Chapter five of Okator Arc: The woods.
It was just not Lucy Hearfilia's day.
Firstly her morning had started off watching Natsu hurl out his breakfast on the train to the Loire. Lucy was torn between pity and mild disgust as she watched his egg fried rice fly out the window. She was also pretty annoyed because she'd just bought him that breakfast and he knew they were getting a train so why Natsu had eaten anything was beyond her. It was a waste of money. Of her money.
And then when they got to the Loire and found the Thunder God tribe waiting on the platform and Lucy realised her cut of the reward was going to even smaller, she wasn't happy. What was three million split between eight anyway? Still probably a lot. More than a lot. Lucy never understood why Happy always insisted on a share as well. He lived with Natsu. Why didn't he just share with him?
Of course, Lucy knew that Freed and his Dark Écriture was probably the only way they were ever going to trap the thief Rory North. But she didn't understand why Bickslow and Evergreen had to come along as well! Lucy knew she was only being crabby because she was late on rent and needed money quick. In all honesty it had been the Thunder God Tribe who tracked North to the Flatlands, so they should get a share. And three million split was still going to be a lot. More than a lot.
So they'd split up round the city with pictures of Rory North's face that Reedus had drawn and public places with her friends were always testing. The Flatland's sun was hot and heavy, but there were rain clouds brewing on the distance. The only saving grace of the trip was the town itself, well -for the record Lucy loved Magnolia, she really did- but the Loire seemed to be alive. The city was home to two of Fiore's largest non-magical organisations; the Farmer's Guild (a nationwide association with its main head quarters out on the Flatlands) and the Performer's guild. And everywhere you looked, there seemed to be some sort of reference to them.
There were street artists at every turn, painting the walls and chalking the floor. On each street corner there was some sort of busker so that no matter where Lucy went there was always music. The farmer's markets in the Loire were the best in Fiore and the river meant there were foreign trade stalls wherever Lucy looked and she finally understood why the Loire was named the Culture Capitol of the Kingdom. Bohemian life oozed off every building and walkway and it was all Lucy could do to stay concentrated on the mission and not wander off into an art gallery or book shop.
It was within the farmer's market after hours of wandering the city that they finally found a source. An old, gap toothed woman selling blue bee honey at a golden stall took on glance at the plain face in Gray's hand and grinned.
"Oh aye we know her. " She waved a mottled hand. "She's tha' big city girl. Don' she her much round these parts any more, do we Earl?" She turned to an old man at her side, probably her husband.
"Arh." Agreed Earl.
The beekeeper nodded at Rory's picture."You'll find her over by Carmelia Village if she's around. " She carried on conspiratorially, looking pointedly at them, as if expecting them to know intricacies of country gossip. "Usually you see her durin the harvest festival down in the village you do. Always buys some honey she does, but apart from tha' I dunno much, only tha' she works up in the city like. Always back for the festival, oh and Yule of course, though now tha' I think about it, maybe she ain't been to the church these few years."
"What else can you tell us about her? Why does she only come back for Harvest? What are her ties to the area?" Erza asked immediately.
The women didn't seem daunted by Erza's forceful tone in fact her grin split even wider. Out of the plethora of things they learned over the next ten minutes (none of which was about Rosemary North), the come away really was old women from the Flatlands were as nosy as they were gossipy. The beekeeper didn't really know much about Rory apart from that she's sometimes seen around the out lying villages, but that didn't stop the old woman talking their ears off about other things round the village with the occasional grunt from her husband. They eventually thanked the bee keeper and Earl, bought some of their blue bee honey and set off for a taxi cart to take them to the Outskirts of Camellia village to the Old Barn Farm. Natsu wanted to walk. They out voted him.
So once again Lucy found herself sat in a moving vehicle with Natsu's strawberry pink head groaning in her lap. She absentmindedly stroked his hair, watching as Erza stared thoughtfully out the window.
