Despite the cold atmosphere, Seph found herself being kept warm as soon as she woke up. She was curled into a ball, under the covers as much as she possibly could be, and she kept her eyes closed in the hopes of falling straight back asleep. It took a moment for her to wake up fully, in which she sighed upon realizing that she was indeed not going to fall back asleep anytime soon, and then she heard the voices of the others around her. They were probably already getting up and ready for the Grand Magic Games, but they were keeping quiet as if not to wake her up…
Wait, had she really been able to spend a full night asleep?
Upon opening her eyes, she found black fur butchering her sight and just past that, Gajeel sitting on a chair ready to go, but still looking quite tired. She couldn't blame him with how early it was and judging by the outside lighting, it was somewhere around 6:30am. She took a moment to move her head and rub at her eyes, everyone going quiet from probably thinking that they had woke her up, and that was when she realized that she had fallen asleep attached to Lily. When she slept attached to something, it was nearly impossible to take it away from her and she sat up quickly, her cheeks going straight fuchsia as she started stuttering out an apology. It wasn't very audible and Lily didn't seem to care, just seeming more confused of why she had gotten up so quickly.
"It's fine, really." He told her, his voice still soft from how quiet they had all been as to not wake her up. Laxus was sitting on the edge of the bed, also ready to go. The only person who wasn't ready to go was Mira, but she just had to do her hair, honestly.
"… S-Sorry, were you waiting for me…?" She asked softly, mostly aiming the question towards Laxus. He shook his head in response.
"No, not really, the games don't start until around 10am. They open the doors for people at 9:30 and the competing teams have to be there at 8:30, just to be accounted for." Laxus explained to her, in which she took a moment to process that and then nodded her head a bit. "And we also didn't want to wake you." She frowned a bit, giving him a look, and he merely chuckled.
"… So, you made it into one of the eight spots…?" She asked, rubbing at her eyes a little more as Lily sat up and stretched at her side.
"Yah, we got second place, actually." Laxus responded, in which her face lit up. Wow… They really knew what they were doing, didn't they? "I heard from the old man that Team A got into eighth place, those idiots…"
"It's better for us, is it not?" Mira asked, checking her hair in the mirror before sitting down. She always wore a pleasant smile. Seph never saw her with anything else on her face, not just yet. She did have a point, though, honestly. As long as they got into the games, though, didn't that mean something good?
"I suppose you're right." Laxus got out with a grin, which made Seph smile a bit. All these members of Fairy Tail had seemed a little terrifying at first, but they really ended up being goofy in the end. "Speaking of competitors, we're meeting Jellal there, correct?" Was that the name of their fifth member…?
"Yes, I believe that's what he said. He's going to go scope out the city first and then head over there." Mira replied, in which Seph rubbed at her head. She didn't understand it, but she figured that maybe it just didn't matter all too much. She would figure it out at some point or not at all, and either way, she'd still probably end up in the same place. Hopefully, it was away from where she came from…
"… I-If it's a big event, then h-how many people are g-going to be there…?" She asked, already calculating a big amount of competitors, their Guilds, and on-lookers. Lord that was a lot of people…
"Lots of people will be there, it's one of the biggest events in Fiore, but Fairy Tail will have its own stand apart from everyone since we're competing in the games." Laxus explained, gently patting her head to try and help calm her anxiety. It actually helped more than she thought it would. "The Raijinshuu and Lily will be up there along with the old man, so you'll have people that you know around." She paused for a moment before nodding.
"… And… D-Dark Guilds aren't allowed to participate…?" She asked softly, in which he gave a firm nod. That put a lot of ease on her mind, shown by her shoulders dropping as she relaxed from seeing his reply. She was just trying to confirm some things that she had heard awhile ago, but never really got around to asking last night because of the surprise elimination round.
"Oh, right! I got into contact with Lisanna and she said that Wendy won't be participating until later on in the games if she gets better, and Carla won't be well enough to come and watch right away." Mira told all of them, although Seph had no idea who Wendy and Carla were. What had happened? "They're still not too sure of what happened, but Porlyusica is here and she says that it's Magic Deficiency Disease."
"How the hell did that happen?" Gajeel asked with a growl, crossing his arms over his chest. Mira gave him a shake of her head to tell him that no one knew just yet and he leaned back in his seat.
This got off to a great start, apparently…
Seph could feel her anxiety going off the charts even when she wasn't close to people that she didn't know. There was barely any space left in the arena, tons of people sitting and standing and cheering in roars of excitement, and then there were people in the Fairy Tail Guild staring at her from the moment she showed up. They didn't know who she was or why she knew Lily, the Raijinshuu and the Master, they just… knew she was there. Makarov had explained to them that her name was Seph and she was a part of the Guild now, but they looked uncomfortable and confused upon hearing that she was part of the Raijinshuu and, nonetheless, Laxus' partner.
