Fairy Tail
Manticore Hunt
Fairy Tail © Hiro Mashima
Haru Dragneel and Blue Fang are mine
Summary- Team Natsu is tasked with hunting a rare monster and bringing back one of its fangs. What could go wrong? Takes place after the 7-Year Gap but before GMG.
All was quiet, deep in the forest, save for the sound of tweeting birds and the squeaking of small animals. The leaves gently rustled in the trees as the breeze blew softly. The only thing that broke the Sylvan peace was the sound of leaves and grass softly crunching underneath leather boots.
Haru carefully dropped down from the back of her wolf, Blue Fang, and got down to one knee as she inspected the print that had been left in the grass. It was huge, with four round toes. It wasn't too deep, though, indicating that the creature was trying to be as silent as possible.
"Well, Haru?" asked Erza in a soft voice.
"It definitely went through here," Haru whispered. "The tracks are still fresh. Had to have gone here at least 15 minutes ago."
"Wait, what are we doing again-"
"SHHHHH~!" Haru and Erza quickly turned to shush Natsu, who tensed as he raised his arms in defense. Behind him stood Gray, Lucy, and Wendy, while Happy and Carla floated overhead, their Aera wings flapping silently to keep the two Exceeds aloft in the air.
"Keep quiet, Natsu!" Erza whispered.
"Take it easy!" Natsu whispered back. "I'm just asking why we're here, again!"
"We're looking for a manticore, you idiot…!" Gray hissed in irritation.
"Oh," Natsu muttered. "Wait, what's a manticore?"
"It's a giant monster with the head and body of a lion, the horns of a bull, the wings of a bat, and the tail of a scorpion," Lucy explained as she held up her Monster Encyclopedia, wearing an equally irritated face as her comrades. "And if you don't keep quiet, it might sneak up on us."
"I really don't like the idea of something that big sneaking up on us," Wendy muttered, nervously.
"Since manticores are like lions and lions are like cats," Happy began, "wouldn't it be cool if I turned into one?"
"You would be the only one who thinks such a thing," Carla deadpanned.
"Shh!" Haru shushed again before she went back to inspecting the tracks, leading the team onward while being as quiet as possible.
"So… why are we bein' quiet?" Natsu whispered as he followed behind Erza.
"We're required to track down the beast and take one of its fangs as a trophy," Erza replied.
"So we're not thrashin' it?" Natsu asked with a pout. "Aw, man, that's no fun!"
"We don't have to engage the beast unless it's absolutely necessary," Erza replied, and she was very right to be cautious. According to what they heard from Lucy's encyclopedia, manticores were not to be underestimated. Not only were they huge, but their claws and fangs were very deadly weapons, and as if those weren't enough to be wary of, the scorpion stinger that made up the monster's tail held a very potent paralytic venom. One sting and your whole body would freeze up and shut down, making you an easy meal for the beast.
"Um… quick question?" Wendy asked. "What if the manticore sees us and decides we'd make an easy snack?"
"Maybe, but we might not have anything to worry about, Wendy," Lucy reassured, keeping her voice as soft as she could. "Manticores are really big monsters, so they tend to eat much larger prey. If nothing else, this one might leave us alone."
"Yeah," Haru agreed. "If nothing else, the manticore might have already eaten, and if that's the case, that's great for us. Predators that have eaten a large meal tend to be lethargic and slothful after filling their bellies."
"Yeah, like Natsu here after he's cleared the whole table," Gray quipped while jabbing a thumb at Natsu.
"Yeah, like- hey!" Natsu shouted as he realized what the Ice Wizard had said before he soon began to press his forehead against his, leering at him furiously. "Are you callin' me a pig, Ice Freak?!"
"You're the only pig I know, Dragonbreath!" Gray snapped as he ground his forehead against Natsu's. "Even Blue Fang has better manners than you!"
Blue Fang silently rolled his eyes and shook his head, the silver wolf wondering why he was being brought into this conversation.
"Will you two quiet down?!" Erza questioned as she glowered at the bickering Ice Wizard and Fire Dragon Slayer, causing them to yelp in fright as they quickly embraced each other and cowered under her steeled gaze. "What part of 'be quiet' do you not understand?!"
"You're not being very quiet, anymore, yourself," Carla pointed out.
Lucy sighed as she shook her head in exasperation while Haru just groaned as she pinched the bridge of her nose, annoyed yet not surprised. As for Wendy, she could only chuckle sheepishly while Carla shrugged her shoulders. Just as the bickering finally quieted down, however, something else erupted through the air.
A veritable growl suddenly broke the silence, causing everyone to freeze as they looked around for its source.
"What was that?" Happy asked, worriedly.
"Oof… I must be hungrier than I thought," Natsu said as he put a hand on his stomach.
"For once, I don't think that's you," Gray said, and that's when the group spotted it through the trees: a gigantic, prowling shadow, lumbering by as a deep growl rumbled from it. They could make out the distinct shape of gigantic, bat-like wings and a scorpion's tail as it slunk through the dense foliage, its eyes glowing a dangerous yellow as it skulked.