They met Freed and the other's at the village, spent a tidy amount of time following Natsu around with his nose in the air. He caught her scent near one of the outlying farms and Freed began writing runes, creating a barrier stretching all the way down and beyond to Redwood. It was a stroke of luck really that they's stumbled across her hide out in the Flatlands, odd that it was a split up across the farmland, it was universally agreed that literally turning up on the doorstep and knocking on the front door for her was not a good idea just in case the farmers were in on North's hide out and rest was history.
Lucy now stood on the grassy hilltop looking down on Rory North and her remaining companion through the blue glaze of her portal. She clutched Scorpio's celestial key uselessly in her hand.
"I don't understand how her shield was able to withstand all out attacks" Gray was saying, though Lucy wasn't properly listening.
"That's because it's not a shield." Hibiki was repeating for the fourth time in frustration. Her companions bickering all became background noise. She heard them all but barely took notice.
Lucy couldn't summon her spirits. Freed's barrier stopped them from passing through the gate, just like it stopped Rory North from opening her portal gates. She had no idea celestial magic and portal magic was so similar. She had no idea Freed's Dark Écriture could render her own magic so useless. At least Rory North could still summon up a portal manifestation, even if she couldn't go anywhere with it.
"...you can't break it down because it's a portal. A regular, closed gate portal Natsu! It's not something brute force..."
Something was wrong. Really terribly wrong. Lucy could see it in the eyes and stances of Rory and her beautiful blue companion.
There had been howling from the woods. And in a second all three girls behind the portal had become terrified. They'd told the girl Lavender to run. They'd sent her home.
"...I thought your magic stopped her from using her portal..."
"...My instructions were to keep the magical gates closed so she couldn't escape..."
"...Don't blame Freed! How was he supposed to know she could still use her portal!.."
Lucy watched as Rory North clenched and unclenched her jaw, searching her and the other wizards but not really seeing them. She couldn't hear what she and her companion were whispering about.
They'd told the child to run.
They'd told her to go home and barricade the door.
Another series of howls rose up from the high red trees on the horizon. Something wasn't right. The sound sent shivers down her spine but that wasn't what made Lucy feel uneasy. It was the fact that as soon as they'd heard the long, hair-raising cry, Rory North looked terrified.
Lucy may not know the girl very well, but she got the feeling that if Tombraider, Duchess of the Thieves Guild, Rosemary North the 'big city girl' was scared, then the rest of them should be shitting themselves. Lucy watched as Rory turned round to her partner.
"Something's wrong." Lucy whispered.
Nobody heard her.
"Guys something is wrong!" She shouted, recognising the new found panic in her own voice.
Then Rory North bolted for the tree line, running towards the sound that had petrified her and away from them.
Natsu and Gray both dived forward at the same time, shouting and slammed into the portal-shield-that-apparently-wasn't-a-shield-but-just-a-regular-portal at the same time. Their face squished against its blue surface like it was made of glass, and squeaked with friction as they slid down it. Swearing they banged and kicked against the portal as if their fists could do more than their spells could.
With one final thump on the portal Natsu shouted "HAPPY!" and Happy sprang into action, automatically knowing what to do. The cat swooped in catching Natsu at the back of his clothes, flying him upwards.
He's trying to fly over the portal, Lucy thought. It was actually kind of...smart.
Erza evidently thought so too as she shouted to the Thunder God tribe "Freed, Evergreen, Bickslow run to the side see how far it stretches! Lucy, Gray you take the other-"
"Moonblast!"
For a second time bright white orbs came raining from the sky. Happy and Natsu swerved dangerously in the air, missing the first hit but then got caught by another. When the light faded Lucy saw that Freed, Evergreen and Bickslow managed to avoid being hit as Freed stood sword in the air whilst the purple lettering of his shield faded away.
They all looked at the woman who had sent the spell. Behind her the figure of Rory disappeared entirely amongst the trees and the portal fell away between them but none of them moved. It was obvious if they did, they'd just get knocked off their feet again by her spell. Natsu staggered to his feet, a completely wiped out Happy in his arms. He shook his head, as if trying to get the ringing sensation out of his ears.
