He observed the crowd of shoppers packing in any possible space about a nearby fashion boutique. Apparently, there was an annual sale going on that would make some people crazy enough to seize the entrance of the building by shoving past others. His hands reached into the inner depths of his dark cloak to unroll an intricate map of the city, wondering what other tourist attractions they could visit by the end of the night.
"I heard about an armory being situated in this town. The blacksmith somehow obtained extremely rare space metal that could be melded into armor." His eyebrows furrowed, honing in on the little sketched building way on the other side of town. He hummed. "Though I'm not sure the rumors are true, really. It could be made out of paper for all we know." He chuckled to himself.
She appeared to be in deep thought as she looked over his shoulder and examined the paper. "That does seem interesting. But what is space armor supposed to accomplish for me?"
"Well, it would be nice to have a trick up your sleeve this upcoming tournament. Wouldn't you say?" He looked back at her, knowing she loved anything that had a sharp edge or shield to it. Her lovely crimson hair was blowing in the wind, elegantly, beautifully. "Why not give it a shot?"
She was going to succumb to her materialistic tendencies, sooner or later. He knew it.
"Well… I wouldn't mind another addition to my arsenal. I suppose we can go check it out."
"Alright. It shouldn't be too long." He winked at her.
…
She sighed in serious concentration; a gradual seemed to seep into her limbs. She couldn't explain it, but it was something close enough to be compared to a slow-motion human being. One foot in front of the other. That's all it took. Really, it wasn't that hard. Slowly, she forced her sluggish body into the weapons site, right behind the watchful Jellal.
Her caramel eyes glowing in the lights of the blacksmith's store, scrutinizing every little weapon—every little scrap of metal up on the walls and on mannequins as an appealing display. The scarlet knight was lost in the island of metal treasures, as all she could ever hope for was in this armory. Her eyes were bouncing off every single item—from tiny needles to largest of broadswords— she had to make sure she didn't miss anything too important.
The pain escaped her for a minute, as one particular display situated in the back of the room caught her eye. The carvings and engravings of the armor were sheen and extremely detailed—down to the intricate ridges of the collar plate. A series of pointed leather plates would be neatly placed under one another in an assorted delicateness. Each plated layer would have some sort sharpened edge to it—almost angular yet round in a sense, as it enveloped the figurine's shoulders.
Such beauty, she thought as she circled the statue's forged features.
It was amazingly black. Though it wasn't completely shiny either, as the breast plate was just a smooth matte that had never seen the light of battle or even admitted to a faulty scratch in the process of its melding.
Was this what Jellal was talking about?
Something about space armor?
She glanced up, her eyes following the headline of fellow customers in hopes of finding her companion.
'This place is too damn big' she sighed to herself, realizing she had already lost Jellal to the crowd.
She decided not to dwell on it any longer. Her brown eyes returned to the empty shell of metal. Whenever she reequipped into any of her armors—be it the heaven's wheel or her black wing armor—none of them had as shapely a headgear as this one. The helmet was menacing, and of a previous and medieval era as it seemed to plaster the entire head. The sides were pointed, curved crescents that had ridges in themselves as if they were metallic jagged ears that attached to the entire length of the crown. The face was carved in a sort of a bent diamond shape, to reveal the eyes, yet the mouth and the rest of the cheekbones and jaw would be neatly concealed with delicate impressions.
Her hand reached out to the beautiful panoply of metal before her to admire its texture.
It was pretty cool now that she got to feel it.
She wondered if she could name it the Black Dragon armor, if it were ever hers. After all, it did seem to take a humanly form, yet it retained reptile like qualities with its gleaming black-like scales that protruded around the body. They curved around the figure, interestingly, the way human muscle contour did under live flesh. And it was just as rough as a dragon's skin—well, the way she thought dragon's skin would ever feel.
The wonders this armor could do for her.
She sighed again. Damn that Jellal, for getting her so hyped up for something she could never buy. With the money she doesn't have.
Startled in her deepest thoughts, she flinched forward.
"Hey! No touching!" A snappy, unusually highly-pitched-for-a-guy's-voice had been directed towards Erza.
"Well I—"
"Unless you're planning to buy it."
Just for kicks, she took a glance at the imaginably high price of the exquisite armor and back at the retailer.
Yeah. Not today.
"I was just leaving." She replied politely as she could, even though she had been clearly irritated. The scarlet haired woman left the blacksmith's store as fast as her legs would take her, and waited outside for Jellal.
..
Maybe he had forgotten about her?
The scarlet beauty thought furiously to herself, as slowly sunk back onto the wall. It'd been about thirty minutes. What was he doing in there? What on earth was taking so long? Was he really the type to scavenge for weapons so indecisively?