The only person who had welcomed her right away had been the only other Exceed that she could spot, although Carla was apparently an Exceed as well, going by the name Happy. He had introduced himself right away and she forced herself to introduce herself back even if he already knew her name, trying to stay as calm and relaxed as she possibly could. The more people she knew, the more calm she would feel even if she didn't quite trust them just yet. She found herself sitting between Happy and Lily, near Makarov and with the Raijinshuu standing behind them to make her feel more protected.
It helped, but she really wished that everyone would stop staring… and having this awkward silence…
The event was definitely huge with all the people watching from the stands and the fact that they had set up an emcee and everything. Then there was the sponsor and the fact that they had so many Guilds that wanted to participate… maybe it was that a bunch of Guilds put in multiple teams like they had? That was probably it… but only they had gotten two teams in with the eight participating ones and Seph actually liked the sound of that. She had been told nearly everything about the Guild by Laxus and the Raijinshuu over their three months together and although she could barely remember most of it off of the top of her head, it came up at the appropriate times. She liked how her brain worked like that, although it was a little troublesome at times…
The moment the teams started getting introduced, however, she felt her anxiety rising again with all of the booing and cheering. Everyone in their stand had erupted in cheers, after all, and it was quite loud on her ears. What wasn't loud on her ears, though, was the soft cheering from a girl to her right that was barefoot, yet wearing a smile. She seemed to have shocked everyone, but Seph couldn't feel shocked as much as she was confused due to not knowing what was going on. She figured that this would keep happening, honestly…
"That's Master Mavis, the first Master of Fairy Tail." Lily explained to her softly, looking like he was in a slight state of shock as well. Oh… Wait, what? "She's a ghost from Tenroujima… maybe…?"
"… O-Oh…" Seph mumbled, unsure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. She had heard the mentioning of only people with the Guild's insignia being able to see the First Master…
Moving on with the teams… a Guild by the name of Quatro Cerberus came in seventh place, being called the Hounds of Hell, with a Guild by the name of Mermaid Heel came in sixth place, being introduced as an all-female Guild and the dancing girls of the great deep. Then there was a Guild by the name of Blue Pegasus in fifth place, the one that the special guest Jenny Realight came from that was explained as the bright blue wings in pitch dark, and a Guild named Lamia scale in fourth place. Seph knew that Lamia was the Goddess of love and war, the holy destroyer… and didn't she eat children? Maybe that was her Mother, Seph couldn't remember right now.
All the Guilds seemed to be getting along, whether a Guild was off to the side from the others and talking with their own or one Guild was conversing with another. Lamia Scale, Blue Pegasus, and Team A of Fairy Tail seemed to be getting along quite well and it made Seph smile… most Guilds usually seemed to not get along from her experience.
Next up, finishing in third place for the elimination round was a Guild that Seph could feel a familiar atmosphere coming off of the members. The arena had gone silent and the Master started boiling with rage, as did most of the other members if they weren't concerned for the Master's well-being. It was their first appearance of the Guild, being described as the midnight mobile force, and by an unsettlingly familiar name: Raven Tail.
It was a Dark Guild, though, wasn't it? Dark Guilds weren't allowed to participate! They didn't branch off of one of the bigger three Dark Guilds either, not like… Oh God, if they saw her, would Ivan…? She couldn't say anything, though, she couldn't or everyone would get suspicious. She'd have to explain and then they'd hate her, and she couldn't handle that right now. Oh God, what could she do besides just sit there and look pathetic…?
"You're lettin' a Guild like that participate in the Grand Magic Games!?" Makarov yelled in a questioning tone, which made Seph flinch. He was being too loud… and Lily had grabbed her hand, helping her sit down so she could relax a little bit. Why was he being so nice to her…? He barely knew her…
"According to the official record, Raven Tail has been around for more than seven years, but they've only recently been recognized as a legitimate Guild." Chapati Rola, the emcee for the games, explained for everyone who was listening and curious. They had been recognized as a legitimate Guild…? That would explain a couple of things, but… Dear God, Seph felt like throwing up right then and there. "Alright, there are still two more teams that made it through the elimination round!" Well, that was a good way to get everyone back into the groove of things…
Lily squeezed her hand gently, putting a comforting hand on her back with a small smile.
"Here comes us again." He told her as softly as he could manage so no one else would hear. It was the Master's secret, after all, and they didn't want to blow it just before it was revealed on its own. She paused before giving him a soft smile back and nodding, allowing him to help her stand back up. She was okay now… She was free, a member of Fairy Tail, and she wasn't going back.