The woman opposing them was beautiful. Cream skinned and with light blue hair she had a serene almost know-it-all quality about her. A thought suddenly occurred to Lucy. There were twelve of them and only one of her, and yet the woman didn't seem afraid at all. It was like the numbers didn't bother her. She stood watching them, waiting. That was probably the most disconcerting thing about her.
Ichiya stepped forward. "Go." He said solemnly and they all turned to look at him in surprise. "If you run now you may still catch the thief. My men and I shall hold her off." Ichiya pushed up his sleeves, and Lucy felt a rush of, well not affection but she and Blue Pegasus had been through a lot, to see the camaraderie in practice like this made her happy.
The Trimens smirked as they fell in behind Ichiya, battle ready. "Don't think we're doing this for you Fairy Tail." Ren warned, a cool breeze starting to whip around him.
Eve began calling up a small blizzard. "Yeah this is only because of Lord Ichiya's girlfriend."
Lucy couldn't help but smile as they dragged Erza away from the Trimens before she could hurt them as she roared "I'm not his girlfriend!" She caught Hibiki's eye and he gave her a nod. It was enough. Then he and his guild mates started firing at the woman. They took their chance and made a break for it after the thief as Blue Pegasus sent a wave of attacks at the woman, keeping her busy so they could pass without being 'moonblasted' off their feet. It was all the woman could do to avoid being hit by them. As it were they managed to slip by without fear of being hit by her spell and broke out onto open ground.
"Wait!"
Lucy looked back over her shoulder and saw the woman had whirled round, a strand of blue hair caught in her mouth. At that moment she didn't seem to care that she had just left herself open to more attacks from Blue Pegasus who pulled back for a second, waiting.
The woman called after them in her serene, commanding voice. "If you enter those woods, the moon can't predict your safety." She looked each of them in the eye as she finished "and neither Rory nor I will be responsible for your fate. A dark presence exists in those woods. Be cautious. You've been warned."
The words sent a chill down Lucy's spine and she thought of the howls.
They'd told Lavender to run.
Her guild mates brazen hearts held no place for such fears and they ran on to the tree line, grim and determined, but not afraid.
"Thanks Blue Pegasus." Gray yelled over his shoulder. "We owe you one!"
Though Lucy was starting to feel Blue Pegasus hadn't drawn the short end of the stick. The Redwoods loomed ahead of her, the high, heavy trees casting the space in darkness. But then she shook her fears from her mind. She was a member of Fairy Tail. She had her guild mates with her. There was nothing to worry about. She was panicking for nothing.
Rory was panicking. Leaves and foliage slashed her across the face as she navigated through the dense woodland. Only a week before she'd been running for her life in these same woods from Blue Pegasus. Now she was running from Fairy Tail. At least they had the decency to not change the weather.
Tsuki said the increase of magical energy caused by the wizards had lured the wolves out of their dens deep in the heart of Redwood. Rory was supposed to be luring the wolves away from the farm, so she sent waves of magical energy pulses through the woods at random intervals, like her Grandma had taught her to. It was pretty much the magical equivalent of a signal flare, with each pulse she was practically shouting 'look at me! Here I am! Come eat me!' But what else could she do? It was also brilliantly tiring. Behind her she could hear the ruckus of her chasers entering the forest.
Crap.
It seemed Tsuki hadn't held them for long. Ducking into the hollow of a fallen tree, Rory took a second to catch her breath. She pulled up a small portal in her hand (still unable to open the gate) and whispered "show me."
The blue disc brought up an image of Tsuki in battle with Blue Pegasus. Rory watched as Tsuki dived to the side, dodging an ice attack from Eve only to shine a blast of purely light in his eyes, blinding him. Ren jumped forward and sent an air attack towards her and the spell cut off and Tsuki called up another moonblast to rain down on them. Rory changed the image to one of Titania and the rest of Fairy Tail running through the woods.
Crap. Crap.
She tried to open portal gate so she could hear what they were saying, but was met with code again. As she watched the guy Freed began writing with his sword, a block of purple code appeared in the air around him whilst the rest of Fairy Tail split off, searching for her.