The more she worried, the more her insides started to churn. They began to feel hot. It was like her energy was slowly seeping away, and she was scared to admit such a thing. She placed a dainty hand on her forehead. She was no doctor, but she could tell her temperature was going through the roof, and sweat beads began forming on her skin.
Was she having a fever?
At a time like this?
Any instance that a stranger's shadow passed, she glanced up to see if it were Jellal. And it went on like this for another good ten minutes. Moonlight had shown through the buildings and for that she was grateful, as the darkness would force her into a completely paranoid submission.
"Erza?" He deep voice fiercely grappled with her mind, and she quickly looked up to see if Jellal was actually standing there—and not a hallucination.
She bit the inside of her cheek, watching him with a stammering expression. She tried her best to hide it. "Hey—what took so long?"
He lifted his arm and revealed a bag with something neatly packaged inside, clearly answering her question. "I had to find the perfect one. I'd tell you, but it's a surprise" He winked suggestively and took several steps closer, and met the beautiful young fairy knight halfway. "You manage to find the armor that I was talking about?"
"Yeah… You didn't tell me how expensive it was."
"Well, I didn't think it would exist at all… but I could buy it for you, if you'd like? How much was it?" A sincere smile was on his lips.
"I'd rather not be in seven million jewels in debt to you…" She laughed nervously. "Besides, I already have too much stuff. I'd be better off without it."
"What a shame... I was wondering how you would look if you were dressed in such ethereal attire."
The scarlet knight lit up like a light bulb, and bashfully turned away. "I—I'm not sure what to say. But thank you... Really." She smiled back.
"Well, as I recall… talking was never one of your strong suits.
After a few moments of silence, she continued with a change of subject. "So a surprise huh? I wonder what—" Her voice suddenly cut off, the sharp twinge of pain travelled up her neck to the base of her throat. "What it could be." She finished, hoping he'd pass it off as nothing.
He plopped the mysterious bag onto the ground and seized both of her hands, innocence roaming over his sharp and caring features. "Are you sure you're okay? You look pretty pale."
"It must be the lighting." Erza muttered, "Other than that, I'm perfectly fine!"
Another terrible roar of pain held her body in custody, the very core of it residing inside her stomach. They would just come out of nowhere! She couldn't possible predict when she could fall flat on her face each step she took.
Her hands abruptly ripped from his keeping to a more defensive position. One hand curled over her mouth like a tent, prepared to net any amount of throw up willing to spew out. Erza found her eyes following the intricately designed lines of tiled road to distract herself from the agony building up inside. She propped her weight against a large dumpster to ease the emergent pain in her chest and waited for a few minutes, as so did Jellal.
"Do you want me to bring you to a hospital?" His concerned words would be enough for any troubled dame in the world. But something wasn't settling in right for her, as she sensed him glaring at her with much intent through the overshadowing wisps of her red locks. He was observing her so carefully—like he'd been waiting for something.
"That isn't necessary, and I don't want to ruin our trip." She said.
"I can get you some medication, or—" There was a sort of haste and demanding tone to his voice—oddly fluctuating into a different personality at certain times.
"No, none of that."
"Do you need any water?"
She shook her head at his suggestion.
"Are you ready to go home then? If you're tired we can head back as soon as—" He asked and stopped midsentence, the seas of his green steaming in her brown fires. For a second there, she noticed a glint in his eyes where he hoped she would refuse.
"No, not yet." Erza replied coolly, propping herself up fully against the metallic structure. The dusk air was crisp and the sun was still barely peeking out to the world, inching just under the horizon. The violet and red colors blended in the sky beautifully, and there was still much of the night left to mesmerize. "It's already going away, Jellal. See? I'll be fine." She beamed, straightening up, and already forgetting the pain forging inside her chest. He'd always worried too much, much like the Jellal from her past.
"Alright." He commented with much worry in his voice. "This city's big enough, and I don't want you to pass out on me—"
A loud, piercing sound cackled in the air, which caused Erza to be startled in her wake. Erza peeked around the edge of the alley to see if they were already too late for the grand show. The city was already planning their night show and preparing the fireworks from what she could tell, as a few practice explosives went off in the distant landscape.
"Looks like they're sending out the fireworks as a practice run. But don't worry; we'll have enough time for the real show." He reassured Erza, who had been busying her senses with the passing crowds of fancily garbed tourists.
That's right... she forgot about the celebratory sequence to end the night with. If it weren't for the surging pains in her body, she would've considered today to be a part of the best moments in her life.
"So where else could we go? I mean… to make it back in time. I don't come here often, you know."