Because coming in second place was another one of their teams, consisting of her partner, and Lily's. Fairy Tail Team B, strong and ready to go head-to-head with the other teams whether it would be their own Guild mates or the members of another participating Guild. The Master started laughing and Seph gave a stronger smile as Laxus looked up to find her, giving a grin and a wave. She waved back as noticeably as possible with her free hand, not ready to let go of Lily's yet. She still needed a bit of support at the moment from the shock…
A lot of people didn't seem to be familiar with the rule of having two teams entered and being left up to chance with the elimination round, so while Chapati explained, Seph took a quick look around. If Raven Tail was here, she just wanted to make sure that no one else bad was… It was a major relief to not see anyone she didn't want to. Lily might ask later, but… what could she say, honestly, other than she had bad run-ins with Dark Guilds? She couldn't tell the truth… Not just yet…
She had heard that Fairy Tail tended to fight a lot, as in physical and not very much verbal or arguing, and the Master was sure that they'd have no problem fighting each other publicly in a tournament. No one in the Guild really seemed to mind, honestly, they just seemed proud in their Guild mates and their Master. Seph was pretty proud of her partner, to be honest… There was a lot of talk about Jellal, or Mystogan, or whatever they called him. She couldn't keep up properly, but she picked up a sense of partnership, secrecy, and a mixing of Earthland and Edolas talk. It made a little more sense with all of that somehow, but she was still fairly confused…
Coming in first place, however quite obviously for a lot of people besides herself, was a Guild by the name of Sabertooth. They were the current most powerful Guild in Fiore, apparently, and had gotten into a miff with Fairy Tail over power and certain types of Dragon Slayers. She could understand it, kind of, but she was also a little confused like she was with… well, everything at this point. She spotted other Exceeds in the stands, one with reddish-orange fur and one in a frog suit, and Happy suddenly got riled up, scaring her a bit. Were they… not good…? She couldn't tell anymore, not properly anyways…
Either way, all of the teams were accounted for and all of the spectators were back into a cheery mood, ready to see some action. Seph didn't know if she was ready or not, but she was already here, so she might as well just stay to watch. There was just a lot of explaining to do first, after all, so she had time to sort of prepare herself for whatever was going to happen. She couldn't help but look around again, completely on edge with everything that happened although she continued listening to the instructions and explanations that the emcee was giving so that she was up to date.
"… Hey, are you even listening?" Someone asked from off to the side, bringing the attention to her as the teams got ready. She was listening and she could prove it to the young boy who had asked.
"One member from each of the eight teams is to participate in the games' opening game, "Hidden". The rules will be explained after the teams have chosen their participants." She repeated strongly, a little surprised that she didn't stutter. She loved to explain stuff, honestly, especially after hearing it from someone or reading about it… well, definitely after reading it. She loved to read and share knowledge. The young boy looked a little taken back, but then gave her a grin.
"You're observant, just like Laxus!" He stated as if it was obvious, but she didn't really think so. She was just… kind of good with these kinds of things, a little bit, maybe… "Oh, I'm Romeo, by the way."
She paused for a moment before opening her mouth to introduce herself back, but he reminded her that he already knew her name and then went back to watching the competition because the participating players from all of the eight teams had been chosen. She decided to turn her gaze back to the battlefield as well, just hoping to get everyone's eyes off of her. Luckily, they turned their attention back to the battlefield as well. After all, they had just created a town out of magic just for the competition… and they were definitely funded to be using so many Lacrima Vision screens. Seph just hoped that she wasn't sticking out like a sore thumb… maybe coming to one of the biggest events in Fiore was a bad idea…
This competition looked very confusing to her with all of the copies of the contestants and the hiding and the seeking… and with the fact that it was hard to find the actual opponents without pinpointing them somehow.
"You have your thinking face on." Lily suddenly said, slipping his hand out of hers and putting it on her shoulder. She had a thinking face? Nonetheless, she gave him a nod, talking softly so she wouldn't stutter because it would be hard to understand all of her thoughts while stuttering. Others were listening, too, she knew it, but she didn't really mind. This was right up her alley, after all.
"… Well, you could search for your opponents by their magic power, but since the copies are made from magic, you wouldn't be able to pinpoint them properly without the proper ability to search for someone's magic power or the strength of it, at least. You could try using your magic to find theirs or something along those lines, but if you accidentally catch a copy by mistake, then you'll lose points… You could wait it out, blend in with the copies, and wait for someone to slip up, but the timer might run out before you could get any points because of how big the town is." She explained the best she could, watching as Lily nodded along thoughtfully. It made sense, didn't it? "With Gray down by two points and Juvia down by one point, this might not turn out good for us…"
"It's only the first competition, though, so don't worry." Lily reassured her, in which she took a deep breath and nodded. No more thinking, just watching. It wasn't like she was participating or able to share her thoughts with Gray anyways… She was glad to be learning some names, through the games or from the people themselves. She had learned through others who other people were as well, so things were going okay. It would be okay.