Rory had to keep moving. She ran slower this time, careful not leave a trail. Her ears were constantly straining for a sign of the wolves or for the sound of one of the fairies catching up. She sent out another pulse of energy leading both wolves and fairies alike further into the woods. It was stupid from a not getting caught point of view, but what choice did she have?
There was a loud snap behind her and Rory put on a burst of speed. She looked over her shoulder as she ran and slammed into something hard and moving. Her feet became tangled and she fell forward on to the person, dragging them down whilst managing to whack herself on the head with Lavender's frying pan during the fall.
Rory and Lucy Heartfilia lay in a crumpled heap on the floor, groaning. Rory suddenly became very aware of the fact that she was lying face first in Heartfilia's cleavage and immediately jumped backwards, staggering to her feet.
"Hey watch where you're running." She snapped down at the sprawled blonder girl, her forehead pounding from where it had connected with the frying pan.
"You ran into me!" Heartfilia accused, getting to her feet. Rory became acutely aware of how short her skirt was. And how low cut her top was. And how generally pretty she was.
Shit. Focus Rosemary. Now is not the time for drooling. Rory snapped back to attention, and looked round the clearing they were in. They were fairly far into Redwood now, but not as deep as Rory would like to be. The farm was still relatively close by, she knew because she recognised a bush close to them that was sprouting Gaia berries. Growing up, whenever Rory had to enter the woods, she'd always been told never to stray from the path and to go further than the Gaia berry bushes. As if the evil and dark creatures that lurked in the heart of Redwood refused to cross some proverbial line into the plants territory, rendering all creatures beyond that certain point safe.
But of course that was entirely false. They weren't safe at that moment. The wolves had crossed the line, Gaia berries or no Gaia berries. Rory began stumbling backwards, getting her bearings; ready to run again. Heartfilia was no threat, the girl couldn't use her keys with Freed's barrier up. And the longer Rory stayed still, the easier she would be to find.
"Do yourself a favour." She said to Heartfilia, "get out of these woods while you can. Run."
And she ran off again. Or at least she tried to.
Something warm and buzzing wrapped round her ankle, yanking her back and Rory was sent crashing to the floor again, this time throwing the frying pan out of heads reach. Turning over she noticed a long blue whip wrapped around her leg, being held by a smirking Heartfilia.
"Oh no you don't." Lucy Heartfilia warned. "You're not going anywhere."
Rory stared at her. She was becoming increasingly uncomfortable by the amount of the time they'd spent in one place. And there were two of them. Two wizards together was double the stationary beacon of 'come on I'm here! Come eat us!' . She began tugging on the end of the whip wrapped round her ankle, trying to undo it. It was like no whip Rory had ever seen, long, pulsing and blue. Evidently a magical item. "Let me go Heartfilia!" She snapped failing to undo the tie.
"Not a chance, North." Lucy replied smugly. Did she not realise how much danger they were both in right now? Could she not sense the tension amongst the trees, that something was wrong?
"Oh and you're really going to try and fight me without your magic are you?" Rory asked, eyebrows raised. "Your celestial spirits can't protect you out here Fairy. Run while you can."
Anger flashed across Lucy's face and she retorted "Contrary to popular belief, Tombraider, I can fight and protect myself without my spirits. They're my friends not my servants. They fight with me, not for me. And at the moment I reckon I can take you out right now without their help." And as she stood there, whip in hand, legs apart with her knee high boots, mini skirt and top with breast support that was inappropriate for the amount of physical excursion she was doing, which she probably did not give a shit about it, Rory believed her.
But then a twig snapped in the bush right next to them and Rory was on her feet, yanking on the whip and pulling Heartfilia to her. She reached out her staff, slipping it round Heartfilia's waist and used it to tug her closer over the remaining distance, jumping between Heartfilia and the bush, keeping the blonde pinned at her back and held the frying pan out threateningly. It all happened so fast, that Lucy Heartfilia barely managed to protest till she was pressed up against Rory. Had this been another, less life threatening moment, Rory might have been proud of how smooth she'd been. Although granted, she doubted Lucy Heartfilia was the kind of girl who would appreciate the action.