"I think we just found our mark," Erza whispered.
Lucy gulped, suddenly feeling a little less confident as she saw the first physical sign of the beast… but then, she gasped quietly as she felt an all too familiar warm hand on her shoulder, causing her to glance over at Natsu, who grinned at her.
"We got this, Luce," he said. "Just stick close to me, okay?"
Lucy smiled at the Salamander, suddenly feeling her racing heart quell while the others all smiled knowingly.
"All right, then!" Natsu exclaimed as a flame appeared in the palm of his hand. "I'm gettin' fired up, now!"
"Remember, we must exercise due caution," Erza reminded. "We're only trying to take one of the manticore's fangs."
"How are we gonna do that?" asked Wendy.
"I'm sure Erza has an idea," Haru replied.
"Aye! Erza's always got a plan!" Happy agreed while raising his paw.
"As always," Erza replied with a confident smile. "Just follow my lead. This will be done as quickly and discreetly as possible."
~30 seconds later~
"RETREEEEEEAAAAAAT!"
The screaming team of wizards came running through the forest as Erza held the now severed fang of the manticore under her left arm… and not far behind them was the furious beast itself, roaring as it charged after them. Wendy shrieked as Carla held her in the air, using her wings to fly her through the trees and dodge any low-hanging branches. Happy also flew after the female Exceed, but he flew alone while Natsu ran as fast as he could, clutching Lucy's hand tightly in his own and not letting go for an instant. Blue Fang galloped as fast as he could, carrying Haru on his back while the Beast Wizard clutched to his collar, letting out panicked cries as she looked back and not bothering to pick up the sandal she dropped in her haste to escape.
"WHAT HAPPENED TO 'BE DISCREET'?!" asked Gray in comical anger, having unknowingly shed his jacket in the chaos.
"In the event of a tactical withdrawal, that doesn't matter!" Erza shouted. "NOW SHUT UP AND RUN!"
The team dodged boulders and trees, jumped over shrubs and rocks, and leapt from small cliffs as they continued to run as fast as they could to gain some distance from the manticore, which continued its relentless pursuit. At one point, Natsu pushed Lucy on ahead as he attempted to at least hold the monster back by striking it with his Fire Dragon Iron Fist, but that only served to anger the beast even more, forcing the Fire Dragon Slayer to regroup with the others, taking Lucy's hand into his own once more.
"It's still behind us!" Haru cried as she clutched Blue Fang's collar tighter.
"What do we do?!" Wendy asked.
"Watch out!" Happy cried as he pointed toward a cliff up ahead. The others let out cries of surprise before they tried to brake to a fast stop, and they just barely managed to keep from falling off the ledge. They all breathed collective sighs of relief as they watched little rocks fall from the cliff's edge and drop into the lake below. However, their relief was short-lived as they remembered that they were still being chased, if the loud roar behind them was any indicator.
"Oh, great, now what?!" Gray questioned.
Natsu looked down into the lake at the bottom of the cliff, and the moment Lucy saw him make that decisive face, she gasped in dread as she realized what was coming.
"Oh, no," she said. "No, no, no, Natsu Dragneel! No way! Not in a million-"
Natsu grabbed her hand before she could protest further, then grabbed onto Gray's shoulder, causing him to gasp before he grabbed onto Erza's left arm. As for Wendy, she clambered onto Blue Fang's back and clung to Haru from behind while the wolf prepared to take the plunge. Thankfully, Happy and Carla were safe due to their flight… but the others? Well, they just had to take a chance.
"JUMP!" Natsu yells, and the group leapt from the cliff and plummeted toward the lake with Lucy, Haru, and Wendy screaming all the while before they landed with a KERSPLASH!
As for the manticore, it growled deeply as it glared down at the lake, checking for any sign of life. After a while, it huffed in annoyance, then turned and stalked off, grumpily licking at its now broken tooth.
As soon as the monster was gone, Team Natsu burst from the water and took in deep gasps of air while Happy and Carla floated down toward them.
"Is everyone all right?" Carla asked.
"Well… I learned something here today," Haru said as she clung to Blue Fang's collar while holding Wendy to her side. "Never piss off a manticore."
"That was scary," said Wendy.
"Well, look on the bright side," Natsu spoke up. "At least we got the tooth."
At first, everyone gave him annoyed glances… but then, Lucy suddenly started to snicker, then she burst into full-blown laughter. It wasn't too long before they all started to join in. Even Erza couldn't help laughing in spite of herself.
"Come on," the Requip Wizard said as she swam to the shore. "Let's report to the nearby village and head home."
"Yeah, I'm starvin'," Natsu agreed as he and the others followed suit.
"I know this much," Gray said. "I am never doing this again."
"Yeah, that was crazy," said Haru.
It was exhausting work, and yes, it was dangerous… but that's just how it was in Fairy Tail.
Man, it's been a while since I did a Fairy Tail one-shot. I was in the mood for one where Team Natsu does a monster hunt and this came up.
Review, please!