.

"But A-chan-", Mika tried to complain about her hostility towards the two young men across from her, obviously not able to understand the situation as Ayaka could. The exceed wasn't the one to meticulously research Sabertooth after all.

"No buts, Ka-chan. You should really learn to control your blabbermouth, you don't even know who they are!", Ayaka reasoned, firmly but still trying not to upset her friend too much. It was hard to tell her partner why she couldn't let her be friendly to a bunch of people in an inn without giving away what she really knew about the people sitting opposite of her.

"So, if I can't know your real name, should I just continue to call you A-chan?", the blond mage smirked, definitely amused by the situation his probing had caused. "Or maybe fairy? You are a Fairy Tail mage after all, aren't you?"

Ayaka fake-gagged at that. "Please never actually call me that, or I might puke for real." His cheesy pick-up lines were already too much for her to handle, anyways.

Then, a nearly taunting glint washed over his eyes, replacing his seemingly innocent playfulness with almost evil intent. It shocked Aya, to say the least, and she squinted her eyes at the man in front of her.

The black haired man next to Sting obviously noticed the change in his friends behaviour, as well. Even though he had barely glanced at the four people arguing in front of him – not really taking his eyes off the little exceed in the frog costume ever since they arrived back at the table – he had had to have traced the conversation in detail, probably filtering out the information he found useful or maybe just keeping an eye on his partner or both. Most likely both.

"Sting. Don't", he warned, evidently having caught on to Sting's train of thought already.

Sting, however, completely ignored the warning of his partner, not even batting an eye at the harsh, reprimanding tone of the other. But how could he when his gaze was so intensely focused on the girl before him.

"Hmm…" He put a hand on his chin, as if in deep thought, when really Ayaka could feel that he wasn't. "If not A-chan and not fairy, what else could I call you?" Then he suddenly clapped his hands together, obviously coming up with something. "I got it! How about I call you by your real name? Hmm?" He leaned forward, grinning like a Cheshire cat. Almost instinctively, Ayaka reached out to pull Mika close to her chest, engulfing the little exceed in her arms in a protective manner. "Would you like that better, Ayaka Kosman?"

Ayaka spluttered when he said her name. Not because he knew it, but because he said it in a way that should remind her of how he knew it. And oh was she clueless.

It wasn't difficult to get information on Fairy Tail members, especially on S-rank ones. Back in the day they were constantly circling the news with either new accomplishments or another rampage that lead to too much destruction to be called a simple accident. So, Aya really wasn't too shocked to find out that the Sabertooth mages knew who she was. Really, it was to be expected that other guilds conduct research on their opponents as well.

But that glint. That tone in his voice, when he said her name. There was something heavy in that. Heavy with feelings she couldn't decipher. And it completely threw her off her game.

"W-We should leave now, Mika." Even though Ayaka was speaking to the exceed in her arms, her eyes never once left the ice blue ones of the man in front of her, watching the storm in them form and unravel.

"Why leave so soon? You never even got to eat anything. Isn't that what you came here for?"

He was playing with her. It was so goddamn obvious that it hurt her. After all, she hated mind games. Too often had she been manipulated and played with, too often had her brain been damaged for the amusement of others. She had sworn herself not to let it happen again, never to let herself fall victim to such cruel treatment again. So, why couldn't she look away from those eyes? Why did her feet not move, when she willed them to?

"You should stay. Eat with us." He smirked at her unmoving gaze, probably aware of the impact his actions – his words – had on her mind.

"Sting, do you think that's a good idea?" Rogue was obviously discontent, from what Ayaka could tell by the tone of his voice. Still, she couldn't turn her head to look at the red eyed mage herself, too afraid to miss something in the expression of his partner. Or just too perplexed to move.

"The best I've had in a while." Sting let his smirk break out into a grin, looking a lot friendlier than just seconds ago.

"I-I don't-" Ayaka swallowed. Her throat had become dry under the focused stare of the blond mage in front of her. "I don't think that's a good idea." She paused for a moment, then added "we are competitors after all" as an afterthought.

The strawberry blonde mage didn't understand why she was so shaken by the Sabertooth member. His statement wasn't aggressive and his gaze was more teasing than anything now. But something about the situation set her off. Sting was deliberately holding back information which concerned her as well and relished in her unknowingness. And god did she hate being left in the dark.

Taking in a deep breath she willed away her nervousness. "What I mean is, that we will be opponents in the Daimatou Enbu in not even three months."

"So you can't eat with us now?" He raised an eyebrow, mockingly so. "I promise we can play enemies as much as you want in Crocos."

'Play enemies'. What the heck was that even supposed to mean?

Looking down at the little cat in her arms, who had watched the entire interaction with confusion as much as interest, she was faced with her best friend's own unsure stare. They hadn't eaten since they left Magnolia in the morning and even though Ayaka could last long without food and water she doubted that her furry companion could.

"Whatever", she finally gave in, seeing no reason in dragging this conversation out even longer, when she knew that she couldn't let Mika go to bed hungry. Even if that meant staying with the Sabertooth mages even longer. "We will stay for food and a drink." The blond across from her broke out in a grin, obviously content with the answer. "But", Ayaka quickly added, "only if you're paying."

Sting looked over at his black haired partner, who only rolled his eyes in annoyance. Then his eyes found Aya's auburn one's again. "That can be arranged."

Author's Note: Hi guys! Hope you liked the new update. In the next one you'll get even more Sting content, so stay tuned.

Thanks for reading once again!

xoxo Franny