Behind her, Lucy mimicked Rory's tense attitude as the bush rustled ominously. There was second pause of silence where they waited with baited-breath. Rory's frying pan quavered. The rustling grew louder and out from the foliage hopped a small, white, furry rabbit. With the cutest pair of floppy ears.
In her ear, Heartfilia whispered "Be careful, it can probably smell fear."
Rory gritted her teeth, lowering her frying pan and brought her arm back from where she was pinning Lucy behind her. She refused to look round, knowing she'd gone red. Then without warning, a huge, demonic, grisly wolf leapt out of the bush and snatched up the rabbit with one chomp, spraying blood and bones everywhere. It was nearly as tall as Rory, its fur matted, and its eyes black and smoking with a dark magical aura. Blood covered its snout and the rabbits spine hung limp out of its mouth, sticking out of it's ripped furry neck.
Lucy out a high-pitched scream. Barely a second in she was cut off by Rory who dumped the frying pan in her arms and tugged her forcefully backwards till the two of them were sprinting full pelt through the trees. Behind them the wolf, let out a loud clear howl that was answered by its pack in the trees around them. They ran for their lives and for the first time ever Rory wish Titania was here.
"What the hell is that thing!" Lucy screamed.
"The reason why I told you to fucking run!" Rory yelled back. The wolf was on their tails. It could catch up with them if they wanted, but instead it hung back, stalking them. Rounding them up. It liked to play with it's food. "We need to get off the ground!"
She saw the perfect tree up a head, its branches just low enough to reach. Rory practically threw Lucy in front of her, shoving her up the tree by her ass and legs. Lucy scrambled to get a footing, hauling herself up onto the lower branches, using the whip and frying pan like grappling hooks. She swung round ready to help Rory up, stretching the frying pan down for Rory to grab onto. But then her brown eyes went wide and at the last second she let go, Rory caught the pan by the handle and instinctively whirled it round, whacking the demon wolf that had launched itself at her in the face.
It staggered to the side then jumped at her again and Rory mashed her staff into its mouth till the carving of the fox-like creature hit the back of the wolf's throat and the creature could go no further. She then hit it again on the head with the frying pan. Continuously. Lavender was right, this was so much more useful than a knife.
Above her Lucy shrieked "Look out!"
When someone tells you to 'look out' the amateur mistake most people make is look round. This wastes precious time. Rory knew this and so on Lucy's shout she immediately dropped to the floor instead, just in time as a second wolf flew over her.
The first wolf spat her staff out of its mouth and snarl above her. Rory rolled backwards onto her feet, kicking it in the throat as she went. She straightened up and stumbled away till her back was pressed against the tree, stick and cooking implement raised ready. Several pairs of black glistening eyes met her back in amongst the trees. Rory counted at least seven wolves, all hanging back, watching as the two in front of her shook their heads and growled. She didn't even have the time to panic.
The demon on the left pounced first. Rory fell under the weight of it, staff horizontal in defence and the wolf bit down on it inches from her face, its spit dripping down onto her. She kick it in the gut and launched it off her and to the side, rolling up, spinning round and walloping the second wolf on the head with the pan, then diving to the side as a third wolf join the mix.
These creatures, Rory knew from experience, were too thick skinned for blades, too dense to be hurt by any blunt object. No matter how much she swung back and hurled at them she was merely playing defence, keeping their fanged canines out of reach. Their jaws were strong enough to rip chunks out of the trees, Rory had no interest in seeing what they'd make of her arm or her skull.
She dodged another biting attack. The ground was a whirl of flying fur, fangs, a stick and pan. She spun round bashing a forth wolf with her staff but this time the creature bit down and hung on. Unable to yank it from its grip, she fought one handed with the pan, waving off the circling pack. But her right side was left open and weaponless. She noticed out of the corner of her eye a mass of fur soaring towards her and get yanked back.