Juvia went up a point while Gray remained stagnant; the pair of them meeting up after Juvia took out Lyon. She let it slip about the winning team deal the Master had made with them and it made Seph give a shaky smile, still a little off from everything, but enjoying how goofy and care-free Fairy Tail tended to be. However, that smile dropped when Nalpudding from Raven Tail brought Gray down to minus three and Juvia back down to minus one before Eve drew out all the contestants by making it snow. In the cold, you could see people's breath, but clones didn't need to actually breathe. It was a smart tactic, but it didn't go for much more than three points in a row due to Lyon from Lamia Scale attacking and bringing his points back down to two, while Lyon's points went up to one.
The competition continued in turns before Rufus from Sabertooth appeared for the first time since it had all started, attacking every single one of the other seven contestants with one spell merely moments before the timer for the competition ran out. He rocketed to first place without even needing to hide and never even got hit, which made Seph a little scared to be standing in the same arena as someone like that. They were switching over to the battle part of the day and Seph tried to keep herself as relaxed as possible as they announced the match up. It was Lucy from Fairy Tail Team A and someone named Flare from Raven Tail. This wasn't going to help her stay calm…
Both girls took the field, Lucy looking more fired up and determined than anyone Seph had witnessed in her whole life. She hadn't exactly been around people who cared about others… The exact moment the battle had started, Lucy started attacking right away. Seph had gotten a feeling from Lucy's magic levels that her magic had to do with celestial beings and now it was confirmed that Lucy used Celestial Spirits. She seemed to have good connections with the ones she brought out so far, too. Flare's magic was connected to her hair, being able to grow it up and use it like it was one of her own limbs. She could also set it on fire without burning it all off and while interesting, Seph couldn't help but worry about Raven Tail's intentions… She didn't voice it, not like the First Master had, but she still thought about it.
Lucy didn't have the upper hand for much longer, as Flare did have the potential to fight well, but she did her best to stay leveled with the other girl for as long as she possibly could. Both of them had taken a moderate amount of damage, Lucy having to throw away her burned and shredded boots while only complaining that she had liked them. Seph admired that, honestly, because she hated the feeling of being burned. It reminded her too much of something…
However, Lucy's leg might have been damaged more than she had let off because Flare had thrown her down before she could really take a breath. She was unable to stand up before Flare had used her hair to grab the blonde, holding her extended in the air with all four of her limbs spread and she wasn't able to get undone for some reason. Lucy kept her head down, her jaw tight and her teeth in a heavy bite without speaking or making a sound. Seph could see the look in her eyes, though, and she knew it well.
It was fear. She had felt that before, an on-going fear that would never really stop coursing through her because of the situation she was stuck in. It was a situation that she didn't know how to talk about, but she was scared… and this reminded her of a similar time. It reminded her of a dark room, with chains biting at her wrists and ankles and a constant fear running through her veins, when she either cried or she screamed… She wasn't allowed to talk. She wasn't allowed to leave.
She couldn't keep watching and had ended up nearly falling from where she stood, her head in her hands and tears threatening to fall from her eyes. Even when someone tried to hold onto her, to help her, all she could feel was someone else.
"… D-Don't h-hurt m-me…" She whimpered, barely managing to get those three words out.
Someone still grabbed onto her, though, saying something to someone else and basically dragging her away to somewhere else. It was the quietest place they could find, sitting her down and taking their hands off of her so she could calm down, but not leaving her side. They had to keep an eye on her and she didn't even know why they were being so nice, especially now while she was freaking out. She had to calm down. She had to take deep breaths. She had to remind herself that she was here, free, and not there, trapped.
Once she had calmed down, she reached out to whoever had brought her away from the ruckus to calm down, and she saw the black paw gently grabbing her shaky little light gray one. Lily, of course… She didn't even know how to thank him; she just squeezed his hand and motioned carefully to him that she wanted to stand up. She was okay now. She had calmed down, she was okay. He helped her stand and gave her hand a squeeze to ask if she was stable, and she nodded in reply. She took a moment, letting time pass in hopes that the fight would be over and Lucy would be okay, and then gave Lily another nod. He started to walk, keeping a firm grip on her hand so that he could support her if she needed it, and following behind him slowly.
"… Y-… You're a good friend…" She let out softly as a way of thanking him. He merely shrugged in return and squeezed her hand a bit, continuing to walk.
The word "friend" made her think…
Were they really friends or was this going to end up like the last time…?