Glancing back, Rory saw the wolf restrained against the tree, Lucy's whip wrapped round it's throat and holding it back. For a second Rory locked eyes with the Fairy Tail wizard. Lucy gave her a grim smile and a nod, her eyes flashing with determination. Rory decided right then and there that she liked Lucy Heartfilia.
But then the wolf with its teeth sunk into her staff tugged sharply and Rory fell forward. She heard Lucy scream her name as she disappeared amongst the sea of riving legs and snouts. It was at that moment Rory remembered she knew more than one type of magic. She called up bind, casting out the spell towards the wolves around her, seeking out their wills. She found darkness, magical aura without a purpose, and when she met their will, she found a solid wall.
Pure fear rose up through her. These were not wolves. They were pure magical manifestations of darkness. The more Rory searched through them she was sure of it. They'd always referred to the creatures as demon wolves. A wolf pack gone wrong. But there was no biology about them. She tried to bind their blood and found none. Their muscles were not a creation of anatomy.
They're unbindable. She thought with horror. Rory was certain of it. She wasn't sure what was worse; the idea of someone taking a perfectly good wolf pack and mutating them, or the fact that someone literally created these creatures out of nothing. And that they had full control over them.
A jaw sunk into her shoulder, teeth piercing through muscle. Rory screamed.
Magic had created them. Only magic could destroy them. Rory released her magical energy in one sharp full blast. She sent wave after wave of raw, primitive power over them, causing them to back away, with trembling howls. The wolf on her shoulder let go and Rory rose up, her aura transcending onto the demons. She buzzed through them, frazzling their minds, leaving behind the magical white noise of power overload. And she was screaming at them. Her voice was hoarse and guttural as she shrieked her wordless battle cry until the wolves were gone, her voice was finished and she had no magical energy left. Her vision began to blur, her head pounding. Never had she let out so much power in one go before. She stumbled backwards and in to a pair waiting arms.
Lucy Heartfilia gently lowered her to the floor, her eyes filled with fear and concern. Rory wondered what she was afraid for. The wolves were gone now. Lucy's warm hand was on her shoulder, trying to stem the blood from the fanged punctures in her skin.
Out in the trees there was a bellow of "LUCY!" and Rory remembered thinking oh no, not this idiot. Natsu Dragneel leapt in to the clearing, looking round in wild concern still he saw Lucy, with Rory in his arms. For a second his composure sagged with relief, but then his face split into a wide grin. "Hey you caught the criminal! And without your spirits! Way to go Luce!"
"No!" Lucy cried in panic, looking down at Rory as if begging her to understand. "No! It's not- I didn't-"
Rory wondered why she looked like that. It's not like Lucy was betraying her. She set out to capture Rory and that's what she'd done. Rory wondered why she now looked so upset. Other figures came crashing through the forest. There were more voices, more shouts but Lucy remained speechless above Rory, her eyes swimming with some unknown emotion.
Her face was the last thing Rory saw before exhaustion took her, her lip glossed mouth forming a soundless apology then darkness.
The night was dark and starless, the moon hanging behind a singular distant cloud. Lavender North stared dumbly out the kitchen window, fiddling with a bone knife in her hands. At the kitchen table behind her sat four suited men with ice packs and bandages. Men who Lavender had at least four posters of on her bedroom wall. She couldn't care less anymore.
The air was thick with rich aromatic spices and apprehension as Tsuki lifted the pot of bubbling stew and rested it on the table, looking sadly after the young teen. Her shoulders were stiff, and she looked worn and tired. There was a gash on her cheek but that only the only sign she'd been fighting.
"This smells delicious." Ichiya announced, breaking the loaded silence. His short arm was in a sling and he had a blanket wrapped round his shoulders. "It is so kind of you to offer food and shelter for me and my men."
Tsuki smiled down at them tiredly. "Our fight was merely a formality, Mr Kotobuki. Whatever quarrel you have with Rosemary we ask you do not involve us again. Now let us make peace with this dinner. The moon tells me Blue Pegasus will always be welcome at our table." And she began to serve them ladles of the stew.
The silence stretched again, as the wounded Trimens began slurping at their hot southern strew, their eyes watching everything around them, the home of the girl who three hours ago they'd hunted and tracked like game. You could cut the tension with a knife.
Which is exactly what Lavender North did when she suddenly flicked her knife across the room and it sunk heavily into the door with a dull thud. Lavender finally looked round at the room. "She's not coming back is she." She said to Tsuki, her voice dull, like she'd asked this before. "She's not going to be back for my birthday."
Tsuki paused before she turned to Lavender, taking a second to compose her face, the Trimens watching it all. "I'm sure your sister is fine, Lavender. The moon foretells-"
"That's not what I asked." Lavender interrupted. "I know Rory is okay. But even if she managed to out run both Fairy Tail and the wolves, she won't come home, will she?"
Tsuki sunk down into a chair at the table, neck stiff. "You know she will, Lavender." She finally sighed. "No matter how much time your sister spends running, you know she will come back eventually. She always comes back. Just a little late sometimes is all." For a second Tsuki looked frustrated, her voice going resentful.
Lavender nodded, but she didn't look fully reassured. Slowly she joined them at the table, taking a seat next to Ren but barely looking at him. Her hand reached out across the table, shaking slightly and she slid one the magazines that were scattered there in front of him.
"Can I have your autograph please." She barely whispered whilst in the next room her mother, Amora North began singing under her breathe as she stared at the blank wall, creaking back and forth on her rocking chair. "Lavenders blue, dilly dilly, rosemary green; When I am king, dilly dilly, you shall be queen." She nibbled half heartedly on a piece of fruit until finally her head lolled sideways and her singing and rocking ceased.
The lull of the trains sluggish motion pulled Rory into sleep. The sound of Salamander, Natsu Dragneel throwing up violently out of the window next to her ear, pulled her out again. Rory fought down the sensations of her gag reflex as Salamander lost his dinner, her nose wrinkling. She was curled up in the compartments corner, furthest away from the door. They'd bandaged her shoulder, and it ached under the wrappings, feeling overly-hot and itchy.
She'd pulled down the top of her floppy beanie so half of her face was covered in a delusion of sleep. Through the gaps in the green knitting however she could still she the occupants of the train department.
Opposite her sat Titania, arms crossed and scowling. Her head was leaned back against the head rest and her eyes were closed, but Rory doubted she was asleep. She noticed how Titania's face twitched slightly each time Salamander gave another wretch. Next to Rory sat the semi-naked Gray Fullbuster, the ice-make mage. He'd lost his blue shirt two stations ago but nobody seemed bothered about telling him. A chain necklace rested on his torso, a sword with a stone rested in it. He sat, slouching in his seat, legs apart and arms crossed, staring at the ceiling of the moving train car. It would probably be the position she'd be in, if her hands weren't currently shackled. The green wizard Freed had placed his magic barrier on the cuffs to, so she was unable to open any portal gates meaning she couldn't escape.
With one final gag, Salamander staggered away from the window and slumped next to Titania opposite her. His face was set in a painful grimace and with a soft gurgle he curled up on the bench and placed his spiky pink head on Titania's lap. Rory shouldn't have been surprised at the show of intimacy. Of course the fairies were all close to each other. None of Salamander's team mates were making a big deal of his motion sickness either, which lead Rory to believe it was a common occurrence. It was kind of reassuring actually. Rory had been there in the aftermath when Salamander had completely destroyed Hargeon Harbour. She seen firsthand what that bloke's magic could do, so it was oddly reassuring to know that he had a weakness. And that weakness involved any form of transportation.
Curled up in the opposite corner by the door was Lucy Heartfilia. Her arms were wrapped around her legs with her dainty chin resting on the tops of her knees. Rory knew she was feeling guilty, it was written all over her face. Rory helped save her from the wolves and Lucy returned the favour with shackles and a six hour train ride through the night across the kingdom. In truth, Rory didn't feel bitter or betrayed at all, Lucy was just doing her job. It was interesting to see her feel bad though. Rory wondered if Lucy now thought the two of them were comrades or something now that they'd survived demonic black magic in the shape of wolves together. It seemed like the gullible, naive thought a fairy would have.
The only one really talking was the blue winged cat. Which was a sentence Rory did not say lightly. Of course he was technically an exceed and had nothing to do with the domestic house cat or large felines, but it was kind of universally agreed within Fiore that Exceeds were cats. Flying, talking cats that wore clothes and had taken up residence in a forest to the south. This one was currently calculating how much fish he was going to buy with his share of Rory's three million Jewel reward. Firstly, Rory didn't even understand why the cat got an equal share in the first place as it had done literally nothing, and secondly, his math was completely wrong.
"And then if we take away the Thunder God Tribes portion the we get one million and eight hundred and fifty five thousand and then if we divide that into five we get...three hundred and twenty thousand? No that can't be right..."
It wasn't right. Was it bad she was getting touchy over the fact the cat was planning to spend her reward on fish too? Was she really becoming possessive over her own bounty? If the cat got a share, shouldn't she get some too? She'd sacrificed her freedom to save their friend. Where was her reward?
"Don't forget Blue Pegasus's share." Titania spoke up for the first time.
"What!" Happy cried in dismay. "We're sharing with them too? But then we won't get any money!"
"Blue Pegasus has also been hunting Duchess and they found her at the same time as us." Titania argued calmly whilst gently stroking Natsu's hair. "And they stayed behind to fight the moon priestess allowing us to pursue Duchess into Redwood. It's only fair they get their share."
"So we should give them what? Thirty percent?" Happy asked shadily.
Titania peeked open one eye and looked pointedly at the cat."They get equal share to the rest of us." She ordered and Happy sighed unhappily.
"Aye sir." He stared wistfully at his notepad and ripped out a page of sums, crumpling it up and throwing it on the floor. He looked dejectedly at his fresh page. "What's three million divided into twelve?"
"Two hundred and fifty thousand Jewel." Rory replied immediately before she could stop herself. The carriage seemed surprised that she spoken, all but Salamander looked round at her, Rory wasn't even sure if he was conscious anymore. With a sigh, Rory lifted her shackled hands and pushed the brim of her hat to the top of her forehead, uncaring about what her fringe must look like. "Three million Jewel split evenly between twelve people is approximately two hundred and fifty thousand Jewel each. One good quality medium sized cod fresh from the coast is around seven hundred Jewel so you'll get about three hundred and fifty seven pieces of decent fish. What?" She asked defensively. "It's basic maths."
Gray was giving her a weird look. "No it's not. I couldn't do that off the top of my head."
Rory shrugged uncomfortably. "Yeah well, once upon a time I studied Magical Engineering and Quantum Dimensional Anatomy at Crocus University. Trust me, compared to some of my classes, that maths is basic."
Lucy looked up at her with keen interest, her brown eyes searching. "You were a student?" She asked curiously. Rory just nodded in return. She wasn't sure what had come over her to suddenly reveal that snippet of information about herself. She supposed it probably didn't matter, seeing as she was about to be handed over to possibly cannibalistic cultists in a couple of hours. It was nice to know some people in her profession knew she was smart.
"Can I ask," Gray began, his head turned to the side and looking down at her, "how did you go from small village farm girl to University student studying MEQDA to Thieves Guild protégée?"
Rory brought up her knees, slipping them up between her bound arms. "That's a very good question." She said to the window. She could see Titania watching her in the reflection of the glass. Outside it began to rain.
The train chugged on through the night, taking them further across the land, closer towards Okator's cultist. At some point they dimmed the lights in the carriage, a sign that it was time to sleep. Rory watched the black landscape go by, illuminated by the moon, ignoring the pain in her shoulder and the look she'd seen on Titania's face. She wasn't interested in her rivals pity. Under her breath she hummed her mother's lullaby to herself until the train succeeded in sending her to sleep.
Aaaaand Done! Merry Christmas guys. There is a Disney reference somewhere in this chapter, can you find it?
Till next time.